These are some observations recorded on video by a team of students from Wheaton College during “A Year in the Life of the Lawrence Preserve.” This study, led by Associate Professor of Biology Jessie Knowlton, ran from June 2024 to June 2025, with the support of a grant from the Woodard & Curran Foundation.
For better viewing, each video can be expanded to full screen.
Bobcat
Bobcat
Deer
Family of fisher cats
A Clean-Up will be held at the Charron Farm Preserve on Saturday, April 4, from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon. We will appreciate the help of anyone who would like to join us in this effort.
Our goal for the Preserve is to maintain the hayfield for the production of an annual crop of hay as well as for the enjoyment of visitors hiking the property. Our focus on April 4 will be to trim excess growth along the perimeter of the field to maintain a clear edge between field and forest.
The main tasks will be:
We will have tools you can use, but if you have your own, please bring some with you, such as:
Dress accordingly for protection against poison ivy and ticks. Please bring your own:
Volunteers under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Rain date is Saturday, April 11, 9:00 am to 12:00 noon. Any cancellations due to weather will be posted here.
Directions:
From downtown Attleboro, take County Street south for 3.8 miles.
Turn right onto Read Street and drive 1/2 mile.
Turn left onto Morse Avenue and drive 1/4 mile.
Look for signs directing you to parking on the field.
The Charron Farm Preserve is not yet officially open to the public, but it should be soon. Stay tuned!
Although only four acres in size, Larson Woodland sits at a strategic location, in a dense neighborhood, across from an elementary school, and next to a dam on the Ten Mile River whose flow had once powered a nearby cotton mill.
Autumn view of the dam at Mechanics Pond, 2008.
Great blue heron, 2014.
In 2019, Ben Cote led a guided walk along the Ten Mile River, stopping here in Larson Woodland.
Snapping turtles lay their eggs on Sandy Point. Image credit: David Laferriere
Fishing at Sandy Point, Larson Woodland, 2009.
Swan, Mechanics Pond, 2009.
Tufted Titmouse, Larson Woodland, 2007.
Fish census, 2020.
Large mouth bass
Yellow Bullhead Catfish
Ray and Muriel Larson, 2009
The Attleboro Land Trust mourns the passing of Ray Larson on February 9. Larson Woodland was donated to the land trust by Ray in 1997 and formally dedicated at a ceremony held on October 31, 1999, with Congressman Jim McGovern in attendance.
The dedication read as follows:
“The gift of Larson Woodland comes from a man with deep roots in Attleboro and a faith in our city’s future. Ray Larson has made this neighborhood home for his entire life. By preserving this precious piece of landscape, Ray and his wife Muriel have ensured that all future visitors to this area will be able to experience the same sense of place, the same sense of continuity which they have known.
“This property is dedicated to all of the children who have trod its riverbanks on the way to school at Willett and St. John’s, to all the workers who have passed this way enroute to the Watson mill buildings, and to all the residents who have lived in the shadow of these tall trees.
“In this place where the power of the Ten Mile River was once harnessed to sustain industry, a member of the city’s industrial community has made a gift that will help us to sustain the river. May all who come here appreciate this gift, enjoy this place, and help to take care of it.”
Congressman Jim McGovern with Muriel and Ray Larson at the dedication of Larson Woodland.
ALT members and friends at the Larson Woodland dedication in 1999.
The Attleboro Land Trust is grateful for services donated by WB Construction & Development and Ryan Asphalt in the construction of a gravel parking lot and stormwater management system at the Charron Farm Preserve.
WB Construction and Development constructed the gravel parking area and an infiltration basin to manage stormwater runoff.
Ryan Asphalt paved the twin driveways leading into and out of the parking area.
Photos by T.A. Charron
Thanks to the members of the South Attleboro Lions Club for their help on September 6, installing sign posts along the trail that is being built at the Charron Farm Preserve.
Thanks also to the volunteers who helped on September 6 to prepare a stormwater infiltration basin for grass seeding.
Photos by C. Adler and T.A. Charron
On August 9th, eighteen people got a preview of what’s in store when the Charron Farm Preserve is opened to the public. There is still a lot to do. Keep an eye on this website for announcements of work parties at the Preserve. We rely on volunteer help for all that we do. Thanks to Dick LaCivita for the photos below.
The Charron Farm Preserve, donated to the Attleboro Land Trust in 2023, will soon be ready to be opened to the public, although there is still a lot left to do. A walk will be held on the preserve on Saturday, August 9, at 9:00 am. The purpose of the walk is to provide a preview of the property, and to let you know about opportunities to help in the weeks to come.
Some of the tasks remaining are to plant grass in a water retention area, construct a split-rail fence, and install signposts along the trail.
Rain date for the walk is Sunday, August 10, at 1:00 pm.
Directions:
From downtown Attleboro, take County Street south for 3.8 miles.
Turn right onto Read Street and drive 1/2 mile.
Turn left onto Morse Avenue and drive 1/4 mile.
Turn into the gravel parking area on your right.
(Don’t rely on Google Maps, which mislabels part of Morse Ave. as Gillette Ave.)
Any cancellations due to weather will be posted on this website.
Rhododendron thicket, Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve, 6/28/22
Deborah’s Garden, Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve, 7/14/18
Baltimore checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton)
Lower Hayfield, Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve, 6/26/16
Great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele)
Lower Hayfield, Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve, 6/26/16
Common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis)
Lower Hayfield, Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve, 7/16/16
Bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) alien
Anthony Lawrence Wildlife Preserve, 8/31/13
Spotted Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum)
Anthony Lawrence Wildlife Preserve, 8/31/13
Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Shaw-Denham Memorial Forest, 8/20/13
