Help Clean Up the Richardson Preserve on April 27

Posted on by

A Spring Clean-Up will be held on Saturday, April 27, at the Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve, 577B Wilmarth Street, Attleboro, from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon. Your participation will be welcomed, whether you have volunteered before or this is your first time.

Maintenance tasks will include:
— Raking up fallen branches in lawn areas
— Picking up trash
— Pruning along edges of lawns, hayfields, and street
— Removing invasive plants
— Weeding flower gardens

Tools needed may include:
— Standard rakes and leaf rakes
— Loppers, pruning shears, pruning saws, and other pruning tools
— Shovels
— String trimmers, weed whackers, brush cutters
— Chain saw
— Gardening tools

We will have some tools, but please bring what you have.

Dress accordingly for protection against poison ivy and ticks. Please bring your own:
— Work gloves
— Water

Volunteers under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Rain date is Sunday, April 28, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Any cancellations due to weather will be posted on this website.

Make Arbor Day Last All Year Long!

Posted on by

Please note there will be a 1 hour delay in the start of this event. 

The Attleboro Land Trust is excited to once again distribute free trees in honor of Arbor Day. Our goal is to empower individuals to contribute to a healthier environment for generations to come.

The trees will be distributed, while supplies last, at the Attleboro Land Trust table at the Spring Fling, which is being held at Balfour Riverwalk Park in downtown Attleboro on Saturday, April 20.  Originally scheduled to run from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, it will now start at 12:00 noon and end at 3:00 pm.

Both trees selected this year are native species that contribute significantly to our local wildlife habitat. When these trees flower in the spring, they attract pollinating insects, birds, and even bats.  By planting one of these beautiful trees in your yard, you will be supporting the survival of its pollinators, many of which are facing the peril of habitat loss.

Downy Serviceberry (photo credit: Arbor Day Foundation)

The Downy Serviceberry is a fine naturalizing species that is very adaptive to our local soils–on the edges of woodlands, the moist low areas, and the rocky slopes that are found in our area. The tree bears flowers in white drooping clusters at the beginning of spring in late April. Late summer finds small maroon fruit that birds are particularly fond of.  The tree’s fall color is pleasing though it does not last a long time. Arbor Day.org Downy Serviceberry Care Instructions

White/Bur Oak (photo credit: Arbor Day Foundation)

The White Oak/Bur Oak is a stalwart in woodlands as it supports many forms of life, from the soil to the top of the tree, including over 520 different pollinators.  Beginning in May, the flowers attract both nocturnal and diurnal insects, bats, butterflies, and birds, all of which help to produce acorns that are key to the survival of a number of birds and mammals.  Arbor Day.org White/Bur Oak Care Instructions

A huge thank you to the Arbor Day Foundation for providing affordable trees for our Arbor Day handout!

See their bare root planting instructions here:  https://www.arborday.org/trees/planting/bare-root.cfm 

Full Moon Hike

Posted on by

Join us on Thursday January 25th for a full moon hike at the Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve. Beginning at 8 pm, ALT board members will lead a moonlit walk through the preserve. Dress warmly, including shoes that are waterproof, and bring a flashlight or headlamp. Walk is a little less than a mile! Short and sweet, but a great opportunity to see the full moon and its beauty!

Meet at parking lot at 577B Wilmarth Street.

Any cancellations due to weather conditions or overcast skies will be posted on our Facebook page.

Dogs not permitted at this event.

MLK Day Event to be co-sponsored by ALT

Posted on by

Please join us on Monday, January 15, 2024, as the MLK Committee of Greater Attleboro hosts its 37th annual commemoration of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. The program theme: environmental equity, will address racism in outdoor spaces and other environmental issues impacting African Americans and historically marginalized groups.

The day’s events will feature a municipal program with local and state representatives at 1:00 p.m. at Attleboro City Hall, followed by an interfaith service at 2:00 p.m. at the Evangelical Covenant Church, 841 North Main St, Attleboro.

At the interfaith service, Kalila Barnett will deliver a keynote address on the committee’s theme: “The Nature Gap: Bridging the Racial Divide in Outdoor Spaces.” Ms. Barnett is the senior program officer of Climate Resilience at the Barr Foundation and serves on the Massachusetts Environmental Justice Council. The service will also feature a performance by storyteller V Raffini, selected readings from local clergy, and music by steel pan drummer Jefferey Clayton and the Attleboro High School Mixed Chorus.

The Attleboro Land Trust board voted in October to co-sponsor the keynote presentation and will be at the church to greet community members following the service. We hope you’ll attend and join us in celebrating Dr. King’s 95th Birthday!

Volunteers got it done in 2023!

Posted on by

At the Annual Meeting on November 16, Property Management Committee Chair Charlie Adler asked everyone present who had helped in the maintenance of our properties over the past year to stand, and he thanked them for the essential work that they voluntarily do for the good of the land trust.  He was especially appreciative for the number of people who volunteered to be site stewards this year.

He also singled out the following individuals for noteworthy accomplishments:

  • Bill Ward – mowing the hayfields at Richardson.
  • The Mowing Team for mowing the lawn areas at Richardson – Phil Boucher, Randy Lithway, Russ Pray.  Also pitching in were James Tetreault and Johnny Bender.
  • Russ Pray – rebuilding the bulkhead of the Barrows House at Richardson.
  • Macie Broussard – monitoring the bluebird houses at Richardson.
  • Lauretta Koch – for tending the perennial gardens at Richardson.
  • Dave Rolince and Scott Hirshberg for some major repairs to the Scout boardwalk at Colman.
  • Mike Davis and his sidekick Alan Henry for being our Storm Response Team and doing whatever is necessary to mitigate the effects of fallen trees at our properties.
  • Randy Lithway for suggesting and completing a new pathway across from the Colman parking lot to the beginning of the Vaughan trail.
  • And last but not least, board member and attorney Patrick Sullivan for his assistance in matters where our boundaries must be defended from encroachment.

ALT Members Celebrate Achievements at Annual Meeting

Posted on by

On November 16, 2023, we held our Annual Meeting. The event was a great success, with a fantastic turnout and a lot of positive feedback from attendees. The event featured a keynote speaker, updates on land acquisition, financials, and election of directors new to the board or continuing for another three-year term.

The event started with a warm welcome from our president Jay Burby. Our keynote speaker, Eva Vaughan, an environmental analyst for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, then took the stage and delivered an engaging talk on backyard green infrastructure.  Eva explained how simple landscaping modifications can turn a backyard or home garden into a rain garden, thus helping to control and purify stormwater runoff.  A few native plantings can then attract pollinating insects, helping to preserve biodiversity.

After Eva’s talk, ALT President Jay Burby reviewed highlights from 2023, including the most recent donation of land from the Charron family, that put us above 500 acres owned by the ALT with an additional 236 acres protected for a total of 740 acres. The 12-acre Charron Farm Preserve will continue to be used for the production of hay, but will also be used to complete a trail that will connect to the adjacent Shaw-Denham Memorial Forest.  The trail will open to the public once completed.

Ted Leach nominates new and returning board members while President Jay Burby looks on.    Image credit: Erin Connell

Veteran board member Ted Leach nominated members Brian Hatch, Roy Belcher, Paula Murphy, and Dawn Bender, whose terms expire in 2023, to serve for another 3-year term.  Tarah Kinniburgh was nominated to her first term.  Members present voted unanimously to elect all the nominees.

Juliet Teixeira, who is stepping down as ALT Vice President and Community Garden Lead, was thanked for her service and dedication to the work of the land trust, and the community garden, over the past ten years.

The ALT hopes to give renewed emphasis to education and outreach in 2024.  Erin Connell, who joined the board last year, has agreed to chair the Education and Outreach Committee.  Membership in this committee is open to any ALT member.  You don’t have to be on the board.  The same is true for most of the ALT standing committees.

Overall, the ALT Annual Meeting was a great success, and we are grateful to everyone who attended and made it such a memorable event. Thank you for your continued support of the Attleboro Land Trust!

Many Hands Make Light Work at Fall Clean-Up

Posted on by

Every year the edges of Larson Woodland are piled high with the leaves dropped from the trees along Riverbank Road and Watson Avenue.  It takes a lot of effort to rake them up and move them away from the old stone curb, so that pedestrians can walk along the edge of the woodland.

On Saturday, Nov. 25, we had an outstanding crew of site stewards and other volunteers helping with this effort, including seven members of the Ezekiel Bates Lodge of Attleboro.  The Lodge has been partnering with the Attleboro Land Trust as a site steward of Larson Woodland since 2014.

Annual Meeting on November 16

Posted on by

The annual meeting of the Attleboro Land Trust will be on Thursday, November 16, at 6:30 pm.  It will again be in-person at Murray Unitarian Universalist Church, 505 North Main Street, Attleboro.

The event will begin with the traditional social half-hour before the business meeting and keynote address.  Eva Vaughan, an environmental analyst for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, will deliver the keynote–on Backyard Green Infrastructure.  Eva will be discussing the impact of climate change on inland flooding and sharing ways we can adapt to combat the issue, even in our own backyards.

This meeting is open to the public, so please bring a friend.  Only members of the Attleboro Land Trust can vote during the brief business meeting.