After a night of rain, sleet, and snow, the Richardson Nature Preserve glistened on a December morning in 2019. An American holly tree is in the foreground. The red berries, found only on female trees, provide food for many birds.
North Attleboro’s Rural Landscape…Viewed from All Angles
On November 14, a group of more than 20 hikers met at the Chorney Property on Ellis Road to enjoy a rural landscape that has so far avoided development, despite being close to population centers. The hike was organized by the North Attleboro Land Trust Steering Committee (NALTSC), a group of citizens who want to help ensure the preservation of such landscapes.
Hikers crossed a bridge over the Seven Mile River.
Guide Gary Krofta led hikers to a spot populated by beech trees, which retain their leaves all winter.
Hikers headed north on Ellis Road, past working farms like this one.
Guide Jill Miller explained various state programs that provide economic help to farmers who want to preserve their land.
Approaching the historic Angle Tree Stone.
Getting closer.
The Angle Tree Stone is protected by bullet-proof glass. (This photo by Scspaeth https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Angle_Tree_Stone_2016.jpg. All other photos by C. Adler.)
Guide Ann Chapdelaine describes some of the history surrounding the Angle Tree Stone.
Timing Is Everything: A Talk by Climate Scientist Tara K. Miller
Climate science tells us that spring is arriving earlier than it used to. Wild plants and animals follow nature’s clock as they move through annual cycles of migration and reproduction. Climate change is changing the timing of some of these cycles, and disrupting the interdependent web of nature.
Tara K. Miller
Our guest speaker at this year’s annual meeting, climate scientist Tara K. Miller, will share some of the latest research on this topic, describing how some of the plants and animals that populate our bioregion are no longer in sync with each other, and what that means for our future.
The 2021 Annual Meeting of the Attleboro Land Trust will be on Tuesday, November 16th, at 7:00 pm via Zoom and is open to the public. The Zoom link is:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85322417648?pwd=c1JwSHFSa0tHY2hsZUd4clJOYlpYdz09
Meeting ID: 853 2241 7648 Passcode: 572462
Audio Only +16465588656,,85322417648#,,,,*572462#
Sensata Comes Through Again!
On October 28, a team of three employees from Sensata completed two important fence construction projects for the Attleboro Land Trust–within a single day. One fence was constructed along a property boundary at the Colman Reservation. More fencing was installed around the parking lot at the Richardson Preserve. Thanks for a fine job to Tom Simbron, Tyler Hanna, and Harshad Tadas, who returned as a team after having completed similar fence projects for us in 2018 and 2019.
The Sensata partnership with the land trust goes back to 2013 and has included boardwalk and fence construction at three nature preserves, as well as construction of raised beds for the Attleboro Community Garden. We appreciate the enthusiastic support we have received from Sensata and its employees for our conservation mission.
Hike to Angle Tree Stone
The North Attleboro Land Trust Steering Committee invites you to join them on a guided hike of the Chorney Property and nearby Angle Tree Stone on Sunday, November 14th at 2pm.
The Chorney Property is town land managed by the North Attleboro Conservation Commission.
The Angle Tree Stone is a nine-foot slate monument made in 1790 by a father and son team that manufactured gravestone markers. It replaced an actual tree that had long been used as a boundary marker between the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies. Today, the Angle Tree Stone marks the border between North Attleborough and Plainville, as well as the boundary between Bristol and Norfolk counties.
Hikers will meet at the parking lot for the Chorney Property, on Ellis Road across from the intersection with Metcalf Road. The hike will first walk the Chorney trails, through three open fields and over a boardwalk which crosses the Seven Mile River. Hikers will then walk 1.3 miles, via Ellis Road, High Street, a side road, and a path, to the Angle Tree Stone monument. After viewing the monument, hikers will return by the same route to the Chorney parking lot. The total length of the hike will be 4 miles.
Participants under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. The rain date is November 21. Any cancellations will be posted on the Attleboro Land Trust website: attleborolandtrust.org
Questions, please contact Susan Taylor at [email protected] or 774-251-4616.
Here is a map of the hike area: Angle Tree Hike – Map
Fall Colors
The cool, wet summer weather has led to a display of mushrooms in colors that are not normally part of the fall display. The photos below were all taken at the Joseph and Margaret O’Donnell Nature Preserve in September.
Big Read Event: Poetry Scavenger Hunt to be held Oct. 9th
Big Read Event: Poetry Scavenger Hunt
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
The Attleboro Land Trust is excited to host a poem scavenger hunt! This event presents an opportunity to explore a local beautiful wooded nature preserve while contemplating the nature-centered words of US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo. Arrive any time from 10 to 12:30. The self-guided scavenger hunt is estimated to take 45 minutes. The event is free and open to the public and will be held rain or shine. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult. The featured poem for the event is “Beyond” from Harjo’s book An American Sunrise: Poems.
This event will take place at the Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve. (577B Wilmarth Street, Attleboro MA.)
Participants must register using the following link: EventKeeper – Popup Event
15th Annual River Clean-Up to be held September 25th.
Please join us in supporting the Ten Mile River cleanup on September 25th. (8am -11am)
(Information below from the Sun Chronicle Article)
Members of the general public, conservation commissioners, Attleboro Land Trust members and other local groups will work alongside elected officials including Mayor Paul Heroux and members of the council.
Volunteers can sign up on the day of the event at a tent in the Community Gardens on Riverbank Road.
The GPS address is 37 Hayward St., Attleboro.
Some supplies will be available, although anyone wanting to be a “River Rat” should bring their own waders or wetsuit.
Families and children are welcome to collect trash along the river walkways.
Free refreshments will be supplied by Dunkin’.
Sponsors are Heroux, the land trust, conservation commission, Dunkin’ and Friends of the Ten Mile River.
For more information contact Nick Wyllie at 508-223-2222, ext. 3145.
A Team Effort to Open the O’Donnell Preserve – Final Blog Post
The O’Donnell Preserve has been an ongoing project for the Attleboro Land Trust since 2015. A few years ago, a trail was established and cut by a group of volunteers. Their work completed about 75% of the trail but there was still an unknown final section. This final section was surrounded by wetlands so it was tough terrain for a trail. There was a surprise for us though! A small patch of dry land with a stand of beech and black gum trees presented itself to us. We called this spot Beech Point.
Section of the trail where there is an abundance of blueberry and huckleberry bushes.
Fast forward to 2021, and we have all of the pieces falling together. I was transitioning to land stewardship work as I entered into the second half of my service term. It was time to tackle the O’Donnell Preserve project. Our timeline was tight as we were hoping to open the preserve in a short two months, but we were determined to do so! My first task was to complete a natural communities assessment of the property to compliment the baseline documentation report. This report is used to see how the property changes over time in order to better monitor the health of the preserve. Another component to opening the preserve was to create a management plan that addresses the potential issues that the property may face in the future like invasive species, flooding, and erosion. In this management plan, invasives were a big part of it as the northeastern corner of the property is filled with them. The ground was disturbed there in the past meaning it was a perfect habitat for invasives to establish themselves. With the management plan completed, the next step was the most exciting one: establish and cut the final section of trail!
Entrance of the O’Donnell Preserve.
In order to complete this, we first needed to establish where we wanted the trail to go. We looked at the aerial imagery with the wetlands layer toggled on to get a sense of the area. You can clearly see Beech Point because of the peninsula it creates within the wetlands. It is a perfect section of dry land to put a trail on. We had our trail in mind so we set out onto the property. As we walked down the already cut trail, we realized that the many years of neglect left the trail overgrown and in need of maintenance. It was added to our to-do list. We made it to the end of the pre-existing trail and began marking the new section. Pink flagging tape was placed where we thought the best place for the trail was. Finally, we made it to Beech Point where the massive beech trees towered over us. We decided that a small loop around Beech Point made the most sense. We were now ready to go!
Up until this point, there were only two or three of us working on this project. We were now moving into trail work and needed to call in our backup: the volunteers! With pruners, saws, chainsaws, shears, post-hole diggers, shovels, rakes, weed whackers, and scythes, our volunteers were ready to take on this project. I set out in front leading the pack behind me. I directed a few volunteers to start the trail maintenance on the pre-existing trail in order to get it back to its original glory and away they went on their mission. The rest of the group followed me to Beech Point where most of the work was to be done. The loop trail needed serious work including trimming the branches, removing tripping hazards and removing small plants on the trail. After a quick 3 hours, the trail started to come into focus. Their tireless effort was essential for the success of this project as we needed to move quickly in order to meet the deadline we set for ourselves. At the end of the day, the entire trail was nearly complete!
As with every project, there are always obstacles that come up. One obstacle for us was the realization that the first 150 feet of the trail was on city property! This meant we needed to cut a new entrance that was on ALT property so about 50 feet to the east of the original entrance. We needed our backup again! With no complaints and only excitement, our volunteers were ready for the task. Within three hours, the new trail was cut and trimmed. It looked amazing!
Mike Davis (left) and Bill Luther (right) installing steps.
Our final work party involved creating one step, placing down wood chips at the entrance trail, and installing the O’Donnell entrance sign. The installation of the O’Donnell sign was no easy task as each leg stands at 11 feet and weighs a lot, but it was no match against the volunteers that showed up that day. The work party began with one crew placing wood chips along the trail, another digging the holes for the entrance sign, and a final group creating the steps. After a few hours, the trail was filling in nicely as the wood chips replaced the squishy, uneven ground that posed a walking hazard to anyone exploring the property. This hard work required a lot of effort but was completely worth it in the end. The steps were assembled and made the trail more accessible for hikers. We gathered our full volunteer force for the final step to install the entrance sign. With five or six of us holding the sign in place, we ensured that it was level and ready for the cement. The cement was poured in along with the water. Within only a few minutes, the cement was already setting, and the sign was installed! What an amazing sight to see! After two months of hard work to get this preserve open, we were finally seeing the finished product!
Group of volunteers who helped install the entrance sign.
I can’t thank the ALT volunteers enough for all of the work that they put into opening this preserve to the public. It is because of you that all Attleboro residents can enjoy the natural environment and explore nature right in their backyard. What an amazing gift to give someone! Always remember the hard work that you put into this project and be proud of it! And finally, a huge thank you to all the volunteers that I was able to work with. I tried to remember everyone that I worked with but please forgive me if I forgot your name… I still appreciate you! Continue the amazing work that you all are doing and always remember the gift that you are giving to the Attleboro community! Best of luck to the ALT!
Thank you to all of you:
Phil Boucher, Kim Goff, Ken Drucker, Russ Prey, Mike Davis, Charlie Adler, Bonnie Moore, Elaine Rivera, Gary Krofta, Bill Luther, Brian Hatch, Tony Conca, Bill Lewis, Dave Rolince, Susan Davis, Cait Bamberry, Gabby Dias, Rick Lewis, Cliff Ennis, Dick Cheyne, Alan Henry, Monica O’Melia, Bruce Ingram, Bob Martin, Ross Mulcare