Category Archives: TAKING A WALK

Visitors are attracted to our nature preserves to pursue a variety of outdoor activities. What all these activities have in common are the health benefits and pure enjoyment of being in the presence of nature.

Group of people in summer clothes standing near trees.

Beholding the Beauty of Trees

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Recently, Attleboro Land Trust board member and horticulturalist Phil Boucher led a group of enthusiastic learners on a “Beholding the Beauty of Trees” walk at Richardson Nature Preserve. The group heard about Red/Black and White Oaks, the suffocating threat of bittersweet vine, and how trees of different species may communicate with and support each through their root systems. Many thanks to Phil for generously sharing his time and knowledge, it was so fun to hear his stories about the evolution of the site’s gardens as well as learn more about the native roots and branches!

Please join us for one of our upcoming nature walks! Check our our schedule of events here.

Phil Boucher holding a tree branch.

Phil Boucher shows off the trees at Richardson Nature Preserve.    Image credit: Catherine Johnson-Roehr

Richardson Nature Preserve.    Image credit: Catherine Johnson-Roehr

Man and woman admiring conifer trees.

Beholding the beauty of trees at Richardson Nature Preserve.    Image credit: Catherine Johnson-Roehr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trail Camera Observations at the Lawrence Preserve

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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

Orange butterfly in green plants.

Meet Us Outside!

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The Attleboro Land Trust has organized several summer and fall outings. Please join us for one or more of these free events to learn more about the natural world nearby!

Nature Walk through the Lawrence Wildlife Preserve

Naturalist Gary Krofta will guide us through this South Attleboro property along the Seven Mile River, home to red-winged blackbirds, cattails, and colorful wildflowers. Join us for this FREE event on Saturday, August 15, 2026, 9:00 to 10:30 AM (rain date August 16,1:30 PM). Meet at Lawrence Wildlife Preserve, 45 Hope Avenue, Attleboro. Note: street parking is available, but please do not block driveways or mailboxes.

Introduction to Birdwatching
Have you ever wondered which birds make the sounds you hear in the woods or who comes to your birdfeeder? JR Johnson-Roehr will show us how to identify native birds and migratory species on their autumn travels. Note: bring binoculars if you have them. Join us for this FREE event on Saturday, September 19, 2026, 7:30 to 9:00 AM (rain date September 20, same time). Meet at Richardson Nature Preserve, 577B Wilmarth Street, Attleboro.

Larson Woodland – Where Nature and History Intersect

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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

Preview of what’s to come

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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.

Walk the Charron Farm Preserve on August 9

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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.

Summer Color

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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

 

The Month of May

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Peony at Richardson Preserve, May 2021.

Trillium at Richardson Preserve, May 2021.

Pink lady’s slipper (Cypripedium acaule) at Vaughan Memorial Forest, May 2014.

Violets at Vaughan Memorial Forest, May 2014.

Dogwood at Colman Reservation, May 2014.

Bluet (Houstonia caerulea) at Leach Sanctuary, May 2014.

Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor) at Lawrence Preserve, May 2009.

Wild oats or sessile bellwort (Uvularia sessilifolia) with wood anemone (Anemone quinquefolia) in background at Lawrence Preserve, May 2007.

Annual Meeting on November 19 to Feature Wildlife Observations

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Wheaton Professor Jessie Knowlton, with her students at the Anthony Lawrence Wildlife Preserve

You are invited to attend the 35th annual meeting of the Attleboro Land Trust:

Tuesday, November 19
Murray Unitarian Universalist Church
505 North Main Street, Attleboro

The meeting will begin at 6:30 pm with the traditional social gathering with light refreshments, followed at 7:00 pm by the business meeting and keynote address.

We are excited to have Jessie Knowlton, Associate Professor of Biology at Wheaton College, deliver our keynote:  “A Year in the Life of the Lawrence Preserve.”

Professor Knowlton will be discussing the one-year scientific study of our Anthony Lawrence Wildlife Preserve that began this summer and share the observations that her team from Wheaton and our local “citizen scientists” have made to date.  Her presentation will include photos and video from a remotely-triggered wildlife camera, including deer, wood ducks, a coyote, and a bobcat.

This project, which will lead to recommendations for protecting the Lawrence Preserve ecosystem, is supported by a Giving While Living Grant from the Woodard & Curran Foundation.

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

If you have donated $25 or more in the past year, you are automatically considered a member.  If you have donated $50 or more in the past year, two adult members of your household are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. Members should have received a notice of the meeting by U.S. mail.  If you donate now, your membership will not expire until December 31, 2025.