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.
Meet Woody the Beech Tree
For those of you who did not attend the Family Tree Day and meet Woody the Talking Beech Tree, you can still see Woody by walking to the end of the Beech Point trail at the O’Donnell Nature Preserve on Bishop Street. Parking is available at Finberg Field.
Here is a recording of what Woody said on Family Tree Day.
“My name is Woodrow, but you can call me Woody. That’s what my friends call me. We trees don’t normally talk like humans. Sometimes you can hear us whisper, with a little help from the wind.”
“You may have noticed that we Beech trees love to show off. When you walk through the woods in the middle of winter you’ll notice that all of the other trees have dropped their leaves on the ground–well, except for a few oaks. But it’s us well-dressed Beech trees that stand out in the forests of New England, our leaves tinted beige as the winter light passes through them.”
“When I reach old age, my bark becomes brittle, and my branches are bare, I may remain standing for years, providing shelter for a woodpecker looking for a place to carve out a home and raise a family.”
Attleboro Land Trust presents Family Tree Day
Weather Update: As of Friday evening, we are still planning to hold this event as scheduled from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm on Saturday.
Bring the family for fresh air, fun and games. Take home a sapling tree to plant in your yard. Learn about the importance of preserving open space, and the many hiking trails right here in Attleboro. This event is free and open to the public in celebration of Arbor Day. All are welcome!
Featured at this event:
- Kids’ hike and scavenger hunt with prizes
- Walk the trail at the nearby O’Donnell Nature Preserve
- Meet Woody, the Talking Tree
- Learn about rain gardens and pollinator plants
- Take a sapling tree to plant in your yard (we’ll show you how!)
- Play our local wildlife game
- Ice cream coupons from co-sponsor Bliss Dairy
- Enter to win a tree from co-sponsor Cryan Landscape
Eagle Project Breaks New Ground
The Handy Street Conservation Area is an 80-acre parcel of land purchased by the City of Attleboro in 2014 with the involvement of the Attleboro Land Trust and Mass Audubon, and a substantial grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. There are trails crisscrossing the area, making it easy to get lost on the property. The Attleboro Land Trust has designated a main trail route that utilizes some of the existing paths to form a loop, beginning and ending at the main entrance on Handy Street.

Scout Jason Zenofsky (right) with crew installing signposts at the Handy Street Conservation Area. Image credit: C. Adler
Scout Jason Zenofsky of Troop 61 in Norton has completed an Eagle project that involved the installation of directional signposts at 33 trail junctions along the route. Digging holes to a depth of two feet for each of these posts was challenging, to say the least. Sometimes the problem was large rocks. At other times the Scouts hit hardpan, which is soil that has hardened like concrete and has to be chipped away with a heavy iron bar in the shape of a chisel. Thankfully, Jason and his crew persevered, and the signposts were all installed.

Scout Jason Zenofsky (next to signpost) with his crew after installation of 33 signposts at the Handy Street Conservation Area. Image credit: C. Adler
In the spring, the ALT will put the finishing touches on the trail, which will be named in memory of Larry St. Pierre, who served as ALT president from 1991 to 1994 and 1997 to 2001. A temporary map of the trail is available here.
Wildlife at the Richardson Preserve
These photos were recently submitted to us by John Nunziato, long-time photographer and newcomer to the Richardson Preserve.
Seniors Visit Richardson
The Attleboro Council on Aging Hiking Group visited the Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve on June 22. The popular weekly event is coordinated by Juliet Teixeira, vice president of the Attleboro Land Trust (in the green Hike Attleboro T-shirt).

Hikers on the Wyman Loop Trail as it crosses the Lower Hayfield at the Richardson Preserve.
For more information, contact the Larson Senior Center at 774-203-1906.
A spot of mid-winter color
Even in the middle of winter, an observant hiker can be rewarded with a spot of color while walking on one of the Attleboro Land Trust’s nature preserves. This is British Soldier lichen, Cladonia cristatella, photographed in February, 2007, at the Nickerson Walking Woods Preserve. The species gets its name because of the red caps that are a reminder of the red coats worn by British soldiers at the time of the American Revolution.
Like many lichen, this lichen is actually a combination of fungus and algae living in a symbiotic relationship. The fungus provides structure for the algae, while the algae turns sunlight into food which is shared with the fungus. The red caps contain reproductive spores.
Holly trees at the Richardson Preserve signal the approach of the holiday season
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.