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Make Arbor Day Last All Year Long!

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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 

MLK Day Event to be co-sponsored by ALT

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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!

Annual Meeting on November 16

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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.

Volunteers invited to help with maintenance at Richardson Preserve on Oct. 28

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Our next work party will be on Saturday, October 28, at the Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve, 577B Wilmarth Street, Attleboro, from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon.  If you are available, we would welcome your help, whether you are a seasoned volunteer, or this is your first time volunteering for the Attleboro Land Trust.

Various “housekeeping” tasks will include:
–Cleaning mildew off the sides of the Barrows House
–Raking up the seed husks that have fallen from the Chinese chestnut tree
–Sweeping leaves off the boardwalks
–Cleaning out the leaf matter that has built up between the slats of the boardwalks
–Washing grime off the trailside signs
–Touching up areas with peeling paint on the Barrows House and some signs

We will have tools and supplies, but please feel free to bring anything you think might be helpful, including containers of water for some of the cleaning tasks, as the site has no running water.

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

Volunteers under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Charron Farm Work Party Postponed to Oct. 1

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Due to the rainy weather forecast, the work party at Charron Farm Preserve is postponed from Sept. 24 to Sunday, October 1, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm.

Volunteer help is needed to dig post holes for boundary markers and regulation signs.  Also, trees and shrubs need to be trimmed along the edges of the hayfields.

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.
Stop next to the open field on your right, just after the recently-constructed home at 41 Morse Avenue.
Park on the edge of the road.
(Don’t rely on Google Maps, which mislabels part of Morse Ave. as Gillette Ave.)

Tools needed include:
— Loppers, pruning shears, pruning saws, and other pruning tools
— Pole saws
— String trimmers, weed whackers, brush cutters
— Tarps
— Chain saw
— Shovels
— Post hole diggers

We will have some tools, but please bring what you have.  If anyone has a mechanical auger, please let us know in advance by contacting:  attleborolandtrust@gmail.com

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.

It’s Time to Update the City’s Open Space and Recreation Plan – NEW DATE

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The City of Attleboro needs to update its Open Space and Recreation Plan. Citizens are invited to attend a public workshop at Attleboro City Hall, 77 Park Street, on Thursday, , at 6:30 pm. At this workshop, attendees will join in small groups to generate recommendations for actions the City should be taking to protect open space and to provide recreational opportunities.  (This event was originally scheduled for Sept. 13 but was not held on that date due to weather.)
More information at:  attleboroosrp.com

Celebrate 25 Years of Community Gardening on Sept. 16

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Join us in celebrating the Attleboro Community Garden’s 25th anniversary on Saturday, September 16. The event is free and open to the public.  It will run from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

Due to flooding at the Garden earlier this week and impending inclement weather, the event will be held at the Attleboro Public Library, 74 North Main Street.

The afternoon all-ages program will include:

  • 1:15 “Save Seeds- Save for the Future and Save the Past” presentation by Master Gardener Kathi Gariepy.
  • 2:00 “Preserving Your Harvest” presentation by Modern Homestead & Gardens founder Danielle Cournoyer.
  • A garden-themed drop-in painting activity for children will run from 1:00 to 2:30.
  • 2:40 A program celebrating the Garden’s achievements will take place.

Throughout the event:

  • Gardening information table
  • Raffles and light refreshments

For more information contact attleborocommunitygarden@gmail.com

Site Stewards Wanted

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The Attleboro Land Trust is seeking volunteers who would like to serve as site stewards by “adopting” one of its nature preserves and helping to care for it.  The duties of a site steward are to walk their property once a month, pick up litter, report vandalism, and help with routine trail maintenance.

A site steward may be an individual or a group, such as a group of neighbors, church group, youth group, or fraternal organization.

For more information on the site steward program, members of the public are invited to attend an orientation led by Charlie Adler, chair of the land trust’s property management committee, at the Richardson Preserve, 577B Wilmarth Street, on Sunday, July 23 at 1:00 pm.  The orientation will include a walk around the preserve, a discussion of the challenges faced by an all-volunteer organization managing over 500 acres of conservation land, and time for questions.

If you can’t attend the orientation, but are interested in becoming a site steward, email the Attleboro Land Trust at attleborolandtrust@gmail.com.

Meet Woody the Beech Tree

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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.”