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In Memory of Millie

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Millie Bauer, a longstanding member of the board of directors of the Attleboro Land Trust, passed away on March 13.  Millie and her husband Reverend Everett Bauer joined the board in 1995. After Everett’s death in 2000, Millie continued to be an active and engaged board member for another 10 years.  While on the board she served as secretary for 11 years.

Millie’s passion for the environment and for her community were an inspiration to others.  Among her many achievements on behalf of the land trust was “2000 Trees for 2000”–a project she and Joanne Wright completed to mark the millennial by distributing 2000 trees for planting by area residents.

We would like to send out our condolences to Millie’s family and friends, and to all whom she touched during her productive 96 years on the planetary home for which she cared so much.

https://www.hathawayfunerals.com/obituary/MildredH-Bauer

Attleboro Land Trust Board of Directors at a strategic planning retreat, November 6, 2010

Learn More About the Attleboro Land Trust on March 1

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On Wednesday, March 1, at 7:00 pm, the public is invited to attend a program that will provide an introduction to the land conservation work of the Attleboro Land Trust.

The program will give some background on the founding of the non-profit organization in 1990, describe the various public walking trails available on its 492 acres of conservation land, and explain how citizens can get involved to help maintain trails, save more land, and ensure that the organization continues to thrive.

The meeting will be held in the Balfour Room at the Attleboro Public Library, 74 North Main Street, Attleboro.

Some volunteers serve as site stewards by “adopting” one of the Attleboro Land Trust nature preserves, individually or with a group, such as a group of neighbors, church group, youth group, or fraternal organization. The duties of a site steward are to:

  • Walk the property on a regular basis
  • Pick up litter
  • Report vandalism
  • Help with routine trail maintenance
  • Assist with special projects

Volunteers are also needed to help with educational outreach, fundraising, social media, real estate transactions, boundary monitoring, and event planning.

For more information, contact Charlie Adler by emailing attleborolandtrust@gmail.com or by calling 508-223-3060 ext. 4.

Another Eagle Project Benefits the Attleboro Land Trust

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The Attleboro Land Trust recently benefitted from the completion of an Eagle project by Scout James Schwab of Troop 25 in Attleboro.  James and his crew constructed three bulletin boards and installed one at each of these properties:  the Leach Sanctuary, the Anthony Lawrence Wildlife Preserve, and the Nickerson Walking Woods Preserve.  The bulletin boards will be used to post trail maps, trail regulations, and other information about the properties.  We appreciate the hard work that went into this project.

James Schwab and crew installing a new bulletin board at the Leach Wildlife Sanctuary.    Image credit: C. Adler

Eagle Project Breaks New Ground

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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.

Seniors Visit Richardson

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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.

Eagle Candidate Closes the Loop at the Colman Reservation

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For almost three decades, the trail at the Colman Reservation was an “out and back” trail.  Visitors entering the property from the parking lot on Steere Street could walk to the Giant Hemlock, or further, but to get back to parking lot they had to turn around and go back they way they came.  All that has changed with the completion of a new section of trail that makes it possible to hike a loop that begins and ends at Steere Street.

The design and clearing of the trail was spearheaded by Dave Rolince, who volunteers as a site steward for the Colman Reservation.  Because the new trail crosses wetlands, several boardwalks were necessary.  Starting in the fall of 2021, Scout Zachary Dorrance of Troop 25 carried out an Eagle project that involved constructing the boardwalks.

Zachary assembled a crew of volunteers that did the bulk of the construction work last November.  He returned with his crew in April to finish the boardwalks and make other trail improvements.  Zachary also organized a fundraiser to cover the costs of materials for the project.

The Attleboro Land Trust is grateful to Zachary and his volunteers for the hard work they put into this much-appreciated improvement to the Colman Reservation.

Eagle project enhances three ALT preserves

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Eagle candidate Felicity Norlin of Troop 1846 recently completed an Eagle project that involved construction of bulletin boards at the trail entrances for three Attleboro Land Trust nature preserves.  Felicity is shown in the center of the above photograph surrounded by her volunteer crew of Scouts, adult leaders, family, and friends, at the entrance to the Joseph and Margaret O’Donnell Nature Preserve.

A second bulletin board, shown above, was installed at Vaughan Memorial Forest.  The third bulletin board was installed at the Colman Reservation.

Bulletin boards have been on the land trust wishlist for a while and we thank Felicity and her crew for fulfilling this need.

A spot of mid-winter color

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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.

Timing Is Everything: A Talk by Climate Scientist Tara K. Miller

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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!

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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.