Tag Archives: richardson

Help Clean Up the Richardson Preserve on April 27

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A Spring Clean-Up will be held on Saturday, April 27, at the Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve, 577B Wilmarth Street, Attleboro, from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon. Your participation will be welcomed, whether you have volunteered before or this is your first time.

Maintenance tasks will include:
— Raking up fallen branches in lawn areas
— Picking up trash
— Pruning along edges of lawns, hayfields, and street
— Removing invasive plants
— Weeding flower gardens

Tools needed may include:
— Standard rakes and leaf rakes
— Loppers, pruning shears, pruning saws, and other pruning tools
— Shovels
— String trimmers, weed whackers, brush cutters
— Chain saw
— Gardening tools

We will have some tools, but please bring what you have.

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.

Rain date is Sunday, April 28, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Any cancellations due to weather will be posted on this website.

Full Moon Hike

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Join us on Thursday January 25th for a full moon hike at the Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve. Beginning at 8 pm, ALT board members will lead a moonlit walk through the preserve. Dress warmly, including shoes that are waterproof, and bring a flashlight or headlamp. Walk is a little less than a mile! Short and sweet, but a great opportunity to see the full moon and its beauty!

Meet at parking lot at 577B Wilmarth Street.

Any cancellations due to weather conditions or overcast skies will be posted on our Facebook page.

Dogs not permitted at this event.

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.

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.

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.

Announcing Hike Attleboro Day

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The City of Attleboro, Attleboro Land Trust and Mass Audubon invite you to celebrate the City’s green spaces, public trails and special places on Saturday, July 17th at the first annual Hike Attleboro Day celebration. This fun and free community event is open to all, and encourages residents of all ages and abilities to get outdoors to explore and enjoy Attleboro’s miles of available trails. The Deborah and Roger Richardson Preserve, located at 577B Wilmarth Street, will serve as the event’s home base from 9am to 3pm and will offer a variety of Hike Attleboro community, wellness and conservation partner displays and activities for all to enjoy.

Event details can be found online at www.hikeattleboro.org and include a fun Selfie Scavenger Hunt, with points of interest that encourage participants to walk a variety of trails and post their selfies on social media using the #hikeattleboroday hashtag. Rain date for the event is Sunday, July 18th.

Selfie Scavenger Hunt Locations Revealed!

Visit: Hike Attleboro Day Selfie Scavenger Hunt – HIKE ATTLEBORO

A most agreeable feathered favourite

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Visitors to the Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve will notice something new:  six birdhouses designed specifically for Eastern Bluebirds.  This beautiful bird migrates south for the winter and returns in the spring.  The birdhouses were made by Scout Eric Carey in 2014 as part of an Eagle project and placed in the meadow at the Nickerson Walking Woods Preserve.  However, not many bluebirds took residence in them.

This year we decided to move the birdhouses to the Upper and Lower Hayfields at the Richardson Preserve, where bluebirds are more common.  (Thanks to the volunteers who made this happen!).


Male Eastern Bluebird – Photo by Lee R. DeHaan

John J. Audubon wrote admiringly of the bluebird as follows:  “It adds to the delight imparted by spring, and enlivens the dull days of winter. Full of innocent vivacity, warbling its ever pleasing notes, and familiar as any bird can be in its natural freedom, it is one of the most agreeable of our feathered favourites.”

In Memoriam: Don Ouellette

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Don Ouellette, a longtime advocate for the environment in Attleboro, passed away on January 26 after a long illness. Don served on the 2002 Open Space and Recreation Plan Committee, Ducks Unlimited, the board of the Attleboro Land Trust, and the Conservation Commission.

While Don and his wife Laura had been members and supporters of the land trust going back to at least 1997, Don was first elected to the Board of Directors in 2010. He became Chair of Land Acquisition later that year, serving in that position until 2017. He also served as Vice President from 2011 to 2016. Under Don’s leadership as acquisition chair, the land trust had a long string of successes in protecting additional land in the city. Nine properties totalling 197 acres were acquired and another 80 acres were put under a conservation restriction.

Don was perhaps proudest of the acquisition of the 63-acre Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve. This was by far the most complicated project in ALT history, requiring teams from the City, Mass Audubon, the ALT, and the Richardson family all working together to cross the finish line.

Charlie Wyman, Ted Leach, Don Ouellette, and Lauren Gordon on a 2014 site visit to what was to become the Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve.    Image credit: C. Adler

Don also left his mark on the partnership that has formed to promote Attleboro as an attractive place to live, work, play, and go hiking. Past ALT president Ted Leach, who launched the partnership, credits Don with coming up its slogan: “Hike Attleboro.” As Ted recalls, “Don suggested it during a meeting at City Hall with Mayor Kevin Dumas. It was an immediate hit with all present.”

We will remember Don, not only for his dedicated service to the land trust, but also for the personal warmth and enthusiasm he brought to his every endeavor.