Help the City clean up the Ten-Mile River! Join the 18th Annual City of Attleboro River Clean-up on Saturday October 26th. Meet at the Judith Robbins Riverfront Park at 8:00 AM to clean up around the River and the walking paths connected to the river. Event runs till 11:00 AM.
This event is POSTPONED to Sep. 23 30.
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 [email protected].
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:
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 [email protected] or by calling 508-223-3060 ext. 4.
Invasive species are organisms that are not native to an area, that tend to spread and displace native species, and that have harmful consequences for the environment. Invasive species include animals, plants, and even fungi. In the twentieth century, diseases caused by non-native fungi–accidentally introduced in North America–devastated elm and chestnut trees. Invasive gypsy moths have damaged many other local tree species.
Invasive trees and shrubs are common in our area and threaten to crowd out native plants–wreaking havoc with native ecosystems. The Attleboro Land Trust has launched an invasive removal project focusing on Larson Woodland. At four acres, this is one of our smaller nature preserves. This will serve as a demonstration project, and we hope to apply lessons learned to our other preserves.
A survey of the preserve was conducted by Gary Krofta and Phil Boucher, resulting in a map identifying the invasive species to be targeted and their locations. Longtime watershed protection advocate Don Doucette has been a key advisor. The project was kicked off on Saturday, November 23. Among the volunteers who pitched in was a contingent of Scouts from Attleboro Troop 15.
A good turnout of volunteers helped to remove invasive plant species at Larson Woodland on November 23, 2019. Image credit: C. Adler
Oriental bittersweet was removed from the banks of the Ten Mile River near the spillway. The bright red berries (once prized for their decorative value during the winter holidays) were bagged and will be burned to prevent propagation of new plants.
Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) is an invasive vine that originated in China. Image credit: C. Adler
Some large non-native honeysuckle bushes along Riverbank Road were also removed.
Scouts from Troop 15 removing an invasive honeysuckle bush at Larson Woodland. Image credit: C. Adler
Project work parties will continue in the spring. Some of the other species to be targeted are buckthorn, purple loosestrife, and Norway maple. We welcome more volunteers to help with the work.
Trail advocate Don Burn brought his vision to a full house at the Attleboro Land Trust’s annual meeting on October 22. Burn was the driving force behind a network of trails in Westborough, Massachusetts, known as the “Charm Bracelet.” His words helped to energize a similar effort underway locally dubbed “Hike Attleboro.” The Attleboro Land Trust, Mass Audubon, and the City of Attleboro each own and manage conservation lands with walking trails in the city. Hike Attleboro will use a common logo and roadside signs to direct residents to these trails.
The Westborough Charm Bracelet was driven by Burn’s vision to “Connect with trails every public open space parcel and recreation area in Westborough to every neighborhood and to the adjoining towns.” This neatly coincides with a similar vision in Attleboro’s 2011 Comprehensive Plan of walkable neighborhoods with public parks within a 10-minute walk.
Don Burn points out one of the benefits of walking in the woods. Image credit: Ken Salome
Burn touted the many benefits of walking trails, including research that indicates a strong connection between time spent in nature and reduced levels of stress and anxiety. He emphasized the importance of partnerships in attempting a project of the scale of the Charm Bracelet, which included participation by civic organizations, youth groups, businesses, landowners, developers, and many municipal boards and departments.
Hike Attleboro is now in the design stage. Volunteers with the following skills are needed: WordPress site development, computer graphics, GIS mapping, real estate, and civil engineering. Later stages will involve more on-site work involving evaluation of natural features and trail design. Contact us if you would like to get involved.
