Brockton High School Competes at Massachusetts Envirothon

By Outreach and Education Manager, Rachel Calderara

Wildlands Trust first started coaching an Envirothon team at Brockton High School in 2015 in partnership with science teacher Joyce Voorhis. Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of working with many bright and talented students at after school meetings as they study forestry, soils, water and wildlife, and research a current environmental issue impacting their community. Dozens of students attended club meetings throughout this school year and eight of the most dedicated students – all freshman and sophomores no less – went on to represent Brockton High and Wildlands Trust at the 2019 Massachusetts Envirothon Competition on Friday, May 17.

It was a rainy day at Sholan Farms in Leominster, but that didn’t stop swarms of poncho-wearing high school students from taking this outdoor competition by storm. The Brockton High School team started by impressing a panel of judges with their current issue presentation: “Abundant, Affordable, Healthy Food”, as it pertains to their city. They explored how Brockton might be able to help feed a growing population in a city where fresh food is not always accessible.

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Envirothon team members get “out in the field” at Langwater Farm in Easton.

Throughout the year, the team learned about this issue with the help of TerraCorps members Hayley Leonard and Alissa Young, Wildlands Education Manager Rachel Calderara, and teachers Joyce Voorhis and Melissa Kelly. They met with a variety of people in the city working towards increasing fresh food access for all, and volunteered at the Brockton High School community garden and at Langwater Farm in Easton. They turned their research into a well-rehearsed 15-minute presentation in the weeks leading up to the competition and now it was time to give it their all.

The team began the presentation with an overview of their city’s landscape and demographics, pointing out that in the most highly populated neighborhoods, the average income is lower than the national average, and there is very limited access to fresh food. They discussed the importance of the volunteer-run Community Garden Network in Brockton, which their school’s garden belongs to, as well as the significance of Brockton’s newly adopted Urban Agriculture Plan. They ended with recommendations for city officials and their big hopes and dreams for increasing food access and production in Brockton.

The judges were impressed with the team’s work and encouraged them to keep advocating for the cause. This summer, the students will be volunteering at their school’s community garden to help harvest and donate the produce grown there, with hopes of expanding garden educational programming next spring to the larger student body at Brockton High.

Our young team made us proud this year. Although it was most of their first times at Envirothon (we had one returner from last year’s team) they gave the competition their all. After the current issue presentation, the team split up to take hands-on field tests in soil, water, wildlife and forestry. They measured and identified trees, classified soil horizons and textures, tested and analyzed water quality, and identified wildlife tracks, pelts, and skulls. At the end of the day, Brockton took home 5th place in the water category!

The Massachusetts Envirothon is one of the most formative environmental programs available for high school students in our state and we at Wildlands Trust could not be more proud to be a part of it. We look forward to working with these students again next year as they continue to learn about our shared environment and begin their research on water resources for next year’s competition.

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The 2019 Brockton High School Envirothon team.

Wildlands Keeps Brockton Beautiful

By Hayley Leonard, Community Engagement Coordinator

Saturday, April 27, Wildlands Trust partnered with the city of Brockton for their annual ‘Keep Brockton Beautiful Day’. The day is an opportunity for community members to come together with the shared goal of cleaning up trash throughout the city, culminating with an afternoon cookout for those that volunteer. This year marks the second year that Wildlands Trust has participated in the event, the first being in 2012 when Wildlands first acquired Brockton Audubon Preserve.

The weather didn’t discourage our dedicated group of volunteers.

Early that morning, despite the dreary conditions, a crew of 11 Brockton residents came together to help Wildlands Trust staff and AmeriCorps members clean up trash from Stone Farm and Brockton Audubon Preserves. These properties are some of the last intact parcels of open space left in the city and together they total about 240 acres. Armed with gloves, trash pickers and bags provided by the city, we made our way into the most littered areas of the properties. We spent almost three hours cleaning and removed around 20 bags worth of trash by the end of the morning. With everyone’s help, we were even able to clear out some larger items that had been there for quite some time, such as a broken flat screen television, an old tire and what remained of a spring mattress.

Volunteers wrap-up after spending three hours cleaning the properties.

Local clean-up efforts tie into Wildlands’ mission of connecting residents with their natural environments – what better way to build a connection with a place than to help care for it? As a heavily urbanized area, residents of Brockton have fewer opportunities to explore natural spaces than those in the surrounding towns of Plymouth County. Events like this are an important addition to the work Wildlands Trust is already doing in Brockton with Greening the Gateway Cities and the Brockton High School Envirothon Team because they provide residents with the opportunity to actively engage with and learn about their environment, and understand how it connects to other aspects of their lives.

Welcome to our new AmeriCorps Member, Hayley Leonard!

Hayley Leonard has joined Wildlands Trust for 11 months of AmeriCorps service in the Massachusetts-based TerraCorps program. As a TerraCorps Community Engagement Coordinator, Hayley will build the capacity of Wildlands Trust by developing meaningful and inclusive educational programming for adults and teens in our region. Hayley is a recent graduate of the University of Maine where she earned her Bachelor of Science in ecology & environmental sciences. During her undergraduate career, she spent her summers interning for Earthwatch Institute and working at a 4-H camp on Cape Cod. Wildlands is excited to welcome her to the team and we look forward to seeing what another great service year will bring!

Eagle Project Enhances Wildlands' Preserves

By Stewardship Manager, Erik Boyer

John Schelling, second from right, and the rest of Troop 1620 install one of four recently built benches.

Eagle Scout candidate, John Schelling from Plymouth Troop 1620, recently completed the construction and installation of four benches at South Triangle Preserve in Plymouth and the Gleason Family Preserve in Wareham for his Eagle Scout Service Project. Eagle Projects, a requirement to obtain the rank of Eagle Scout, provide a Scout with the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and planning skills by choosing a project that meets a needs of the community. Wildlands has worked with numerous Scouts over the years who have chosen to complete their Eagle Project with us. Past projects include: building water crossings, picnic tables, benches, new trails and mini kiosks.

One of the four benches recently built by Plymouth Troop 1620.

Two of the benches completed for John's project went to South Triangle, one was installed about a half mile into the trail system and the other overlooking Triangle Pond. At the Gleason Family Preserve, the remining two benches were installed at locations overlooking Mark’s Cove.

John has taken part in Wildlands' Green Team for the last two summers, including this summer, and has volunteered a number of times with us. We would like to thank John for both his hard work and the great leadership he exhibited throughout the project and wish him the best of luck in all of his future endeavors

Two Days, Twelve Hikers, Twenty-three Miles Trekked

By Outreach and Education Manager, Rachel Calderara

You may not think of long-distance hiking when you think of Southeastern Massachusetts, but here at Wildlands Trust we have a unique opportunity to showcase the potential for such an adventure. Two major factors make longer treks possible in our area: connectivity of protected lands across Plymouth County that weave a trail-studded landscape and “Trail Guy” Malcolm MacGregor who maps and hikes these long-distance routes. This year, Wildlands hosted our second annual “Big Ramble”, a two-part hike of 20+ miles. Last June, we traversed a 22-mile hike from the Plymouth Town Forest to Maple Springs Wildlife Management Area in Wareham. This year, Malcolm led us through 23 miles of trails in Plymouth from the top of the geographic Pine Hills to Abner Pond in the Myles Standish State Forest. 

Day One: Sunday, June 10, 2018

The Day One crew begins a series of steep hills in South Plymouth

On a beautiful spring day with temperatures peaking in the mid 60s, 11 hikers and three Wildlands Trust staff members set forth from the Cleft Rock parking area atop the geographic Pine Hills for a 12-mile trek to the Davis-Douglas Farm (DDF), Wildlands Trust's headquarters on Long Pond Rd. While it is “all downhill  from here” at the top of route 3A, we were in for a series of ups and downs as we got closer to DDF. First, we traversed the trails atop the Pine Hills, hitting the highest point in Plymouth and the second highest point on the eastern coastline. From there, we descended into the Town of Plymouth’s newly acquired “Tidmarsh West” conservation area off Beaver Dam Road, then across the road into Mass Audubon’s newest preserve, Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary. These two large tracts of land are important links for cross-town treks, not to mention one of the biggest ecological restoration projects in Massachusetts’ history.

From Tidmarsh, a quick jaunt through a subdivision brought us onto the trails at the Town of Plymouth’s Beaver Dam Conservation Area, a wooded preserve along the shores of Little Island and Great Island Ponds, and lead us to Old Sandwich Road. About 8 miles in at this point, the hills begin. Steep inclines and declines characterize the next 2-3 miles, bringing us to Ship Pond Road, over Route 3 and onto the trails of Wildlands Trust’s Emery Preserve. The last mile was leisurely as an exhausted group finally arrived at Davis-Douglas Farm and gave thanks for the perfect weather and company.

The Day One crew atop the geographic Pine Hills

Day Two: Sunday, June 17, 2018

Mother Nature was not so forgiving on this day, one of the last of spring and one of the first to break 80 degrees. A smaller group hit the trails this time, 5 hikers and 3 staff, for the final 11 miles starting at Davis-Douglas Farm and ending at Abner Pond at Camp Cachalot in Myles Standish State Forest. From DDF, the group started with an easy walk on some neighborhood roads to get to Halfway Pond Conservation Area, 400+ acres owned and managed by Wildlands Trust. Hiking up the trails at Gallows Pond, across Mast Road and halfway around Gramp’s Loop, a sudden left brought us into Myles Standish State Forest. From here on, we were immersed in true pine barrens, a plant community characterized by gnarly pitch pine and scrub oak that offered little shade for the next 7-8 miles.

The Day Two Crew finds relief in the bits of shade that White Pines provide

Hiking through a breathtaking landscape of historical significance, the group made their way south through the pine barrens, around pond shores, along open cutter fields and onto the Mass. Division of Fish and Game lands at Camp Cachalot. At the end of these hot, tiresome 11 miles, Malcolm was ready to turn around and hike back. The rest of us found relief in the air-conditioned environments of our cars as we drove off, tired but accomplished, looking forward to a summer of adventure on the trails.

The Day Two Crew at the end of 11 miles for the day and 23 miles overall. Trail Guy Malcolm MacGregor is on the far right.

Without Malcolm’s interest and expertise in trail mapping and navigation, and his willingness to lead these hikes for us at Wildlands, organizing the Big Ramble would be challenging at best. We are thankful for his unparalleled volunteerism with Wildlands Trust. Malcolm leads shorter hikes for Wildlands on a monthly basis, so check out our events page to join the Trail Guy on his next adventure!

Looking to join Wildlands on a long hike this year? Mark your calendars for October 13 when OkTRAILberfest returns for a day of hiking, music and festival fun at Davis-Douglas Farm. Tickets go on sale late summer at wildlandstrust.org!