Congratulations to our Leading Hikers

Hike Trustees is our free monthly challenge to hike and explore Trustees reservations throughout the Commonwealth. We raise our hiking poles in salute to our 2022 Hike Trustees Challenge category leaders! Their accomplishments are inspiring: jechnojaba 1480.32 miles hiked

Ready to sign up for the 2023 Hike Trustees Challenge? Learn more and sign up at thetrustees.org/hiketrustees. And join the more than 10,000 people like you in our Trustees Hikers Facebook Group to get pointers and hear about favorite places to jechnojaba 623 hikes taken

Greathikes

Dear Members,

As Emily Dickinson so perfectly captures, “when March is scarcely here” we are treated to that clear light and those blue skies that only Spring can bring. It is in our human nature to feel this change of light as a lifting of the spirit and a curiosity about all the precious life being renewed around us each day.

On our fields and meadows, Trustees ecologists are bringing hope to precious species critical to our ability to maintain essential biodiversity: our pollinators. As you will read here, our ecologists are putting into action a four-year plan at World’s End, in partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, to actively improve the habitat for pollinators by removing invasive species and planting native species across that treasured landscape. This is just one of many such pollinator projects across the state.

There is new life in our historic houses, too. You’ll see us throwing open the doors and welcoming you to innovative tours and programs. Conservation work on these places—which involves meticulous research and loving restoration of everything from furniture to windows, paint, and wallpaper—has resulted in fresh and inviting gardens and interiors. Several houses will offer the opportunity to see key interior spaces for the first time—the “oh so 1960s” Folly at Field Farm will be holding tours soon, and the houses at both Long Hill and Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens (which opened for the first time in just the last couple of years) are showcasing new rooms and stories.

It is in our nature to be storytellers and some of our stories might surprise you. In this and upcoming issues of Special Places, we’ll be sharing a series of “In Our Nature” articles with you. Here you’ll find some fascinating peeks into our work to nurture creativity, strengthen community, encourage resilience, and kindle discovery—like those in this issue, where you’ll meet our agroecologist, Alejandro Brambila, and discover the whimsical ceramic tiles of Carol Janeway that are on display at Field Farm.

Please join us soon for a tour, an event, or just a quiet ramble with the birds of spring singing from the trees as that spring light filters through new leaves above. As ever, you have my heartfelt gratitude for your membership and support of the Trustees mission. I know I speak for the whole Trustees team when I say that we can’t wait to see you at our special places!

Warmly,

Nicie Panetta Interim President & CEO