Trustees | Special Places | Spring 2021

SPRING 2021 VOLUME 29 NO. 1

FOR MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS OF THE TRUSTEES

Vision Inspiration Hope Celebrating lasting legacies

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NEWS FROM ACROSS THE STATE

Trustees in Talks to Protect Historic Becket Quarry

BE A TRUSTEES VOLUNTEER Join our volunteer team and make an impact!

Opportunities in: Horticulture Ecology Curatorial

A Season of Change at Monument Mountain

Agriculture Coast Stewardship and more!

The 320 acres of Becket Historic Quarry and Forest, in the upland Berkshire County town of Becket, host remarkable scenery—splendid ©TRUSTEES woodlands, breathtaking cliffs, and a plethora of fascinating remnants of Western Massachusetts’ industrial history: winches, vehicles, and other rusted-away heavy equipment from when crews quarried prized Chester Blue granite here from the 1860s to 1940s. In 1999, after a proposal to once again excavate the site for Boston’s infamous Big Dig, the Becket Land Trust mobilized to purchase and protect the property, blazing trails and turning it into a cherished destination. But today, with as many as 14,000 visitors a year straining the land trust’s all-volunteer staff, Trustees is on the verge of stepping in to take over ownership and management of the quarry. “The Trustees is going to be much better equipped and has the expertise to manage the property in a far better way,” says Ken Smith, President of Becket Land Trust. The quarry’s diverse character makes for an intriguing potential reservation for The Trustees. “It will be unique in our portfolio in terms of its industrial history,” says David Santomenna, Trustees’ Associate Director of Land Conservation.

“And it isn’t simply more protected acreage: this is a place that the public has demonstrated it will want to visit and engage.” In order to complete the transfer to The Trustees, however, the Becket Land Trust must finance a $200,000 stewardship fund. As Smith says, “This is not a property that’s currently protected in perpetuity: it’s still at risk, and that’s why it’s so important for us to be successful.” For more information and to provide support for protecting this important landscape, visit becketlandtrust.org or the “Conserve the Historic Becket Quarry and Forest” GoFundMe page.

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Trustees volunteers are a group of people like you who love the special places of Massachusetts and want to work to protect them. We have virtual and in-person opportunities for volunteers with all types of skills, experiences, and interests.

To see all opportunities and locations, sign up, or get more information, visit:

volunteer.thetrustees.org

This spring, several notable, long-awaited changes are arriving to Monument Mountain.

First, Trustees is taking steps to emphasize the Great Barrington property’s connections ©TOM WALSH:VIA CC BY-SA 3.0 to the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohicans, whose heritage on the property—evinced in the sacred stone monument believed to have inspired the mountain’s anglicized name—remains a source of pride and cultural significance. Along with changing the names of Squaw Peak and Indian Monument Trail to Peeskawso Peak and Mohican Monument Trail, respectively, the mountain will feature interpretive materials that offer more information on the Indigenous peoples who have called the land home for thousands of years before being displaced by European colonists. “We’ve been meeting with [the tribe] on a regular basis, seeing how we can better tell their stories and the stories of Indigenous peoples at our sites, and these efforts came out of those discussions,” says Brian Cruey, Trustees Director of Southern Berkshires Portfolio. “This has helped us bring together a lot of changes we’ve wanted to make at the mountain for a long time”—changes which also include the adjacent Flag Rock property, acquired from a local landowner several years ago to foster more access from the Housatonic River side of the mountain. This addition will debut a parking area, new trails, and a path linking to Monument Mountain, creating a contiguous hiking experience.

©RENDERING COURTESY JULIE MOIR MESSERVY

Long Hill to Unveil New Gardens, Updates The much-anticipated revitalization of the public gardens at Long Hill is beginning to take shape. Visitors will enjoy the results of the first phase of work at the iconic Beverly property, which is planned to open this summer. Long Hill is the second—along with Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens in North Andover (see story, page 4)—of two

revered Trustees gardens being rejuvenated through a significant multi-year investment.

The master plan for Long Hill enhances horticultural education and engaging visitor experiences across its gardens, historic house, meadows, and woodland trails.

Initial work in 2020 included rediscovering the original expansive views from its

hilltop setting. Unveiling this year will be an exciting new garden room designed by renowned Landscape Architect Julie Moir Messervy, along with a newly planted pergola and brick terrace to be used for private events and educational programming.

Trustees is also excited to be refurbishing the elegant English-style country house, which will be opened to visitors for the first time later this year. Further improvements throughout the property include revitalizing the world-renowned Sedgwick Gardens, new visitor amenities, and a rich menu of public events to explore and spotlight the beauty of the gardens, horticulture, and nature. To learn more and find updates to the progress of the transformation, visit thetrustees.org/ longhill.

Hike Trustees Returns— with New Challenges, Prizes Get ready to Hike Trustees! Our annual hiking program returns after a year’s hiatus—with all new challenges, motivations, and rewards. Whether you’ve recently discovered the wonders of our 400+ miles of trails throughout the state, or you’ve been strolling, sauntering, ambling, scrambling, or jogging our reservations for many years, there’s something for you in the new Hike Trustees. Beginning in April, we’re offering monthly challenges to see how far you can go, how many sites you can visit, or how many hikes you can take. Each month prizes are awarded and the counters are reset— join when you can and give Hike Trustees a try at your own pace, no matter your time

commitment. Prizes are awarded at intervals of achievement: notch 25 miles, hikes, or sites and you’ll receive a car sticker; reach 50 and

100 miles, hikes, or sites and an embroidered patch commemorating your achievement will be on its way. And we’re offering a yearly challenge as well, with these and bigger prizes for achieving even higher milestones.

Participate for a month, try a couple of months, sign up for the yearly challenge… whatever works for you. Our goal is for the new Hike Trustees to be a program that you can participate in at whatever level suits you, for whatever time frame you choose, whether you’re a casual hiker for enrichment and health, an avid outdoorsperson, or even a die-hard competitor. And there’s a Facebook group (Trustees Hikers) you can join to get tips and suggestions from our growing community of hikers like you. Visit hiketrustees.org for all of the new 2021 program details, find out about the prizes you can win, and sign up today. Our trails await!

New Book Highlights Castle Hill History Set against the sapphire backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean, Castle Hill on the Crane Estate in Ipswich is a spectacular designed landscape of considerable size and beauty and home to one of America’s great estates. A new, beautifully illustrated and practical guide book provides the history and context of the stunning country estate of plumbing magnate Richard T. Crane, Jr. and his family, one of The Trustees’ most iconic landscapes. Castle Hill on the Crane Estate includes details of the Great House, designed by architect David Adler in 1928, and its period furnishings, along with the estate’s marvelous natural features and extensive gardens designed by some of the century’s most notable landscape architects. Written by journalist and author Anna Kasabian, with additional text and research by Trustees curatorial and interpretation staff members, the 64-page book is filled with many contemporary and historic photographs that have never been published before. Castle Hill on the Crane Estate is now available for purchase at the Trustees online store, shopthetrustees.org.

SPRING 2021

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CONTENTS

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A Garden Grows

08

Barbara J. Erickson

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Full Dune Rising

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Ah, Spring!

14

Exhibitions on View

15

Ruins Reborn

16

Grow Your Own

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Statewide Map

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ICYMI #thetrustees

New era begins at Stevens-Coolidge

In remembrance

Coastal resiliency on the Islands

Things to do this season

New this spring at deCordova and Fruitlands

Castle Hill’s Rose Garden returns

Inspiration for your home garden

Saving special places for 130 years

Spring favorites from our Instagram followers

ON THE COVER: STEVENS-COOLIDGE HOUSE & GARDENS, NORTH ANDOVER. ©CRISTEN FARRELL PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO OF BARBARA ERICKSON, ABOVE ©TRUSTEES

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©SHUN LIANG PHOTOGRAPHY

Dear Members: As many of you are aware, in January our President & CEO Barbara Erickson passed away from cancer. We are grateful for your support of The Trustees as we mourn Barbara’s passing—she was an extraordinary leader, colleague, and friend. We have been moved by the condolences, kindness, thoughts, and memories you have shared with us. Thank you— we will treasure them.

Barbara will be remembered not only for her powerful vision and aspirations for The Trustees but also as a truly remarkable person. A passionate conservationist, she also recognized our place in the moment of this storied 130-year-old organization. She understood that to succeed in keeping our places open for everyone, forever, meant engaging more people in our mission and ensuring the next generation of conservationists will be there to take our places.

Barbara set a bold and dynamic course for us to follow. Her leadership, vibrant life, and legacy are shared throughout the pages of this issue and in aspects of every one of our reservations. While we will feel her presence throughout The Trustees for years to come, we will honor her by carrying forward the momentum she established and by continuing to respond to the challenges and opportunities around us.

I am honored to have been named Acting President & CEO while Barbara was on medical leave and I will continue in this capacity while the Board of Directors takes on the daunting task of searching for our next leader. In the meantime, I speak on behalf of the staff and volunteers in assuring you, our Members, that we are all committed to maintaining our strong and stable foundation and we are united around our ongoing strategic plan and, always, our mission.

This issue of Special Places is full of news and updates about our public gardens—especially timely for spring and a future beyond pandemic that looks brighter every day. A particular passion of Barbara’s was our beloved gardens—from the lasting legacies established by their previous owners and the designers and craftspeople who built them, to her desire to elevate our gardens for the benefit and enjoyment of all. Shortly after her arrival, she launched the Cultural Resources Campaign to fund, among other things, the restorations of the iconic gardens of Naumkeag and Castle Hill, as well as a new department of staff specialists in horticulture.

The work to rejuvenate and transform more of our beloved gardens continues to this day—the Rose Garden at the Crane Estate was completed and re-opened just last fall (see page 15 for more details), masterful work has been accomplished at StevensCoolidge House & Gardens (pages 4-7) as it re-opens after a multi-year revitalization in April, and work is ongoing to reimagine Long Hill in Beverly. We hope you will join us at one of these gardens this spring.

I am reminded that even in a pandemic, nature endures, seasons change, and life goes on, even when it is forever altered. As we move forward, beyond our grief and the challenges of today, we have learned from those before us that we must rise to the occasion together. It is thanks to you, our Members, supporters, volunteers, and neighbors that we continue to be resilient as we build The Trustees of the future. We will also gain solace and strength from the beauty of nature and we encourage you to do the same; to experience the wonder of your favorite Trustees places and feel a renewed spirit as spring dawns and, with it, hope for our collective healing.

Warm regards,

Jocelyn Forbush Acting President & CEO

SPRING 2021

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A Garden Grows

WITH SPRING, A NEW ERA ARRIVES IN NORTH ANDOVER

BY MEGHAN SHINN

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Spring 2021 opens a new era for Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, a beloved Trustees property in North Andover. Stunningly designed and revitalized outdoor spaces will delight visitors and create a new, expansive experience for guests as they stroll the site’s historic gardens and natural landscape.

The design vision for this property really began more than a century ago, with its namesake couple: Helen Stevens Coolidge, a descendent of the area’s earliest settlers, and her husband, diplomat John Gardner Coolidge. In 1914, the couple began crafting the working Ashdale Farm, owned by eight generations of the Stevens family since 1729, into a fashionable country estate that would serve as their summer home.

The Coolidges engaged noted preservation architect Joseph Everett Chandler to remodel both the home and landscape in Colonial Revival style. He used straight lines to outline garden beds and pathways, and enclosed spaces with hedges and brick

STEVENS-COOLIDGE HOUSE & GARDENS

©NORTH ANDOVER AERIAL & PHOTO

©MARK GOLDSTIEN

walls. The gardens flourished under the care of horticulturally minded Helen, who was active in several garden clubs and societies. She left the 91-acre property to The Trustees upon her death in 1962.

BRANCHING OUT

The estate (previously known as The Stevens-Coolidge Place) remained well tended by Trustees staff and volunteers, with Helen’s gardens enjoying several restorations over the decades. However, member visits were driven by occasional openings of the House for tours.

“We wanted to shift the focus to house and gardens,” says Cindy Brockway, The Trustees’ Program Director for Cultural Resources. “Looking at the entire property opens up so many more possibilities. We can accommodate more people and offer

more experiences.” Gardens and natural spaces are versatile in engaging guests of all ages, she explains, and every season brings different details to the fore. With Helen’s gardens in good shape, a project was envisioned that would focus on expansion.

“We’ve at least doubled the garden space,” says Joann Vieira, The Trustees’ Director of Horticulture. “We’ve worked hard to not alter the site too much—we know what makes this place historic, unique and special; we sought how to honor that while making new spaces.” Here, the dedication and knowledge within The Trustees proved key to success. The project leads—Structures & Landscape Project Manager Elizabeth Keary Soule and Landscape Construction Specialist Josh Hasenfus—could call on

colleagues at properties across the state, from archivists to gardeners, for input and hands-on assistance.

FRESH GROWTH

The garden changes are exciting from the very start: a brand-new, on-site parking area is accessed from Chickering Road (Route 125). This replaces the old lot that required people to cross busy Andover Street and find their way past the tall brick wall that obscures the house. The new parking lot offers a much more welcoming arrival, sitting adjacent to an idyllic field known as Helen’s Meadow. Leaving their cars, guests encounter a long perennial border designed to relate with that natural space.

The Perennial Garden, with its curved hedge echoing the house’s bow window that looks out over it, is one of—along with the Rose Garden (above)—the original gardens laid out by Helen Stevens Coolidge’s sister Gertrude Stevens Kunhardt. These legacy gardens have been lovingly maintained by The Trustees for nearly 60 years and are the most popular garden “rooms” on the property.

COURTESY STEVENS-COOLIDGE PLACE COLLECTION; THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS, ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH CENTER.

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Above, left and center: Stevens-Coolidge’s wetlands are the focus of conservation and planting work in order to bloom in spring as the new Wetland Garden. This important habitat on the property will be home to even more pollinators, plant varieties, and inspiration for educational programming. Above, right: One of the Orchard’s ornamental crabapples being planted last fall. In the distance, the new Land Sculptures rise out of Helen’s Meadow, ready to burst with color this spring. Right: Thousands of bulbs being planted in the new Cutting Garden, located just beyond the reservation’s historic greenhouses, late last fall.

“The Entry Garden has a very American feel,” says Vieira, “with ornamental grasses and native plants like purple coneflower, black-eyed Susan, joe-pye weed, and New England aster.” Supplemented with other perennials, these familiar wildflowers of our fields and woodland edges are arranged in sweeps of color, using a naturalistic style that blends with the meadow.

The Entry Garden surrounds a new Garden Gateway building, which greets visitors as they arrive. Crafted out of an old maintenance shed on the property, the Gateway houses a classroom space, gift shop, restrooms, and a “grab & go” snack counter, all with an expansive view of the grounds.

Helen’s Meadow received design attention, too. Using excavated soil, the team built two “land sculptures” within it. Carpeted with fine fescue grass, these crescent-shaped mounds add interest amid the flat expanse, and visitors can climb them for an aerial view. Last fall, the team planted 60,000 grape hyacinth (Muscari) bulbs that will bloom in mid-spring

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between the landforms. Varieties of purple and white Muscari follow a pattern Vieira laid out to suggest a cresting ocean wave.

Moving toward the House, guests encounter real water: the Wetland Garden. Vieira explains that this area previously hosted a manmade pond, but it had become overrun by invasive purple loosestrife and yellow flag iris.

“We wanted to show plants that serve a more ecological function,” she says. Bands of native wetland plants will provide a parade of color through the seasons, from spring’s golden marsh marigolds (Caltha palustris) to summer’s scarlet cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis) to fall’s purple asters. These species and their companions all support wildlife in our fragile wetlands.

A Wetland Walk leads visitors through this garden, which “is a good example of how you can come and appreciate the beauty of a garden, but also learn,” Vieira says. There will be educational signage at key spots like this, plus plant labels throughout the property.

“And we know families will be drawn here for the fun of looking for frogs.”

EXPANDING LEGACY

The Wetland Walk provides a transition from the naturalistic space of the Entry Garden and Helen’s Meadow to the more formal “legacy gardens” that ring the house.

In a nod to Colonial Revivalism, a hedge hems a straight path past the relocated Cutting Garden—but in a contemporary twist, it’s made of native hornbeam (Carpinus carolinana), rather than the traditional European hornbeam (C. betulus).

It ends near a new, formal passageway to the house: The Promenade.

“The Promenade is a double row of native, disease-resistant dogwood trees, underplanted with North American native phlox,” says Vieira. “These will form a purple carpet, blooming at once with the white dogwood.” Prior to the mid-spring flowering of phlox (P. stolonifera ‘Sherwood Purple’) and dogwood (Cornus florida ‘Cherokee Princess’), tulips, daffodils, and other bulbs signal a delightful end to winter—they number 30,000, planted in 8-foot-wide ribbons alongside this delightful allée.

Just beyond the Promenade, visitors arrive at the House’s side porch, with access to restrooms and a look at the home’s interior.

Guests can see the connections that Chandler crafted in order to create a dialogue between the dwelling space and the landscape, such as the hallway’s naturethemed mural and the framed views from house to garden and vice versa.

The porch looks out to the Perennial Garden, first planted by Helen’s sister Gertrude. Chandler enhanced sight lines to the home’s windows, but the garden’s original shape and many of its plants remain.

The Rose Garden—for which Helen won a Massachusetts Horticultural Society award in 1935—is another legacy space that has been faithfully maintained, although the spot is challenging for roses. Peter Hinrichs, Horticulturist, will evaluate its plants this summer, working toward a revision that respects Helen’s other intent here—a Fragrance Garden.

As visitors wind away from the house— past demonstration gardens and a picnic area complete with the Ashdale Farm Stand snack shack—they find more legacy spaces, including the French Garden, where the original serpentine brick wall backs an eclectic mix of herbs, vegetables, and flowering plants. Here, 20,000 flowering bulbs will bloom “in solar colors for spring,” notes Vieira, before yielding ground to summer must-haves, like pollinatorattracting annuals in modern and heirloom varieties. There’s also an eco-friendlier replication of the Orchard, where John

Coolidge grew apples for hard cider during Prohibition. Today, ‘Donald Wyman’ ornamental crabapples stand in for the old trees, mimicking their appearance but eliminating the need for intensive pruning and chemical sprays.

BOUNDLESS DELIGHTS

Gardens perform many roles, and they become different places across the course of a year. The new and preserved spaces at Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens showcase stellar plants, demonstrate ecological design, and provide a respite from our high-tech, built-up world. As time goes on, they’ll become only more textured, the way that gardens do.

“We’re making the property more dynamic, more alive,” says Cindy Brockway, “so that visitors can discover it in a new way.” Inspired by the legacy John and Helen Coolidge began building more than 100 years ago, The Trustees has embraced the possibilities of this beautiful and very special place.

Meghan Shinn is Editor of Horticulture, a subscription-based magazine for avid gardeners.

She grew up in North Andover and now lives in Reading with her husband and three children.

Ed. Note: The house remains closed this spring for ongoing conservation work and for safety concerns during the pandemic. Updates on the schedule for opening the house, anticipated for mid-summer, will be included in the summer issue of Special Places, and on our website.

Plan Your Visit Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens is located at 153 Chickering Road (Rt 125), North Andover, MA 01845.

For information on admissions, events, programs, and more, visit thetrustees.org/stevenscoolidge.

Archival images have shown that barn moving is nothing new at Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens. In an adaptive reuse project as part of the Trustees’ Conservation in Action initiative, the new Garden Gateway structure was originally a maintenance barn located farther out on the property.

UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED, ALL PHOTOS IN THIS ARTICLE ARE ©TRUSTEES.

SPRING 2021

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IN REMEMBRANCE

Barbara J. Erickson

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As the first woman to run the nation’s first land conservation and preservation nonprofit, Barbara Erickson made history the moment she became President & CEO of The Trustees in 2012. But looking back at the nine years she spent at the helm of the organization, the true impact of her expansive vision, wisdom, warmth, and determination become both larger and clearer. To name a few of her achievements on behalf of the organization: Annual visitation to Trustees properties has grown by more than 75 percent, exceeding 2 million people; membership increased by more than 40,000 households; the operating budget expanded by $10 million; and revenue doubled. And of foremost significance to Barbara, nine new reservations—iconic places in critical threat of being lost to development—were protected forever.

These remarkable feats reflect the remarkable woman who led the way. Barbara was an advocate for the natural world who propelled The Trustees to the forefront of the conservation movement. She was a 8

THE TRUSTEES

©MICHAEL BLANCHARD

Trustees President & CEO (2012-2021)

Audacious Vision, Remarkable Leadership, Indelible Impact ©TRUSTEES

forward-thinking president who grew and strengthened the organization in lasting ways before her untimely passing in January. Without exaggeration, Barbara Erickson was one of the most important individuals in The Trustees’ 130-year history.

“Barbara was an exceptional President, who led the organization into a new era with a strong vision. She will continue to serve as inspiration for all of us for many years, and we look forward to continuing the work that she began,” said Peter Coffin, Chair of the Board of Directors for The Trustees.

Growing up in Wyoming, Barbara cultivated a love of the outdoors and a love of traveling, eventually migrating to Massachusetts 20 years ago. After stints at Earthwatch Institute and Save the Children, she became The Trustees’ fourth president and hit the ground running. She worked with the Board of Directors and senior staff to launch The Path Forward—the five-year strategic plan that commenced shortly after her

arrival—which outlined a series of bold goals, including the $26.2 million Cultural Resources Campaign to revitalize critical cultural sites like Naumkeag and Castle Hill. Every goal described in The Path Forward was met, and many exceeded, before the 2018 deadline for completion.

Under Barbara’s leadership, The Trustees grew in size and scope. Mount Warner, Farandnear, Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens, Governor Oliver Ames Estate, Gerry Island, the Brickyard, Jewell Hill, and Mary Cummings Park became reservations.

Complex integrations brought The FARM Institute, Fruitlands Museum, and deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum under The Trustees’ umbrella. Barbara spearheaded crucial partnerships with the nascent Boston Public Market, placed a new emphasis on arts and cultural programming through the Art & the Landscape initiative, and spurred new forays in local agriculture. She sought to make the organization newly relevant to diverse audiences, to introduce Massachusetts’s most special places to underserved demographics, and to emphasize diversity and inclusion,

The Barbara Erickson Land Conservation Fund

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©KRISTA PHOTOGRAPHY

ensuring that every visitor feels welcome on the premises of Trustees properties.

These priorities informed Barbara’s approach in leading the development of Momentum, Trustees’ current fiveyear strategic plan implemented in 2018.

Momentum is wide-ranging in its aims, from taking a leadership role in gauging and mitigating the impacts of climate change on the Massachusetts coast, identifying and developing critically needed open space along the Boston waterfront, expanding Trustees’ public gardens and garden program offerings, elevating agricultural and cultural experiences, and engaging more families and children in the wonders of the outdoors—all while continuing to advance the organization’s central mission by acting to conserve and protect the Commonwealth’s irreplaceable landscapes.

The seeds of Momentum planted under Barbara’s management and leadership are already bearing fruit: Large-scale public garden revitalizations are playing out at Long Hill and Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens; One Waterfront, the organization’s

The Trustees Board of Directors is proud to announce the creation of a new land fund in Barbara’s name. The Barbara Erickson Land Conservation Fund’s mission fulfills her dream of endowing the protection and preservation of important reservations that might otherwise be out of the organization’s reach. Protecting iconic landscapes is what Barbara worked so fervently to achieve, and we now have a wonderful opportunity to carry on her work and honor her legacy in a truly lasting way through this fund. An extraordinary $13 million has already been committed, and there is an additional $10 million match challenge—a true testament to Barbara’s leadership. Further information is available and gifts in Barbara’s memory, including planned gifts, may be made at thetrustees.org/Barbara.

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initiative to identify and create green space and outdoor recreation opportunities for underserved urban communities while buffering against the threat of rising seas along the Boston harborfront, has established its first planned new park site, in East Boston. Trustees’ community-supported agriculture programs and local food offerings are more popular than ever. And one of the most ambitious fundraising efforts in The Trustees’ history is now underway, with more than $100 million anticipated to have been raised by the end of this strategic plan period. Barbara’s ambitions for the organization have been called nothing short of “audacious” by many in their recollections of her life.

As the public face of The Trustees, Barbara was an inspirational and resolute leader with a sharp intellect and clear foresight. But “Barbara’s pride in her professional accomplishments paled to what she felt for her family,” said Jocelyn Forbush, now The Trustees’ Acting President & CEO. Her sense of responsibility to future

generations—to children like her own Lucia and Marcelo, and countless more for years to come—guided her every action.

For 130 years, The Trustees’ mission has centered on protecting and sharing places of exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological value in the Commonwealth. Protecting these special places requires special people to show the way. For all that you’ve done and for all that your work continues to do, even in your absence: thank you, Barbara.

©PHOTO COURTESY VINEYARD VINES & ALEX TAYLOR

SPRING 2021

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COASTAL UPDATE

CURRENT BEACH PROFILE PROPOSED DUNE (25’ Wide Crest / 14’ High at the Tallest Point)

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DUNE AFTER A 1-YEAR STORM* 10

ESTIMATED PEAK WAVE CREST HEIGHT (During a 1-Year Storm*)

ELEVATION (FT)

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ESTIMATED PEAK STORM TIDE DEPTH

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OG BEACH -10 *A storm that occurs, on average, once every year

Coastal resiliency efforts underway on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket

by CHRISTINE BOYNTON, TRUSTEES STAFF In early February a brutal Nor’easter clobbered the shoreline from New Jersey to Maine, its destructive wave energy eroding beaches and flooding coastal landscapes, including along Trustees’ 120 miles of protected Massachusetts shoreline. Substantial impact was seen on Argilla Road in Ipswich, where tides covered the pavement near the entrance to Crane Beach, and on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Chappaquiddick Island’s east-facing beaches, for example, suffered significant erosion, while Norton Point Beach on the Vineyard’s southern shore experienced overwash into both the adjacent Herring Creek and Katama Bay. This type of storm and resulting detrimental impact is not new. But, “while flooding and erosion are natural events for these dynamic landscapes, they are happening more frequently and at greater severity,” explains Tom O’Shea, Trustees Managing Director, Resources & Planning. “Crane Beach has lost the equivalent of 84 football fields since the 1950s. Recent analysis for our upcoming State of the Coast report on the Islands finds that Norton Point Beach has lost 70 football fields worth of beach since 1994!

Sea level rise and storm surge are expected to accelerate by the year 2050—we need to act now and make smart decisions on how to adapt to our changing climate.”

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CROSS-SHORE PROFILE (FT)

A built dune can serve as a barrier to storm surge, preventing coastal flooding and erosion. This design shows how a 1-year storm event might erode a dune of this size before, during, and after the storm, over the course of approximately four days.

Prioritizing coastal conservation, advocacy, and stewardship is a pillar of the Trustees’ 2023 strategic plan, Momentum.

Coastal adaptation projects are focusing on the most vulnerable areas, and among them are two beach resiliency trials which aim to model solutions and protect threatened places for the next generation.

Building on a long-standing relationship with The Trustees, Woods Hole Group is now working to design and permit two coastal dune reconstruction projects for Norton Point Beach. The badly eroded Katama entrance has experienced repeated overwash events along low spots in the dune. A reconstruction in this area could provide better flood and storm protection, building the overall resiliency of the barrier beach, and helping to secure access for beachgoers, residents, fisherman, and emergency vehicles. A quarter mile east, at another overwash spot, dune restoration will include the establishment of a research site. Here, teams will gather topographic measurements, analyze the expected oceanographic effects, and reconstruct the dune using the most current data and stateof-the-art modeling. Construction work is anticipated to begin by early 2022, pending grant funding.

Trustees and the Nantucket Conservation Foundation (NCF) also have a research and

resiliency project underway at the jointly owned and managed Coskata-CoatueHaulover on the northeastern shores of Nantucket. These diverse 1,000+ acres are serving as a “living laboratory”—as climate change threatens public access, fragile habitats and landscapes, including one of only a few cuspate spit formations in the world.

These projects on the Islands join several other Trustees initiatives underway on the state’s mainland coastline. “Our coastal properties are on the front lines of many climate change impacts,” says O’Shea.

“As the largest private owner of protected ©TRUSTEES coastline in the state we feel an urgency to innovate, to care for and protect these beloved and ecologically significant landscapes for the next generation while we have the opportunity to intervene.”

To learn more about this and other ongoing initiatives, visit thetrustees.org/blog and follow progress on our coastal work at thetrustees.org/coast.

©DAVID R. FOSTER, VIA CC BY-NC-ND

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Refresh, Restore, Rejuvenate… and Revel

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Never has the arrival of spring been so welcomed, so refreshing, and so essential!

The season of new growth and restoration is more meaningful than ever this year—and Trustees has workshops, classes, hikes, tours, and events galore to give you more reason than ever to get outside, rejuvenate, try on some new growth of your own, and revel in everything spring has to offer. Check out the Things To Do highlights on the next few pages, and find many, many more on our website—visit thetrustees.org/things-to-do to see the full list and to register.

Ah, Spring! or afternoon tea in the revitalized Sedgwick Gardens. This spring, venture out to see all that is happening at this iconic reservation.

For the Kiddos From visiting the baby animals in the barnyards to cooking classes and afterschool and vacation adventures, Trustees farms provide enjoyment for kids of all ages. Take in Story Hour at Weir River Farm in Hingham or Book Bugs: Farm Fun for the Little Ones at Chestnut Hill Farm in Southborough.

On Saturdays in May, you can Befriend the Barnyard at Appleton Farms in Hamilton & Ipswich. And at Powisset Farm in Dover, check out the variety of Friends on the Farm or Kiddos in the Kitchen programs.

©TERRI UNGER PHOTOGRAPHY

We are delighted to launch a new series of programs at Long Hill in Beverly! Go on one of our many Family Nature Walks. Enjoy a bounty of garden tours and workshops with our expert horticulturists. Relax and refresh with yoga

©TRUSTEES

Discover Long Hill

©TRUSTEES

On the Trails There are so many things to do on Trustees trails! Try one of our many guided or themed hikes happening at reservations throughout the state. We’ve got Night Hikes at Ward Reservation in Andover & North Andover or on Fruitlands Museum’s trails in Harvard, Beach Safaris at Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge on Martha’s Vineyard, or Birding Adventures at World’s End in Hingham to name just a few. Or help us celebrate National Trails Day at Bartholomew’s Cobble in Sheffield. Let’s explore together!

For the full list of spring programs, visit thetrustees.org/things-to-do. All of our programs follow Covid best practices and safety guidelines. Event details are subject to change, especially if state guidelines for gatherings are revised, so please check the website for updates, availabilities, and to register.

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April | May | June

SPRING 2021

THINGS TO DO

Ah, Spring!! The birds are chirping, the grass is greening, the buds are popping… time to get out and celebrate the restorative delights of the season. Trustees has hundreds of programs, workshops, and events to suit your every wish and whim—from gardening classes to public garden tours, from cooking to crafting, afterschool adventures for kids to weekend outings for all ages, and so much more. Of course, as updates to the state’s Covid-19 guidelines come up, programs may be altered, participation limits may vary, and schedules may be changed—be sure to check thetrustees.org/things-to-do for the most up-to-date information on these and many more offerings, and to register. We can’t wait to see you!

That Floral Feeling: Naumkeag Daffodil & Tulip Festival

Celebrate all things flowers and sunshine at the annual Naumkeag event, with fun decorations and more than 100,000 daffodil and tulip bulbs bursting with spring color throughout the gardens.

Thursdays through Mondays, Apr 22 - May 17 Naumkeag, Stockbridge

thetrustees.org/daffodil ©TRUSTEES

Spring Ahead: All About Gardening

Workshops, garden tours, and practical demos—there’s something for gardeners of every level, all season long.

And, new this spring, we’re adding horticulture events and workshops at Long Hill in Beverly!

Boston Community Gardens, Boston; Castle Hill, Ipswich; Long Hill, Beverly; Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, North Andover

thetrustees.org/gardening ©TRUSTEES

Craft & Create: Art-Making For All

Reserve a spot for you and a friend! Take advantage of warmer temps and craft a clay garden sign, paint wildflowers, start a nature journal, and much more.

Bartholomew’s Cobble, Sheffield; deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln; Fruitlands Museum, Harvard; Long Hill, Beverly

thetrustees.org/artmaking ©TRUSTEES

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Kids Corner: Adventures with The Trustees

Drop the kids off after school, or plan for upcoming school vacations with farm programs, art classes, and cooking tutorials.

All programs adhere to strict Covid-19 safety guidelines.

Appleton Farms, Ipswich; Boston Community Gardens, Boston; Chestnut Hill Farm, Southborough; deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln; Powisset Farm, Dover ©TRUSTEES

thetrustees.org/kidsadventures

Family Fun: Mother’s & Father’s Days

Celebrate mom and dad with unique events around the state, from afternoon tea, farmers markets, and brunch, to beer tasting, Bluegrass tunes, and cooking classes.

Appleton Farms, Ipswich; Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge, Chappaquiddick; Chestnut Hill Farm, Southborough; deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln; Powisset Farm, Dover; Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, North Andover

Mother’s Day: Sunday, May 9 | thetrustees.org/mother Father’s Day: Sunday, Jun 20 | thetrustees.org/father

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Suns Blazing: Celebrate Summer Solstice

Embrace the arrival of summer with outdoor yoga, sunset paddles, guided walks, scenic picnics, and beachfront tours.

Appleton Farms, Ipswich; Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge, Chappaquiddick; deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln; Long Hill, Beverly; Long Point Wildlife Refuge, West Tisbury; Charles W. Ward Reservation, Andover & North Andover

thetrustees.org/solstice ©TRUSTEES

Come Om: For Your Health and Wellness

Slow down and enjoy the moment during mindfulness walks, forest bathing, meditations, and yoga classes.

Chestnut Hill Farm, Southborough; deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln; Fruitlands Museum, Harvard; Long Hill, Beverly; Naumkeag, Stockbridge; Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, North Andover; Charles W. Ward Reservation, Andover & North Andover

thetrustees.org/wellness ©TRUSTEES

Season’s Eatings: Powisset Cooks!

Crazy about pizza? Want to up your brunch game or try your hand at tapas? Find classes for kids, teens, and adults in our farm kitchen. Limited availability, per Covid-19 guidelines.

Powisset Farm, Dover

thetrustees.org/powissetcooks ©TRUSTEES

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ARTS & CULTURE

EXHIBITIONS ON VIEW

The Trustees’ two museums, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum and Fruitlands Museum, have long histories of presenting changing exhibitions of contemporary art for general audiences—audiences who may come to engage with art as much as take part in a social outing, enjoy a walk in a beautiful landscape, or contemplate the intersection of art and nature. In addition to changing exhibitions, Fruitlands displays varying elements of its historical collections of Shaker material, Hudson River and New England landscape paintings, folk portraits, and art and artifacts of Indigenous peoples.

The museums take strong precautions to protect visitors and staff. Within their indoor spaces, safety measures include mask requirements, one-way directional signage, gallery capacity limits, frequent disinfection of high touch areas, hand-sanitizing stations located throughout the interiors of the building, and more.

Both museums currently require advance passes. For passes, as well as hours and further details, please visit thetrustees.org/museums.

DECORDOVA SCULPTURE PARK AND MUSEUM 51 Sandy Pond Rd., Lincoln

SONYA CLARK: MONUMENTAL CLOTH, THE FLAG WE SHOULD KNOW

Truce

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©CARLOS AVENDAÑO

Sonya Clark, 2019 Monumental Cloth, The Flag We Should Know The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia; Installation View

Jeffrey Gibson, 2020 Once You Enter My House, It Becomes Our House Plywood, posters, steel, and LEDs

BECAUSE ONCE YOU ENTER MY HOUSE, IT BECOMES OUR HOUSE June 5, 2021 – Summer 2022 deCordova brings a monumental sculpture by renowned Indigenous artist Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Choctaw-Cherokee) to the Sculpture Park later this spring. The tri-layer form references the earthen architecture of the ancient Mississippian city of Cahokia, which flourished in the seventh through fourteenth centuries.

FRUITLANDS MUSEUM 102 Prospect Hill Rd., Harvard

PIECEWORK: RESISTANCE AND HEALING IN CONTEMPORARY FIBER ART April 2021 – August 2021 This contemporary exhibition merges past and present, craft and critique, to present fresh ways to understand American history and material culture beyond aesthetics and nostalgia. Art by Gina Adams (Ojibwe/ Lakota, Irish/Lithuanian), Alicia Henry, Andrew Mowbray, and Leslie Schomp innovate with the time-honored mediums of needlework and quilting and make new work in dialogue with Fruitlands’ storied history.

SONYA CLARK: HEAVENLY BOUND April 9 – September 12, 2021 The debut of Clark’s most recent work dealing with the Underground Railroad, Sonya Clark: Heavenly Bound honors the perilous journey of self-emancipated Black Americans who navigated by way of the Big Dipper, North Star, and improvised maps.

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS April 9 – September 12, 2021 This group exhibition draws from deCordova’s holdings in photography and works on paper. The artworks expose injustices against individuals, communities, and the environment, centering advocates and activists who fight for equality and find empowerment amid darkness.

©IMAGE COURTESY ACCOLA GRIEFEN GALLERY

April 9 – September 12, 2021 The Confederate Flag of Truce is a simple dishcloth employed as the South’s flag of surrender at the end of the Civil War in 1865.

Yet, as Clark shows, propaganda continues to make the more familiar Confederate Battle Flag into the enduring symbol of this history.

Organized by The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia following Clark’s residency there, Sonya Clark: Monumental Cloth, The Flag We Should Know has been reformatted in collaboration with the artist for deCordova’s galleries to examine more closely New England’s implication in slavery ©CARLOS AVENDAÑO and abolition as well Sonya Clark, 2019 as ongoing systemic Woven replica of the racism.

Confederate Flag of

©BRIAN BARLOW; IMAGE COURTESY SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK

Gina Adams, 2018 Blanket Chest of Heart Filled Gratitude / Waabooyan Wiikobijigan inaadiziwin inde minwashkine miigwechiwendan, Antique quilt and quilt panels with hand sewn calico letters, 5 encaustic and oil Scribe paintings on Baltic birch panels on ash wood blanket chest, Baltic wood sticks.

GARDEN UPDATE

RUINS Reborn ©KRISTA PHOTOGRAPHY

The Rose Garden blooms anew at the Crane Estate

BY ALEXANDRA PECCI For decades, the Rose Garden at Castle Hill on the Crane Estate grew wild and overgrown behind a locked gate, its fountain silent and its columns crumbling. But instead of exhibiting a decrepitude after years of neglect, the ruins had acquired a surprisingly romantic beauty that captured the imagination. So, when the opportunity arose to restore the garden in 2020, The Trustees felt an imperative to retain that enchanted feeling.

“Because it was so evocative as a ruin garden space, we didn’t want to lose that romance,” says Cindy Brockway, The Trustees’ Program Director for Cultural Resources. The Trustees plan, as Brockway describes, was to preserve and stabilize parts of the Rose Garden’s deteriorating structure and completely replant its spectacular garden beds instead of fully restoring it or rebuilding to bring back its original state. Now, the historic garden will bloom with new color and life in what Brockway calls a “rejuvenated ruin.”

two-thirds of the garden, leaving the westward-facing side open to overlook a dramatic plateau and the Great Marsh below.

At the garden’s center, a fountain sent a 25foot plume of water dancing into the air—a feast for the senses, especially during evening garden strolls. “It was a very favorite place of Mrs. Crane,” says Crane Estate horticulturist Beth Walsh. “It evokes a sense of heady fragrance and blooms in this beautiful environment looking out to Fox Creek and the sunset.”

To achieve a “glorious and fragrant rose season” in the Rose Garden, which is looking forward to its first full new season this year, Walsh selected dozens of stunning rose varieties, including a handful of heirloom varieties that Mrs. Foote favored such as “Cecile Brunner” and “Frau Karl Druschki.”

For All Seasons While Castle Hill was the Crane family’s summer home, today it’s an estate for all

A Favorite Place A century ago, the circular, Arthur Shurcliffdesigned, Italian-style Rose Garden showcased a huge variety of roses selected by the well-known Marblehead rosarian Harriett Risley Foote. A vine-laden pergola topped stucco columns that surrounded

The Crane family in the Rose Garden, ca. 1915 Courtesy of The Trustees Archives & Research Center

©KRISTA PHOTOGRAPHY

seasons. The rejuvenated Rose Garden blooms from spring until October with more than just roses: colorful tulips, clematis, hydrangeas, lilies, ornamental grasses, and other plantings give the garden “a fresh feeling every season with something new to see,” Walsh says.

The marriage of historic intent and modern usage is also apparent in the garden’s physical structures. Josh Hasenfus, Landscape Construction Specialist for The Trustees, worked with engineers and Methuen-based Consigli Construction to stabilize the garden ruin structures while making them safe for visitors. Seamlessly patched columns are now topped by a newly built pergola that adds stability along with a decorative nod to the past.

“By doing that pergola, we restored an original architectural element but also stabilized the columns and put them all together in one solid structure,” Hasenfus says. And the garden’s new fountain— one of the conservation team’s favorite achievements—is an exact replica of the original, down to its lovely coping, wide pool, and 25-foot jet of water that babbles and bubbles among the flowers.

These historical and modern elements are combining to breathe new life into this marvelous space. Whether you visit while summer flowers bloom or fall foliage glows crimson and gold, visitors will be thoroughly captivated by the Rose Garden’s romantic, evocative, “rejuvenated ruin” on Castle Hill.

Alexandra Pecci is a freelance writer and author of the book 200 years of the Topsfield Fair: An Illustrated History of America’s Longestrunning County Fair.

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© “PINK ECHINACEA (EXPLORED)” BY HEHADEN; LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC 2.0

Grow Your Own

BY VICTORIA ABBOTT RICCARDI

Flower, herb, and veggie kits bring inspiration from Trustees gardens to yours A Healing Herbs

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to prepare it, how much to consume, and what interaction the plant may have with supplements, medicines, or foods.

McCullin’s kits include floral bundles, a vegetable medley, and separate offerings for ornamental and woodland plants, all of which will be available as part of her spring plant sale (see sidebar, right, for details). “Folks also often ask about plants they can grow that serve other purposes, including medicinals, so this year, for the first time, I am planting a medicinal herb garden at Haskell,” McCullin says. She plans to provide a medicinal herb kit in her plant sale as well, with such flowers as chamomile for relaxation, echinacea to help prevent colds, and calendula, known for its anti-inflammatory properties. While she anticipates most people will steep the herbs to make tea, Kristin says to research any medicinal plant you grow to learn how

Vibrant Varieties

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ccording to the 2021 Garden Trends Report, 16 million Americans have discovered the joy and therapeutic benefit of gardening since the beginning of the pandemic. Growing something with your own hands lowers blood pressure, boosts energy, and can yield a bounty of veggies, flowers, and herbs, plus a sense of pride.

Regardless of how much space or horticultural knowledge you possess, you can nurture yourself and reap tremendous rewards both physically and mentally by just getting outside and nurturing plants.

Two main reasons why people don’t garden are fear of failure and worry it will take too much time. Fortunately, Kristin McCullin and Catherine Martini, Horticulturists at Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens in New Bedford and Naumkeag in Stockbridge, respectively, have some timely advice and ideas for your home gardens. And both are also offering special garden kits—complete with seedlings and instructions—to jumpstart a neophyte’s planting and harvesting efforts while also creating a fun way for the seasoned gardener to try something new.

McCullin’s three floral kits focus on color: one includes all salmon-toned flowers, another a mix of yellows, and a burgundypurple blend. Her ornamental plant kit features different textured plants like sage and verbena, an airy purple annual that was a favorite of Allen Haskell, whose famous nursery became a Trustees public garden in 2013. Her woodland bundle includes ferns, wild ginger, and Fairy Bells, while her veggie kit contains tomatoes, sweet pepper, zucchini, butternut squash, and rainbow chard. A culinary herb medley highlights favorites, like rosemary, parsley, and sage.

(Of course, you can recreate your own version of these kits from seedlings found at your favorite garden store.)

Spicy Spirits

At Naumkeag, Martini is creating a vegetable bundle and a cocktail garden kit, the latter inspired by historical letters from Naumkeag houseguests praising the cocktail offerings of the Choates, the estate’s former owners. In addition to mint, fenugreek, and lemongrass,

© VILSESKOGEN; VIA CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Spilanthes, nicknamed the “toothache plant” because chewing the leaves produces a local anesthetic effect.

“Growing something with your own hands lowers blood pressure, boosts energy and can yield a bounty of veggies, flowers and herbs, plus a sense of pride.” the cocktail kit includes medicinal herbs like yellow flowering Spilanthes, nicknamed the ‘toothache plant.’ “The leaves have a sour citrusy flavor and are great in cocktails because they have this Pop Rocks effect that makes your mouth tingle,” says Martini.

“I’m also going to include a few pepper plants because I like a little bit of spice in my cocktails.” Meanwhile, her veggie kit includes several cruciferous vegetables, zucchini, tomatoes, and edible flowers such as marigolds. Both kits are available online (see sidebar, right.)

your soil sample. Then, based on the test results, you can fork in as much organic compost as necessary. A generous layer of mulch after planting will help build the soil.

Most flowers, herbs, and veggies need at least six hours of full sun each day and plenty of water. McCullin likes soaker hoses for gardens; use a timer to save water, and make sure your containers have good drainage. Regularly inspect your garden for bugs and to see how your plants are reacting to the weather and your watering. You’ll learn each plant’s idiosyncrasies as well as what butterflies, birds, and animals visit

Spring Plant Sales Your favorite annuals, perennials, and shrubs. Floral, veggie, or herb kits. All from Trustees gardens to yours!

NAUMKEAG, Stockbridge Order online now; pickup Apr 17 & 18 CITY NATIVES, Mattapan Order online now; pickup Thursdays & Saturdays through May

©TRUSTEES

the space. Regular visits also will keep you on top of harvesting—which means, says Martini, “you won’t be surprised to come across a three-foot-long zucchini!”

Whatever your motivation and inspiration, you’ll reap rich rewards by working a garden. Have fun, be creative, and dig in.

Victoria Abbott Riccardi is a freelance travel, culture, and food writer, and author of Untangling My Chopsticks: A Culinary Sojourn in Japan (Broadway) from Newton.

ALLEN C. HASKELL PUBLIC GARDENS, New Bedford Online ordering begins May 1; pickup May 21 & 22 LONG HILL, Beverly In-person event, Saturday, May 22. Please check details on our website.

For more information and links to order, visit thetrustees.org/ springplantsale

Trowel Tricks

Before you plant, both horticulturists recommend testing your soil for nutrients and the possible presence of lead—vital if you’re planting edibles. Use an at-home test or send soil samples to the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Laboratory several weeks before planting (based on the last frost date for your zip code). McCullin suggests digging ten inches down “to get a good profile” for

“CALENDULAS ARE EDIBLE FLOWERS!” BY SWALLOWTAIL GARDEN SEEDS; LICENSED UNDER CC BY 2.0

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Saving Special Places Field Farm

Chapel Brook

Bryant Homestead Chesterfield Gorge Glendale Falls Naumkeag The Mission House Monument Mountain

Goose Pond Reservation Tyringham Cobble McLennan Reservation

Mount Petticoat Warner Hill Little Tom Mountain Dinosaur Footprints Land of Providence

Ashintully Gardens Dry Hill

Ashley House

ec t i cu

Bullitt Reservation

t Ri v e r

Bear Swamp Notchview

C on n

In 1891, 30-year-old landscape architect Charles Eliot launched the idea of a statewide, nonprofit organization to hold lands of scenic, natural, and historical significance in protection for public use.

With the creation of The Trustees of Public Reservations (as it was originally named,) the notion of an organization created to hold landscapes open “for everyone, forever” was born. Statewide maps, many of which are housed in the organization’s new Maps & Plans Center in Sharon, trace the progress of the Trustees’ 130-year history of land conservation in the Commonwealth.

Mountain Meadow Preserve

Springfield

Questing

Bartholomew’s Cobble

Trustees celebrates 130 years of protecting open space in Massachusetts

Berkshires Pioneer Valley Central MA Metro West Northeast Metro Boston South of Boston

Cape Cod and Islan JAN 2021

1900

The first known Trustees statewide map showed its six properties under protection at the time. Interestingly, the first two— Virginia Wood in Stoneham and Goodwill Park in Falmouth—would not remain Trustees properties. Twenty-acre Virginia Wood would be conveyed in 1923 to the Metropolitan Park Commission and is now part of the Middlesex Fells Reservation. Goodwill Park was also deaccessioned to become a state reservation and, since 1948, has been owned by the Town of Falmouth.

©ALL MAP IMAGES COURTESY TRUSTEES ARCHIVES & RESEARCH CENTER

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1929

In May of 1925, The Trustees sponsored a conference on “The Needs and Uses of Open Spaces in Massachusetts” with ten “other societies” devoted to environmental work throughout the state. As a result of this conference, a Committee on Needs and Uses of Open Spaces was established by Governor Alvan T. Fuller. This map was published with the Committee’s report in 1929. It is notable as the first map of all existing and proposed open spaces throughout the state, but also pointed to a distinct need to preserve more land for the future.

The report put this in perspective: the State of New York maintained 207 acres of “organized public reservations” per thousand residents at this point in time, but Massachusetts lagged far behind, mustering only 23 acres of parkland for each of its 1,000 residents.

rr i m

Me

Royalston Falls Jacobs Hill Doane’s Falls

Jewell Hill

Doyle Community Park & Center Bear’s Den Elliott Laurel Farandnear Redemption Rock North Common Fruitlands Meadow Museum Swift River Reservation

Quabbin Reservoir

Worcester

Quinebaug Woods Tantiusques

Moraine Farm

Malcolm Preserve

Coolidge Reservation Agassiz Rock Misery Islands Crowninshield Island Gerry Island

Long Hill

The Old Manse Mary Cummings Park deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

Chestnut Hill Farm Rock House Reservation

Peaked Mountain

Dexter Drumlin

Appleton Farms & Weir Hill Grass Rides Stevens-Coolidge Pine & House & Gardens Hemlock Charles W. Knoll Ward Reservation

Ch a r l e s

Massachusetts Bay

Boston Gov. Hutchinson’s Field & Pierce Reservation

Cormier Woods

Boston Community Gardens & Parks City Natives

R.

Francis William Bird Park

World’s End Weir River Farm

Bradley Estate Signal Hill Archives & Research Center Moose Hill Farm

Whitney & Thayer Woods Norris Reservation Two Mile Farm

Gov. Ames Estate

Bridge Island Meadows, Millis Cedariver, Millis Charles River Peninsula, Needham

Cape Cod Bay

Copicut Woods

Lyman East Over Reserve Reservation and Hales Brook & Sippican River Tract

Peters Reservation, Dover Powisset Farm, Dover Rocky Narrows, Sherborn Rocky Woods, Medfield Shattuck Reservation, Medfield

Cornell Farm Slocum’s River Reserve

sB

Westport Town Farm

ay

Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens

Lowell Holly Mashpee River Reservation

za rd

Chase Woodlands, Dover Fork Factory Brook, Medfield Medfield Meadow Lots, Medfield Medfield Rhododendrons, Medfield Noanet Woodlands, Dover Noon Hill, Medfield Pegan Hill, Dover and Natick

Dunes’ Edge Campground

Holmes Reservation

RESERVATIONS IN THE CHARLES RIVER VALLEY

Bu z

nds

Old Town Hill Greenwood Farm Hamlin Reservation Stavros Reservation The Crane Estate (Castle Hill, Crane Beach & Crane Wildlife Refuge) Halibut Point Reservation Mount Ann Park Ravenswood Park

R. ack

Nantucket Sound Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge

The Brickyard Menemsha Hills

Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge

Mytoi Wasque

Long Point Wildlife Norton Point Refuge Beach The FARM Institute

1993

This statewide map was published in Saving Special Places, by Gordon Abbott, Jr., as part of the organization’s 100th Anniversary in 1991. Abbott had been the Trustees’ first professional leader, holding the position of Executive Director from the 75th Anniversary year in 1966 through 1984. The preservation work of the organization over the previous 60+ years is well displayed here—by 1993, Trustees owned and managed 74 reservations across the Commonwealth, totaling approximately 19,000 acres.

The Trustees’ preservation work continues to make great strides in saving special places. Today, after the recent additions of Jewell Hill in Ashby, Ashburnham, and Fitchburg, and Mary Cummings Park in Burlington and Woburn, The Trustees now owns and manages 121 reservations throughout the state—nearly 50 having been protected in the last 30 years alone. With more than 27,000 acres under the organization’s protection and care, Trustees is the largest land conservation organization in the state. Through the support of its thousands of Members, donors, and friends—like you—The Trustees is proud to be able to keep these places open and thriving, for everyone, forever.

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ICYMI #THETRUSTEES

You tag us. We

you!

Every spring I hear the thrush singing in the glowing woods he is only passing through.

His voice is deep, then he lifts it until it seems to fall from the sky.

I am thrilled.

I am grateful.

—Mary Oliver “In Our Woods, Sometimes a Rare Music”

find magic in the moment

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THE TRUSTEES

©KRISTA PHOTOGRAPHY

©TRUSTEES

©KRISTA PHOTOGRAPHY

Make a difference Founders Circle members are vitally important partners in ensuring The Trustees continues to grow and thrive. Join this network of friends and support The Trustees’ mission to protect and share our special places across Massachusetts. Through annual giving of $1,000 or more (just $84 a month,) you’ll receive special invitations to interact with our expert staff, plus private tours of reservations, fantastic events, and more!

We count on your generous support to make our work possible.

Join the Circle today: thetrustees.org/founderscircle The Trustees is Massachusetts’ largest, and the nation’s first, conservation and preservation nonprofit. We are supported by members, friends, and donors. Explore 121 amazing places across Massachusetts, from beaches, farms and woodlands, to historic homes, museums, urban gardens, and more.

Jocelyn Forbush Acting President & CEO Paul Leech Chief, Finance & Administration Matthew Montgomery Chief, Marketing & Audience Development Christine Morin Chief, Places & Engagement Edward Wilson, Chief, Development & Strategic Partnerships

EDITORIAL

Wayne Wilkins Director, Brand & Content Editor Jeff Harder Contributing Editor Chris Costello Senior Graphic Designer Gina Janovitz Lizzie Lane Matthew Mullin Olivia Soule Nelson Graphic Designers

We invite your input, letters, and suggestions.

Please send them to: Special Places | The Trustees 200 High Street, 4th Floor Boston, MA 02110 tel 978.921.1944 email marketing@thetrustees.org For information about becoming a member please contact us at 978.921.1944, email us at membership@thetrustees.org, or visit our website at www.thetrustees.org.

Shop The Trustees Online, Anytime.

Now you can shop our farm stores and gift shops from the comfort of your own home, all year round! Buy online and we’ll ship it to you or pick up in-person— it’s never been easier to support your favorite Trustees properties.

Special Places, Spring 2021.

Volume 29, Issue Number 1. Special Places (ISSN 1087-5026) is published quarterly and distributed to members and donors of The Trustees of Reservations.

Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.

Printed by Universal Wilde, an environmentally responsible printer in Massachusetts that strives to minimize waste, maximize recycling, and exceed environmental standards.

ShopTheTrustees.org ©TRUSTEES

#thetrustees | A big Thank You to our Instagram followers who posted these spring photos, including @jonjones1786 (Swift River Reservation), @kathrynwiest (Turkey Hill, Whitney & Thayer Woods), @boston.seascape (Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate), @nomadicvanman (Field Farm), @jpicard_1713 (Cormier Woods), @stevegieb (Peaked Mountain), @wikebaby (Signal Hill), @Izzymo (Paine House at Greenwood Farm), and on the back cover, @stoneystone68 (Crane Beach on the Crane Estate). Keep ‘em coming!

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THE TRUSTEES

200 High Street, 4th Floor Boston, MA 02110-3044

WHERE WONDER HAPPENS Crane Beach, Ipswich ©@stoneystone68

thetrustees.org