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PLACES Special FOR MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS OF THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS | SUMMER 201 I VOLUME 20 NO. 2 | the trustees ofreservations who maintain our trails, from our board members to our SummerQuest mentors. I am immenselygrateful to each and everyone ofyou for your role Wearemorethan 100,000peoplelikeyou in protecting the best ofMassachusetts, fromeverycornerofMassachusetts. Welove theoutdoors. Welovethedistinctivecharms andfor working with Trustees staff, fellow ofNewEngland. Andwebelieveincelebrating volunteers, partners, and allies to create andprotectingthem-forourselves,forour healthy, active, and green communities children,andforgenerationstocome. With morethan 100specialplacesacrossthestate, across the Commonwealth. weinviteyoutofindyourplace. So whyvolunteer? Brian Kinney, who AndyKendall co-chairs our Volunteer Committee and President David Beardsley has spent the last 15 years thinking about KathyAbbott Director, Ipswich how to increase volunteerism across the ViceEPxreecsuitdievnet CEenngtaegrefmoernt& organization, puts it best. When you give John McCrae Enterprise your time to The Trustees, he says, you ViceFPirneasnicdeen&t JRoecgeiolnyanlFDoirrebcutosrh, Yours, Mine, Ours don'tjust help accomplish goals and give Administration/CFO servingtheBerkshires, our staffa much-appreciated helping hand; KateSaunders PCeinotnreaelrMVaAlley,and VicePresident Teaching the art ofbaking bread. you also get other people excited about the Advancement Leigh Rae Cleaningup coastalbeaches. Offeringcross- wonders ofour Commonwealth - and ValerieBurns CDiormecmtuorn,itDyoylPaerk President, Boston &Center countryskiers a warm winter welcome. our common wealth. Best ofall, says NaturalAreasNetwork These arejust a fewofthe activities the Brian, "You enjoyyourself- it's not ThVieceTrPursetseiedsenotf GSrteeavteerSlBooasnton I Reservations RegionalDirector, people we profile in this special issue of reallywork, it's fun." LisaVernegaard ActingDirector, SoutheastReg/on SpecialPlaces have undertaken as Trustees Ultimately, volunteering with The VicePresident Sustainability volunteers. We're dedicating this issue to Trustees is about creating meaningful WesWard LaurieO'Reilly them and to all ofour volunteers who give experiencesanddeepeningyourconnections LandV&icCeoPmrmeusindietnyt MMaermkbeetrisnhgi&pDirector your time to this organization each and to a property, to a community, to your Conservation every day - because it's your dedication, neighbors, to our mission across the state. PErloidzuacbte/tohnHall generosity, and creativity that make us It's also about getting your hands dirty, Coordinator what we are. getting your brain engaged, and getting mi! just afew ofour Volunteers aren'tjust the heart and your kids offthe couch. Ifyou haven't soul ofThe Trustees; you are its backbone, volunteered with us yet, I hope you'll and have been since our founding in 1891. take inspiration from this issue and give We inviteyourarticles, photographs, letters, In fact, forthefirst 75yearsofourexistence, it a try this summer - after all, it's the and suggestions. Pleasesendthemto: The Trustees were entirelyvolunteer-led. perfect time to dig in. SpecialPlaces The first executive director came on board Moose Hill Farm . 396 Moose Hill Street in 1966, and we have grown in manyways Sharon, MA02067 tel 781.784.0567 fax 781.784.4796 since then. Butwe still couldn't accomplish EMAIL [email protected] a fraction ofour plans and dreams without Forinformationaboutbecomingamember ourvolunteers, from those ofyou who AndyKendall pleasecontactusat978.921.1944xl858, serve on property committees to those PRESIDENT [email protected] ourwebsiteatwww.thetrustees.org. SpecialPlaces, Summer201 I. Volume 20. Volunteers by the Numbers Issue Number2. SpecialPlaces (ISSN 1087- 5026) is published quarterlyand distributed to membersand donors ofTheTrusteesof Number ofactive volunteers: 1,542 Reservations. Copyright© 201 I.All rights reserved. Printed on recycled paper. Number of hours contributed by volunteers last year: 50,042 PrintedbyUniversal What they did: Built boardwalks... cataloged historic items... milked cows... led guided Millennium,azero walks... took photos... greeted visitors... kept an eye on shorebirds... served on property FSC dischargefacility committees... planned events... patrolled ski trails... cleaned up trash... wrote newsletters... REwCwwYfCscLorEgD MraescsoagncihzuesdetbtystWhaeter cleared invasive species... harvested vegetables... monitored conservation restrictions... and Preacpyecrlemdamdaetefrrioalm ResourceAuthority, much,much more! FSC*C007074 usingsoy-based inks. FROM THE GROUND UP Food for Thought At Powisset Farm, volunteer-led workshops bring CSA members and othersback to their roots. SEEING DEEPLY Finding Fun at the Bryant Homestead Find out howa motorcycle-ridinggrad student brought new perspectives to the Cummington homestead of19th-century poet, newspaperman, and natureloverWilliam Cullen Bryant. PEOPLE AND PLACE Notch Your Average View Everywinter,visitors make tracks for NotchviewReservation to indulge in someofthe region'sbestcross-countryskiing. FIELD NOTES A Second Schantz Some retirees head straight forthe golfcourse, butthis dedicated trail stewardprefers the woods and wilds of the North Shore. COMMUNITY MATTERS Community Collector Onepassionate neighbor is making surelocals enjoyall that Doyle CommunityParkhas to offer. SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN Volunteer as a Family? Get out! From planting seeds to picking up bottle caps, parents and kids are finding newways to get offthe couch and into the action. 12 CALENDAR OF EVENTS 20 FIND YOUR PLACE Cornell Farm, Dartmouth <£>K.GLASS FROM THE GROUND UP Two Powisset Farm shareholders lead eaters back to their roots TOD DIMMICK NEVER LIKED TO COOK. But one day, his wife suggested a deal: She would do the cleaning if hewould do the cooking. He agreed, and a dedicated foodie was born. It'sbeen morethan adecadesince that fateful division ofdomestic labor occurred. In the ensuing years, Dimmickhaswritten severalcookbooks, startedabudget-orientedfoodandwine newsletter, and co-founded a website andmobileapplicationdevotedtolocal food. Heevendishesupsinfulrecipes onTV for ThePhantom Gourmet. Tod Dimmick anil Sonja Lately, Dimmick's passions have Johanson lead workshops turned increasinglytoward local on everythingfrorn baking and organic fare. That's what led bread*to storingfood for the Dover resident to become a the^vinter. member ofthe Powisset Farm CSA (community-supported agriculture) program threeyears ago, and inspired him to startteaching andblogging for the farm in 2010. "Sadly, the food industry takes advantageofourneedfor'instantand edible,'" he says. "But when people startto learn about the nutritional and environmentalbenefits oflocal food, theyrealize it's worth the extra few minutes it takes to prepare." In addition to leadingworkshops at the farm on topics such as baking whole-grain bread, Dimmickhelps CSA members figure outwhat to do with each week's share ofproduceby contributing recipes to the Powisset Farm blog. "I want to provide real SpecialPLACES SUMMER 201 3 I I This is the way people used to live a couple of generations ago. 'Local' wasn't a question; when you bought pork chops or lettuce, of course it was local... - TOD DIMMICK, POWISETT FARM VOLUNTEER people with an alternative to the Johanson, a Master Gardenerby big-boxgrocerystores," says the father training and a motherofthree, grew oftwoteenagers. "This isthewaypeople up in rural Maine, where her family usedtoliveacoupleofgenerationsago. stored crops in their root cellar. She 'Local' wasn'ta question;whenyou says she didn't give the practice much boughtporkchopsorlettuce,ofcourse thought until she moved to suburban itwaslocal... andnowwe'reseeingmore Massachusetts severalyears ago, and options,likefarmstandsandCSAs, that was shocked to find that mostofthe aregivingusthatchoiceagain." people she met - including fellow Dimmickisn'ttheonlyoneguiding parents at her son's school - didn't peoplethrough theleafydepthsoftheir knowthe basics ofwhere food came Farm Volunteers CSA boxes and backto their roots. from and howto store it. FellowPowissetFarmmemberSonja These days, Johanson encourages by the Numbers Johanson ofMedfieldco-taughta class CSA members to reap theirbounty lastsummeronhowtomakethe most bytaking steps such as keeping root ofyourshare, andledanotherinthefall vegetables in a cool place, leaving on howto storefoodoverthewinter. squash at room temperature, and Number of active Bothleadersarepartoftheexpanding, otherbasictechniquesthathavebeen farm volunteers: 200+ largelyvolunteer-ledworkshopprogram lost overtime. She stresses that no at Powisset, which launched its CSA special equipment is needed,just a in Dover in 2007 and nowoffers low- little knowledge - and, ofcourse, the Number of hours orno-cost events from Julythrough desire to dine well. contributed by volunteers November. Manyofthe courses are Johanson, who will offer similar at our farms: 9,849 intended to help people reconnect workshops thisyear, hopes herwork with thebasics offood preparation will reverberate beyond thefarm. "If andstorage. Alongtheway, theyforge I can help keep people involvedwith What they did: connections with the 10-acre farm the CSA, that supports farmland and Milked cows... fed pigs... cleared and with the remarkable community open spaces through The Trustees - weeds(and weedsand weeds)... that has sprouted around it - the farm and that's reallyimportant to me." harvested beetsand bokchoy, currentlyproduces food for 300 share- To find a list ofupcomingwork- kohlrabi and kale... transported holders each week, serving about shops at Powisset Farm, and The donated produceto local hunger- 500 families all told. It also donates Trustees' other farms throughout the produce to fourlocal hunger-relief state,visitwww.thetrustees.org. relieforganizations... mentored organizations, and hosts a weekly our4-H kids... taughtworkshops... farmstand and pick-your-own Katharine Wroth is a contributing and much more! flower operation. editorfor The Trustees and Grist.org. THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS WHAT DO JESS MONTI, A SELF-DESCRIBED "HISTORY morecreative. It's fascinatingto find an object in thecollections nerd who rides a motorcycle," and 19th-centurypoet, and wonderwhy someone kept this particular thing." newspaperman, and nature lover William Cullen Bryant Particulars (and the uniquevolunteers andstaffwho care have in common? They've both found inspiration in - forthem) arewhat keep public history- and specialplaces and gained insight from - the unique New England like the Bryant Homestead - alive. Want to really dig into landscape ofthe William Cullen Bryant Homestead, the history ofa place? Jump on a tour. The Homestead's albeit inverydifferent centuries (and occupations). brand-new tour was carefully crafted by Monti, whose Monti spent last summer as avolunteer intern charge included incorporatingthe property's iconic redbarn at the National Historic Landmarkin Cummington - and the landscape - which inspired so much ofthe poet's logging eight to ten hours every Saturdaywith projects work- into the storyofthehouseitself, with a uniquefocus asvaried as helping stabilize, sort, and re-box morethan on its famous occupant. Will Garrison, Cultural Resources 100volumes ofantiquebooks; retooling the existing Managerwith The Trustees who oversawMonti's internship, visitortour; and takinginventoryoftheentirecollection applaudsherattention to detail, andhertenacity. "She triedout andupdatingdigital records. Spendingsunnysummer everynewversion ofthetour- whicheven includes some care- days surroundedbydustytomes and teacups probably fullychosenpoetry- on newvisitors, until she got itjust right." isn't everyone's idea ofa bang-up season, but Jess Gettingitjust right is clearlypartandparcel ofMonti'sM.O., Monti isn't everyone. and part ofthe fun ofhervolunteer experience as awhole. "I had such a wonderful summer at Bryant," says Sheenthuses, "I gotasneakpeekinto the BryantHomestead. Monti, a full-time office assistant and part-time grad When youvolunteer,you get a deeperlevel ofexperience." studentwhoisworkingtofinishherMaster'sdegreeinthe We couldn'thavesaid itbetterourselves. UMassAmherst Public HistoryProgram. "EverySaturday Iwentto thelittle officeatthe Homestead,whichlooked Find out how you can experience Monti's new tour of outonto therollinglandscape. Itwas restorativeworkI the Bryant Homestead at www.thetrustees.org. wasdoing, and itwas averyrestorativeplaceforme." Ofthe "public history" discipline itself, sheenthuses, Jeanne O'Rourke is theAssociateDirectorforMarketing "Itmeshes myintellectualloveofhistorywithsomething Communicationsfor The Trustees. ABOVE: Jess Monti poseswith Bryant'santique woodenweights. RIGHT: Several ofBryant's possessionsfrom the Homestead. VOLUNTEER AMBASSADORS SUPPORT THE TRU SKI [ MILES OF TRAILS WHISPER THROUGH TRANQUIL BERKSHIRE Royoften provides assistance at the Budd Visitor Center, woods at 3,100-acre Notchview Reservation in Windsor. wherevisitorsstopbytolearnmoreaboutexploringtheproperty. Summerbrings hikers, but winter is the area'sbig attraction. "I'm excited when people showup and want to see the area," Located almost entirelyabove 2,000 feet, Notchviewreceives Roysays. "I answerquestions, putvisitors at ease, hopefully (and retains) more snowthanjust about anywhere else in get them to enjoytheirexperience more. We help give them the state. The result? Some ofthe best, most consistent ideas aboutwhat to look for on the trail and encourage them cross-countryskiing in southern New England. to getoutdoors and explore." "I'vebeen comingtoNotchviewfor25years," saysGlenn While out on the trails, visitors mayencounter Dodge Roy, wholives in Windsor. "I love it. Skiinghere is agreat answering questions and providing assistance, especiallyto wayto exerciseandhave fun in thewinter." Michele Dodgeof first-time skiers. "I try and help out people who are new to Worthington echoesthesentiment. "Notchviewisa reallyhappy skiing and help them have an enjoyable experience," she place. Everybodyseems toknoweverybody. Everybodyseems to remarks. Acommon first-timermistake? "Themostcommon beenjoying themselves. There's a real senseofcommunity." problem is that beginners don't realize they can go out of To share their passion for this high-elevation wonderland, the ski tracks - and it's hard to snowplow or slow down both Dodge and Royvolunteer duringthe winter as Notchview otherwise on steep sections," she notes. "Simple stufflike ski ambassadors. Launched during the 2009-10 ski season, that can make theirtime alot more enjoyable." thevolunteerprogram works to welcome and engage winter Ski ambassadors also provide an important service to visitors - andencourage them to return. Currentlyabout a Notchview'svolunteer ski patrollers, who monitortrail dozen peoplevolunteer as ski ambassadors eachwinter. activityand provide assistance to visitors in the event ofan "Wewerelookingforwaystocreatemorepersonalinteraction injury, equipment failure, or other concern. "Ambassadors for guests, to help them become part ofour thriving ski help serve as the eyes andears ofthe ski patrol," notes community," explains Jim Caffrey, superintendent ofThe Caffrey. "Theyall carryradios. Ifthere's a problem, they're Trustees' Windsor Management Unit. "The program has able to immediatelycontact a ski patroller. Theyreally added a big dimension. Ambassadors really help people provide invaluable support." interested inskiingtobecomemore familiarwithNotchview Notchview Reservation features 25 miles oftrail, all ofwhich andTheTrustees." are open forboth hikingand cross-countryskiing. There are THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS LARGEST RESERVATION ES" opportunities forboth classic and skate skiing, as well as snow- shoeing, with a diverse mixofeasy, intermediate, and advanced terrain. "Notchviewgives whole families the opportunityto get out there," Roysays. "It reallyencourages newpeople to get out and experience the outdoors in the wintertime." As the onlyreservation groomed forcross-country skiing, Notchviewalso provides a unique introduction formanyvisitors to The Trustees in general. "People come to Notchviewtojust ski, not realizing that there are 104 otherTrustees properties," Dodge notes. "It's a great chance to share more about other nearbyopportunities.Ifpeople feel connected, it makes them want to comeback." In addition to theirworkas ski ambassadors, Royand Dodge serve on thevolunteerNotchviewCommittee, which provides guidance and support for operations at the reservation. Royalso volunteers at Notchview in the summer, doingtrail workand plant surveys throughout the property, while Dodge is active as chairofthevolunteer Homestead Committee at the nearby William Cullen Bryant Homestead in Cummington. MattHeid is afreelance writerandexperiencedsnowshoer andcross-countryskier. He is the authorofAMC's Best Backpacking in NewEngland. BY MATT HEID z STAN SCHANTZ KEEPS THE TRAIL CLEAR PRUNERS? BOW SAW? FLICKING STICK? CHECK. Stan Schantz carries three crucial items anytime he hikes the trails ofHamlin Reservation. Hehas a pair ofhand pruners for trimmingbackencroachingvegetation. Hetotesasmallbowsaw forclearingthe trail ofbranches and fallen trees. And hecarries his flicking stick, which has accompanied himon hisvolunteer trail efforts for morethan fouryears. "Mymost importanttoolisastickI pickedupsoI wouldn't havetobenddowntoremovedebrisfromthetrail,"Schantzsays. His flickingstickhasbeenafaithfultrailcompanioneversince. "It'sgottenpolishedwhereI holdontoit,"helaughs. "Toanybody else, it'sjustastick,butto me...ifI lostit....oh, mygoodness." Schantz is avolunteer trail steward for three Trustees reservations: Long Hill in Beverly, and Hamlin and Agassiz reservationsin Ipswich. Atleastonceamonth, hewalksthetrails ofeach reservation to keep them wide, brush-free, and flicked freeofdebris. Hecurrentlymaintains aboutfive miles oftrails. Along-timeresidentofLynnfield,Schantzretiredin 2006 and began volunteeringwith The Trustees soon thereafter. "There are two types ofpeoplewho retire," he says. "Those who hike and those who liketo playgolf." There's little doubt where Schantz'sinterestslie. "Ilikebeinginthewoods,"hesays. "It'sthelittlethings. Thefrogsareout.Thejack-in-the-pulpitis going to pop. Jewelweed isblooming." "Whydo I volunteer?" Schantz reflects. "WhatTheTrustees are trying to do ispreserveplaces that have significanthistorical, cultural, and ecological values - and that resonates with me." Buthis ultimate reason is much simpler: "Ijustenjoydoingit." MattHeidisafreelance writerandtheauthoro/AMC's Best Backpackingin NewEngland. Numbers Trail Volunteers by the Miles of trails managed by The Trustees: 327 Number of active trail volunteers: 350+ Hours contributed by trail volunteers: 3,868 Getout and volunteer during our month-long celebration of NationalTrails Day thisJune.Goto Wvyw.thetrustees.org/nationaltraHs for details.