Trustees | Special Places | Spring 2022 by The Trustees of Reservations

SPRING 2022 VOLUME 30 NO. 1

FOR MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS OF THE TRUSTEES

A Treasure Transformed New life blooms at Long Hill

NEWS FROM ACROSS THE STATE

BloomFest

Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, North Andover

PHOTO BY COCO Mc Mc CABE

Trustees Acquires 66 Acres at Moraine Farm in Beverly

Feasts of

Color

Trustees spring bulb shows are back in bloom. Get your tickets before they run out!

April 21–May 15

Advance reservations required thetrustees.org/springbulbs

The Daffodil & Tulip Festival

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PHOTO BY DAVID EDGECOMB

Naumkeag, Stockbridge

At the end of December, The Trustees finalized its acquisition of 66 acres of land at Moraine Farm in Beverly, after the conclusion of a successful fundraising effort to protect and preserve this important Frederick Law Olmsted-designed landscape. The Trustees already owns four smaller parcels at Moraine Farm, donated by the ©KRISTA PHOTOGRAPHY Batchelder Trust, which have previously been inaccessible to the public. The new acquisition—funded through a $4.15M fundraising campaign, of which $1.1M was provided through a grant from the City of Beverly’s Community Preservation Fund—includes scenic Wenham Lake frontage, an estate house designed by Peabody & Stearns, gardens, sweeping views, and lush Olmsted landscape that will now be combined with the existing Trustees parcels to create a new reservation. “This is something we’ve worked toward as an organization for many decades, and it would never have happened without our generous donors, including tremendous support from the City of Beverly,” said Trustees President & CEO John Judge. “Moraine Farm is an Olmsted masterpiece that we will not only protect forever but will make publicly accessible for the enjoyment of everyone.” Additional funds are still being raised—to fund improvements to the property in advance of its opening to the public later this year—which include connecting its walking trails to the City of Beverly’s J.C. Phillips Nature Preserve and creating additional access points for the community. For more, see page 21, and visit thetrustees.org/moraine.

Two Climate Change Habitat Resilience Grants Awarded The Baker-Polito Administration announced in January that The Trustees is among five organizations and municipalities to be awarded $216,078 in grants through the Commonwealth’s Climate Change Resilience Grant Opportunity Program. Administered through the Department of Fish and ©ABOVE SUMMIT Game’s Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife), the grants will Ashley Pasture at Bartholomew’s Cobble in Sheffield. benefit habitat work at Weir Hill Reservation in North Andover and Bartholomew’s Cobble in Sheffield. $49,050 has been awarded to restore oak-hickory barrens at Weir Hill. Tree mowing and timber harvesting will prepare the site for future prescribed fire, which will allow yellow indigo plants to thrive while serving as a critical host plant for endangered pollinators such as the frosted elfin butterfly and the scrub oak feeder moth. Bartholomew’s Cobble will receive $28,512 for habitat improvement on the Ashley Pasture. Invasive plant and woody species such as multi-flora rose, mugwort, Asian bush honeysuckle, and oriental bittersweet will be removed in order to benefit birds such as bobolink and American kestrel, and a state-listed plant, while increasing the ecological resiliency of the Pasture’s grassland habitat.

New School Field Trips Expand Educational Offerings

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Stewardship Manager Dan Gove changing the welcome sign at The Monoliths parking area.

Trustees Renames Agassiz Rock as The Monoliths In late February, The Trustees announced its Agassiz Rock property in Manchester-by-theSea has been renamed “The Monoliths”— a nod to the site’s two massive, granite boulders. The change comes after more than a year of reflection and deliberation regarding the complex legacy of Louis Agassiz, the 19th-century biologist who published works that proposed that non-white human groups are inherently inferior. Agassiz’s theories about the rocks dotting New England’s landscape being shaped and deposited by glaciers were groundbreaking and scientifically significant. However, he also vehemently promoted the theory of polygenism—the view that humans of varying skin color are of different origins and that non-white races are inherently inferior. After receiving several letters from community members questioning the appropriateness of honoring Agassiz despite his work that denied the humanity of African enslaved people, The Trustees embarked on a journey to determine how tributes like this one align with the organization’s overall

mission of inclusivity across its portfolio of 123 properties. “The mission of The Trustees is to preserve, for public use and enjoyment, properties of exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological value for all people regardless of race or skin color,” said Janelle WoodsMcNish, Managing Director of Community Impact. “While we cannot and will not overlook Agassiz’s scientific contributions, maintaining the Agassiz name on this property would run counter to our goals of inclusion and acceptance for each and every one of our guests who deserve to feel welcome at our special places.” Interpretive signage will be installed on the property that puts Agassiz’s scientific contributions in perspective while explaining why the name was ultimately changed. “Coming to terms with our history is complex and can be contentious, but The Trustees has committed itself to the learning process and embraces this as a journey that doesn’t end but rather evolves,” said President & CEO, John Judge. More information may be found at thetrustees.org/renaming.

The Trustees is expanding its offering to schools through onsite field study programs at numerous reservations. Building on its expertise in land conservation, agroecology, designed landscapes, coastal resiliency, history, and art, The Trustees hosts a portfolio of field trips for schools and youth organizations, with programs for PreK all the way through grade 12. These educational programs, many of which also align with the Massachusetts Department of Education Curriculum Frameworks, provide new ways for students to dive into science, math, language arts, civics, and the arts while exploring Trustees farms, coastal, cultural, and garden properties. Each reservation serves as a unique platform for immersive, authentic learning that brings the classroom to life and inspires a deeper understanding of our natural world and rich cultural history. At the same time, partnerships are being

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established between Trustees reservations and individual schools, in a program the organization is looking to expand. Current partnerships include Salem’s Witchcraft Elementary School at Appleton Farms, the George School in Brockton at Weir River Farm, the Liberty School in Salem at the Crane Estate, and Martha’s Vineyard public schools through the Claire Saltonstall Educational Program and at The FARM Institute. For more information, a list of participating reservations, and to book a field trip for your school, visit thetrustees.org/ education.

SPRING 2022

HIKE TRUSTEES

Congratulations to our Leading Hikers

Hike Trustees is a free monthly challenge to hike and explore Trustees properties throughout the Commonwealth. With more than 120 special places and hundreds of miles of trails to explore across Massachusetts, The Trustees challenges you to get outside and get hiking, and see just how much you can explore. Huge congratulations go out to our 2021 Hike Trustees Challenge category leaders. These are amazing, inspiring accomplishments:

MILES HIKED LEADER KL, 1823.18 miles HIKES TAKEN LEADER “Ranger Rich,” 448 hikes taken PLACES VISITED LEADERS (tied) Pat & “Ranger Rich,” 118 places visited Ready to sign up for the 2022 Hike Trustees Challenge? Learn more and sign up at thetrustees.org/hiketrustees. And join the more than 7,000 people like you in our Trustees Hikers Facebook Group to get pointers and hear about favorite places to hike. Trustees trails await! “Ranger Rich” and Pat after leading a hike at Powisset Farm and Noanet Woodlands in Dover to celebrate their achievement in the Hike Trustees 2021 Challenge, and their hiking group at Noanet Peak.

CONTENTS

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PAT MCDOUGAL

A treasure transformed

Great Marsh restoration sees progress

What’s happening at Trustees reservations

Spring programs & events, statewide

New Life for Long Hill

Natural Healing

COVER: LONG HILL, BEVERLY; PHOTO BY COCO MCCABE; ©TRUSTEES

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Spring into Action

Things To Do

©SHUN LIANG PHOTOGRAPHY

Dear Members: More than ever, people are turning to nature and the outdoors for refuge and peace as we continue to navigate the uncertainty of the world around us. The benefits of spending time outside in nature is well documented—with the daily stresses of pandemic and shocking scenes of an unjust war on our screens, I urge you to use our reservations as places for an outdoor reset. From the open meadows of the Berkshires to the sandy shores of Ipswich, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket, The Trustees provides special places of respite for your physical, mental, and emotional health and wellbeing. Our reservations are open for everyone, forever. We are dedicated to providing welcoming spaces of inclusion and belonging for all. Scan through the pages of this magazine and you will find out about our first-ever property renaming—after thoughtful reflection and debate on the difficult legacy of Louis Agassiz—and of programs to celebrate the rich diversity of our culture. Please invite your family and friends to join us for a program at one of our reservations this spring, and know that all are welcome. There is so much important work The Trustees is able to do because of your commitment and support of our mission. We are actively responding to the impacts of climate change through coastal research and restoration programs in the Great Marsh and the Islands, efforts to improve habitat resilience at Weir Hill and Bartholomew’s Cobble, among others, and the creation of new, resilient parks along the waterfront in Boston. Access to the outdoors for people living and working in urban areas is the foundation on which The Trustees was first established in

1891. And that work—protecting, stewarding, enacting, and amplifying the outdoors—is more important than ever. Saving special places is an ongoing and never-ending endeavor for this storied organization, and you will find information here about our newest acquisition: 66 acres at historic Moraine Farm in Beverly. This property—designed by Frederick Law Olmsted—has been maintained with painstaking care for more than 130 years and will soon be opened to the public for the first time. We were honored to be supported by a generous contribution from the City of Beverly in making this historic acquisition possible. As I have been touring the state since my arrival in January, I have experienced many of our reservations and met dozens of dedicated staff members who work hard every day to maintain our properties, create exciting and engaging programs, and provide you with all the benefits of Membership. Thank you for your continued support of our work across this great Commonwealth—we are only able to do what we ©TRUSTEES do because of your Visiting Crane Beach and meeting staff support, and for that we in early February are eternally grateful. I am excited for the warmer weather ahead and look forward to my own outdoor reset opportunities at our reservations. I hope to meet you on our trails, at our farms, beaches, and campgrounds very soon! Warmly,

John Judge President & CEO

On view this spring

In the shadow of Frederick Law Olmsted

Getting kids into gardening

Art & Exhibitions

Landscape Wandering

Small Hands, Green Thumbs

Statewide Map Avian quest

SPRING 2022

New Life at

LongHill

Expanded garden spaces, remarkable plants, hiking trails, and horticultural education await visitors to this North Shore property’s historic house and gardens BY MEGHAN SHINN

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PUBLIC GARDENS in the house, it created a strong tie to the enchanting gardens that spread out from the building.

Wild Side

PHOTO BY COC0 MCCABE

Nestled upon a drumlin in the North Shore town of Beverly, Long Hill is a property that rose from a love of places near and far, and plants native and exotic. For decades, its original owners worked to build a unique and beautiful home, with stunning gardens rooted in early 20th-century horticultural advancements. “Long Hill is The Trustees’ most diverse garden,” says Jared Bowers, Long Hill & Stevens-Coolidge Portfolio Director. “You can find blooms twelve months of the year among the huge variety here.” Long Hill is a dual-purpose destination, Bowers adds: a beautiful property to visit, and a place for gardeners to take part in educational programming. And with The Trustees nearing the conclusion of a wide-ranging revitalization, Long Hill reemerges this year with preserved, polished beauty, and even more opportunities for horticulture enthusiasts to master their craft.

History and House Long Hill encompasses 114 acres of sloped woods and fields once tended as farmland. In 1916, Ellery Sedgwick, editor of The Atlantic Monthly, and his wife Mabel Cabot Sedgwick purchased the property. An avid gardener and the author of The Garden Month by Month (1907), Mabel immediately recognized the

landscape’s potential. The Sedgwicks moved into an existing farmhouse at the base of the hill and set about building a new house atop the crest. The home was sited to shine within its setting, but distant lands and bygone eras dictated its details. Prior to its construction, the Sedgwicks visited a friend in Charleston, South Carolina, and discovered a stately home in sad decline. They arranged to purchase and ship north its woodwork, including mantles, cornices, and doorframes, and they instructed Long Hill’s architects to draft rooms that would fit the pieces whole. Today, visitors can step inside and see the intricate Charleston-sourced carpentry. Research by Senior Curator Christie Jackson revealed that it was crafted by enslaved people, whose names are now credited within the house’s interpretive materials. Visitors will also notice colorful wallpaper decorating the main hall and staircase. An evocative tangle of wildlife and botanicals, the paper was hand-painted in China in the early 1800s. Ellery and his second wife, plantswoman Marjorie Russell Sedgwick, whom he married after Mabel’s 1937 passing, found it in a London antique shop. Installed

Mabel Sedgwick began creating the gardens shortly after arriving at Long Hill. She was inspired by the work of William Robinson, an Irish gardener and writer who developed a naturalistic planting style he called “the wild garden.” His approach called for thoughtfully editing existing vegetation rather than removing everything to start fresh, and for adding new plants that would complement the established species. Mabel tucked her garden rooms among the junipers and wild blueberries that the earlier farm’s cows had avoided grazing. “The goal was to diversify the horticultural content, so the garden wasn’t just exotic plants or native plants, but a combination,” explains Cindy Brockway, Program Director for Cultural Resources, “and to celebrate what would come about naturally from this mix.” William Robinson also promoted working with a site’s natural topography, an idea that Mabel interpreted to great effect on the drumlin. She recognized horticultural opportunities in the landform’s microclimates—like the steep, warm southfacing hillside that can harbor marginally hardy species—and took advantage of the gentler east and west slopes to carve inviting, meandering paths between garden rooms. Both Mabel and Marjorie remained faithful to the wild garden style, resulting in garden nooks that are cohesive with each other and with the natural landscape cocooning them. But visitors might notice a more formal feel of the spaces nearest the house: here, Mabel

PHOTO BY COC0 MCCABE

Spring blooms abound at Long Hill, like those of the Fragrant Snowbell (Styrax obassia), left. The Summer Garden, right, designed by renowned landscape architect Julie Moir Messervy, is the first new garden space to be opened at Long Hill since the Sedgwick family lived here.

SPRING 2022

RENDERING COURTESY OF LDa LDa ARCHITECTS

The farmhouse, where the Sedgwicks first stayed after acquiring the property in 1916, is currently being renovated to become the Nancy and George Putnam Horticultural Education Center.

hired acclaimed landscape architect Ellen Biddle Shipman, whose work revolved around straight lines and right angles. (Mabel didn’t like the style, but the layout made sense for entertaining.)

Surprises Through the Seasons To appreciate how the Sedgwick Gardens relate to the house, each other, and the woodland, visitors today might start at these more formal spots. The terrace garden runs parallel to the rear of the house, a grassy rectangle outlined with neat beds and a brick retaining wall. A break in the wall accommodates steps that lead down to a lower, rectilinear terrace. From the lower terrace, paths lead left and right to outer garden rooms with the wilder aesthetic. This intensifies until the far reaches, where “there’s

no definition between the back of the border and the beginning of the forest,” observes Joann Vieira, Trustees Director of Horticulture. The forest itself can be explored, too, via a network of trails. The gardens’ twisting layout and sequence of bloom make Long Hill a place to visit repeatedly. “Each time you go, you can have a totally different experience,” says Brockway. Ornaments, gates, tiles, and the iconic Chinese pavilion, a small red structure tucked at woods’ edge, harken to Ellery Sedgwick’s affinity for Asian art and artifacts. Meanwhile, the quantity and quality of the gardens’ plants attest to Mabel and Marjorie’s horticultural prowess. These passionate plantswomen were always seeking species and cultivars that would enhance the gardens, and they gardened during times

of growth within the nursery trade. The Sedgwicks also acquired seedlings directly from the Arnold Arboretum, the fruits of explorations by E.H. Wilson and other botanists. Brockway points out that the explorers’ work was much augmented by Mabel, Marjorie, and other gardening women who grew and observed their acquisitions in home landscapes. Vieira says that, today, the horticulture team has been busy cataloging the species and their importance as a collection: there are at least 2,029 woody plants alone, and more than 2,500 plants total. “And the collection is incredibly diverse and unusual,” she says. From March to early April, white forsythia (Abeliophyllum distichum) is in bloom, an intriguing cousin of our familiar gold forsythia. Another uncommon earlyblooming shrub is Cornelian cherry dogwood (Cornus mas), with clusters of yellow flowers; bird-drawing fruits and interesting bark extend its seasonal appeal. Mid-spring showcases familiar favorites like rhododendrons, azaleas, magnolias, and flowering cherries. In May, curious specimens arrive, like Marjorie’s Davidia involucrata, whose fluttering white bracts inspire the colloquial name dove tree. May also sees bloom from what Joann calls “the heart of the gardens,” fragrant snowbell (Styrax obassia), a small tree with broad leaves and long, pendulous blossoms. A lush mix of perennials runs between the trees and shrubs,

VISIT Long Hill, 576 Essex Street Beverly, MA 01915 WHEN TO VISIT • Year-round; timed reservations are encouraged. • Allow a minimum of one and a half hours. • Peak bloom in May and June. ADMISSION • Check website for hours and admission information for the day of your planned visit. • Always FREE for Members. INFORMATION thetrustees.org/longhill ©TRUSTEES

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“Color is the chief glory of a garden,” said Mabel Sedgwick in her seminal book, The Garden Month by Month, which features her renowned chart of garden flower colors, now on display in the library of the main house. The library contains many gardening books and materials that visitors are welcome to peruse.

providing a layer of ground-level interest from spring to fall, when the woodies again take center stage with colorful foliage and fruits. With the advent of winter, visitors can enjoy the small, bright blossoms of ‘Arnold Promise’ witch hazel shrub (Hamamelis).

Growing Onward Although the Sedgwicks planted for yearround interest, The Trustees team at Long Hill saw an opportunity to enhance and expand the seasonal appeal in summer with a new garden room: The Summer Garden, designed by landscape architect Julie Moir Messervy, for an area that the Sedgwicks had started to develop. Entering through a portal of native hawthorn, visitors will find an enchanting garden that employs the flowing lines Mabel favored and other features “that pay homage to the Sedgwick ladies,” Bowers says—namely, a copper beech echoing the one planted by Mabel in 1916, and reflecting pools reminiscent of the originals that host Marjorie’s water lilies. Although damaged trees had to be removed from this location, several existing junipers and a tree-sized yew merited retention. (New junipers have been strategically placed to beckon visitors into an adjacent meadow and toward the woods.) To Vieira, the salvaged

specimens lend “a sense of permanence” to the space while new plantings—including perennials boasting summer bloom or intriguing leaf texture—fill out and knit together. She also cites an “emphasis on experimentation” in the Summer Garden, which follows Mabel and Marjorie’s penchant for the new, different, and better. That same spirit of discovery fuels recent developments in the outbuildings and spaces at the base of the hill, known collectively as the Lower Campus. This area is being renovated to serve as a hub of horticultural learning, with work expected to soon be completed. Gardeners of all skill levels will learn in classrooms inside the farmhouse, where the Sedgwicks first stayed, now named the Nancy and George Putnam Horticultural Education Center. A former maintenance garage has been renovated to include a greenhouse and working space for students in horticultural programs. The existing Children’s Garden is being refreshed as a Discovery Garden—a learning space for those new to the wonders of gardening and a place to facilitate the youngest visitors’ interactions with plants and nature. Even the property’s entrance has been reworked, providing a more comfortable and welcoming introduction to this destination.

Although we often think of public gardens simply as nice places to visit, they can also serve to advance the art and science of horticulture through research, best practices, and information sharing. To support this, renovations to Long Hill’s Lower Campus provide improved workspace for tasks like propagation. Trial beds will allow staff to evaluate plants, collecting data upon which to base recommendations to local gardeners. Research centered here will extend horticultural learning beyond Long Hill as well—an exciting new program is underway to compare plant performance at Trustees properties in different regions of the state, which offer very different soil and temperature extremes. Brockway says that Marjorie Sedgwick once described the gardens as “a friend above and a friend below,” a reference to the planted layers from ground covers to tree canopy. But Sedgwick’s words capture what Long Hill has become today: amid the beauty in the gardens above and the scholarship in the spaces below, this place offers deep friendship to all who visit. Meghan Shinn is Editor of Horticulture, a subscription-based magazine for avid gardeners.

SPRING 2022

COASTAL UPDATE

OLD TOWN HILL, NEWBURY

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Natural Healing

Innovative Great Marsh restoration project shows encouraging results BY CHRISTINE BOYNTON, TRUSTEES STAFF

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Trustees Lead Ecologist, Coastal Ecology, Russell Hopping (center) and Northeast Wetlands Restoration’s Geoff Wilson (left) give a reporter from NBC10 a close-up look at the progress of sedimentation increases in the ditches.

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n early 2020, The Trustees began restoration work on portions of the 20,000-acre Great Marsh—the largest contiguous stretch of salt marsh in New England—using an innovative nature-based technique. Barely two years later, the effort on the North Shore has become the largest coastal or ecological restoration project in the organization’s 130-year history. Originally launching at an 85-acre pilot area at Old Town Hill in Newbury, the project aims to restore the natural hydrology of the marsh by repairing agricultural ditches dug during colonial times for salt marsh hay production. During the Great Depression, vast re-ditching programs were launched to drain the marsh in areas viewed at the time as swampy, nuisance land. By the late

1930s, nearly 94 percent of New England salt marshes had been re-ditched, negatively altering the health of this important habitat. More than 80 years later, these ditches continue to disrupt natural tidal flow and draining processes. “A healthy marsh is a marsh that allows water to come in during high tide, and drain itself of that water during low tide, without retaining standing water,” said Russell Hopping, Trustees Lead Ecologist, Coastal Ecology. “The marsh needs to flood, but if it retains too much water it will drown the plants, killing them, which over time causes the marsh to subside due to root loss.” But by using an innovative technique pioneered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Geoff Wilson of Northeast Wetlands Restoration, the project’s lead contractor, a natural process can heal these damaged ecosystems. The process—which is expected to take three-to-five years—begins with “runneling” in the winter: creating shallow channels that drain any accumulated surface water as a result of clogged ditches. In spring, the process continues by layering the base of a pre-determined number of ditches with marsh grasses, cut from above. Once loosely secured into the ditches using stakes and twine, sediment borne by tides can accumulate and build marsh peat naturally. This raises the base of the ditches high enough to allow new grasses to take root and thrive, healing the delicate balance of flooding and draining. The water that used to flow through the restored ditches is diverted to the remaining ditches, keeping them clear of clogs and forcing sediment to the marsh surface, allowing the marsh elevation to increase and enabling healthy plant growth. Restoring the natural flooding process means nature does the heavy lifting, and the marsh keeps pace with sea level rise without ongoing, expensive, and disruptive interventions.

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The first runnel in the salt marsh at the Crane Estate in Ipswich was completed in February. This phase of work is done during the winter, when the surface of the marsh is frozen, making it easier to transport the necessary equipment without harming the marsh. The small “island” of material shown here, removed to drain the surface water, will grow vegetation over the spring and summer.

The pilot program received a boost from a National Coastal Resilience Fund grant in 2019, expanding the project scope to 358 acres. In spring 2021, a $1 million grant from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) quadrupled the Great Marsh acreage The Trustees can restore using this technique, expanding the scope of the project to a total of 1,274 acres of marsh in Newbury, Essex, and Ipswich. The additional marsh funded through the NAWCA grant is owned by three entities: The Trustees (689 acres), Essex County Greenbelt (141 acres), and the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (86 acres). Regular mosquito monitoring at the Old Town Hill site has already indicated improvements, with a year-over-year percentage of “dry” areas (where no standing water occurs to sample larvae) increasing from 8.9 percent in 2020 to 25 percent in 2021—a statistically significant decrease in

standing water on the marsh, as its natural draining processes begin to heal. And in December 2021, final permits were received for restoration work to begin on the expanded acreage in Ipswich, Essex, and Newbury, just as the second year of restoration draws to a close at Old Town Hill. The Trustees now has 358 acres fully permitted—with 916 more acres in the planning phase— following the completion of design and initial monitoring work. “The restoration process is going well, and we’re working out a few issues that were not encountered in the pilot projects,” noted Wilson. “An encouraging sign that we’re seeing is a slow reintroduction of tidal exchange into the large mega-pools, which has resulted in 7mm of sediment being deposited on the marsh surface—mimicking the way nature would ‘build up’ a healthy marsh surface over time.”

OLD TOWN HILL, NEWBURY COURTESY OF AMANDA GRACIE DAVIS/UMASS AMHERST

SPRING 2022

WEIR RIVER FARM, HINGHAM

PHOTO BY ELYSSA SCHECK

Spring into Action Our reservations are abuzz with great programs just for you!

As Langston Hughes’ character Simple once said, “I stuck my head out the window this morning and spring kissed me bang in the face.” Spring, full of new life and new possibilities—it’s here and it’s time to take action! Trustees staffers have been dreaming up all kinds of new program possibilities for you and your family. No matter what you like to do, where you are, and when you’ve got time… we’ve got something for you. All you have to do is act: sign up and then head out for the fun.

spots for yoga with a view, at Naumkeag in Stockbridge, Pondside Yoga at Long Point on Martha’s Vineyard, Chestnut Hill Farm in Southborough, Long Hill, and even Family Yoga at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. Nature is good for the soul!

Hike with a Purpose

Getting out for a walk is always wonderful, but spring brings an array of themed hike

possibilities for you to find out even more about the world around you. Try a Bird Walk at World’s End in Hingham, a Spring Refuge Safari or Bird Bingo Safari at Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge on Chappaquiddick Island, a Wildflower Walk at Cormier Woods in Uxbridge or Bartholomew’s Cobble in Sheffield, or a Spring Plant Walk at Long Point on Martha’s Vineyard. Go for a Vernal Pool & Pizza Hike at Powisset Farm in Dover, or a Full Moon Hike at one of many reservations around the state, like the Crane Estate in Ipswich, Ward Reservation in Andover & North Andover, and World’s End in Hingham. CONTINUED ON PAGE 20 ©TRUSTEES

Rejuvenate & Refresh

Getting outdoors is the perfect balm to the stresses of life. Take your trip outdoors to a deeper level of restorative wellness at Trustees properties this spring. We’ve got Mindfulness Walks at Long Hill in Beverly and a Spring Ephemerals Family Meditation Walk at Bartholomew’s Cobble in Sheffield, or try Forest Bathing at Ward Reservation in Andover & North Andover or Fruitlands Museum in Harvard. There’s plenty of 10 THE TRUSTEES

Look inside for a snapshot of programs available this season. There are many more on our website—see the full list and sign up at thetrustees.org/ things-to-do, today!

SPRING 2022

April | May | June

THINGS TO DO

Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate, Canton

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IN THE GARDEN Get your hands dirty while learning from the experts about pruning, vegetable gardening, dividing, and more! For our full array of garden workshops visit thetrustees.org/gardening. PRUNING WOODY SHRUBS

TUESDAY, APR 12 | 10:30AM-12NOON Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, Ipswich

VEGETABLE GARDENING 101 (ONLINE) WEDNESDAY, APR 20 | 5:30-6:30PM Boston Community Gardens

FIELDS OF TULIPS CENTERPIECE WORKSHOP SATURDAY, MAY 14 | 2-4PM Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, North Andover

TASTY TOMATOES WORKSHOP (ONLINE)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 18 | 6-7PM | Boston Community Gardens

PASTELS AND PEONIES FLORAL WORKSHOP SATURDAY, JUN 11 | 2-4PM Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, North Andover

SEASONAL GARDEN STROLL

SATURDAY, JUN 18 | 10:30-11AM Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, Ipswich

MONET’S GARDEN FLORAL WORKSHOP

SATURDAY, JUN 25 | 2-4PM Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, North Andover

SPRING BLOOM FLORAL WORKSHOP

SATURDAY, APR 23 | 2-4PM Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, North Andover

ALL IN BLOOM GARDEN TOURS SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS, APR 23-MAY 29 | 11AM-12NOON Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, North Andover

DIVIDING AND MOVING GARDEN PERENNIALS TUESDAY, MAY 10 | 10:30AM-12NOON Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, Ipswich

Gardening at Long Hill Long Hill, Beverly

LONG HILL GARDEN TOURS

SATURDAYS, APR 16-JUN 26 | 11AM-12NOON

SPRING CONTAINER GARDEN WORKSHOP SATURDAY, APR 23 | 11AM-12NOON

GARDEN-TO-VASE SPRING FLORAL ARRANGING WORKSHOP SATURDAY, MAY 14 | 1-3PM

SPRING PLANT ID WALK

SATURDAY, MAY 21 | 10-11AM

FLORAL ESSENCES WORKSHOP SATURDAY, JUN 11 | 11AM-12NOON

PHOTO BY WHIT WALES

Boston Community Gardens NO-TILL GARDENING WORKSHOP

Plant Sales

Visit thetrustees.org/springplantsale for more information and online ordering, where available.

SATURDAY, APR 30 | 10-11:30AM Spencer Community Garden, Dorchester

LONG HILL PLANT SALE

HIGH YIELD GARDENING

HASKELL PUBLIC GARDENS PLANT SALE

SATURDAY, MAY 7 | 10-11:30AM Forbes Community Garden, Jamaica Plain

VERTICAL GARDENING WORKSHOP SATURDAY, JUN 4 | 10-11:30AM Berkeley Community Garden, South End

POLLINATOR GARDENING WORKSHOP SATURDAY, JUN 25 | 10-11:30AM Windermere Community Garden, Dorchester

SATURDAY, MAY 7 | 9AM-1PM | Long Hill, Beverly Online pre-sale for seedling kits and plant bundles (only) begins Friday, Apr 15, for pick-up during the sale on 5/21. SATURDAY, MAY 21 | 9AM-1PM Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens, New Bedford

CITY NATIVES PLANT SALE

Via online pre-orders only, now through May. PICKUPS ON THURSDAYS & SATURDAYS | MAY 7-28 10AM-3PM | City Natives, Mattapan

Don’t forget to REGISTER ONLINE FOR YOUR PROGRAM at thetrustees.org/things-to-do Program details subject to change. For up-to-date event information, or to search for events in your area, at a specific property, by type or by date, click on Things To Do at thetrustees.org. Use your member code (above your name on your member card) to qualify for member discounts. NEW! If you need to find your member code, account information, or look up ticket and registration status for specific programs, visit thetrustees.org/customerservice.

SCHOOL VACATION WEEK Bring the kiddos to our farms, beaches, woodlands, and museums for some fun adventures. Here are just some of the activities in store for kids and families during spring break. Visit thetrustees.org/aprilvacation for the full list. FAMILY MUSIC AT THE RED BARN MONDAY, APR 18 | 10-10:45AM Weir River Farm, Hingham

DROP-IN SPRINGTIME ART-MAKING MONDAY, APR 18 | 10AM-1PM Long Hill, Beverly

FARMER FOR A WEEK CAMP

MONDAY-FRIDAY, APR 18-22 | 9AM-3PM Appleton Farms, Hamilton & Ipswich

CraneExplorer

WEE EXPLORERS

TUESDAY, APR 19 | 9:30-10:30AM Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, North Andover

BARNYARD STORY HOUR TUESDAY, APR 19 | 10-11AM Weir River Farm, Hingham

FAMILY BIRDING ADVENTURE

TUESDAY, APR 19 & THURSDAY, APR 21 | 10-11:30AM World’s End, Hingham

OPEN BARNYARD AT WEIR RIVER FARM

TUESDAY-THURSDAY, APR 19-21 | 11AM-12NOON & 12NOON-1PM | Weir River Farm, Hingham

ARTFull VACATION CLASS (4 SESSIONS) TUESDAY-FRIDAY, APR 19-22 GRADES K-2 | 9:30-11:30AM GRADES 3-5 | 1-3PM deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln

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CLAY WORKSHOPS FOR TEENS (4 SESSIONS) TUESDAY-FRIDAY, APR 19-22 | GRADES 7-12 Creative Clay Sculpture | 10AM-12NOON Clay On the Wheel | 1-3PM deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln

CASTLE HILL TOUR: THE CAT'S MEOW

TUESDAY-FRIDAY, APR 19-22 | 10:30AM, 11:30AM & 1:30PM | Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, Ipswich

STROLLER TOURS AT DECORDOVA

WEDNESDAY, APR 20 | 10-11AM deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln

SIGNS OF SPRING AT WEIR RIVER FARM WEDNESDAY, APR 20 | 10-11AM Weir River Farm, Hingham

ARTFull APRIL VACATION

WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY, APR 20-22 | 1-2PM deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln

FARM EXPLORERS AT WEIR RIVER FARM THURSDAY, APR 21 | 10-11AM Weir River Farm, Hingham

Celebrate our Earth! EARTH DAY SUNRISE HIKE FRIDAY, APR 22 | 5:30-7:30AM Lyman Reserve, Buzzards Bay

EARTH DAY SCULPTURE PARK TOUR

FRIDAY, APR 22 | 1-3PM deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln

EARTH DAY HIKE

FRIDAY, APR 22 | 5:30-7:30PM Copicut Woods, Fall River

For a FULL LISTING OF PROGRAMS not shown here, visit thetrustees.org/things-to-do

Spring 2022 Highlights & Special Events A glimpse at just a few of the hundreds of things to do at our special places across the state this season. Visit thetrustees.org/things-do to see all of our programs, get the latest updates, find more information and, for events that require them, get tickets. We hope to see you at one of our reservations soon!

Spring Bulb Shows BLOOMFEST

THURSDAY, APR 21-SUNDAY, MAY 15 Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, North Andover

THE DAFFODIL & TULIP FESTIVAL THURSDAY, APR 21-SUNDAY, MAY 15 Naumkeag, Stockbridge

Information and tickets: thetrustees.org/springbulbs ©TRUSTEES

Fruitlands Spring Concert Series ELLIS PAUL

THURSDAY, MAY 12 | 6:30-8:30PM

HEATHER MALONEY

FRIDAY, MAY 19 | 6:30-8:30PM

SPOUSE

FRIDAY, MAY 26 | 6:30-8:30PM Fruitlands Museum, Harvard PHOTO BY LISA ABITBOL

Outdoor Theater at Castle Hill ROMEO AND JULIET

WEDNESDAYS & THURSDAYS, JUN 1-2 & 8-9 | 7PM SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS, JUN 4-5 & 11-12 | 2PM Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, Ipswich

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Juneteenth at Nightingale

Celebrate Juneteenth at one of Dorchester’s thriving, diverse community gardens with an afternoon of uplifting music, spoken word poetry, a story circle for children, and black-owned food trucks. SUNDAY, JUN 19 | 3-5PM Nightingale Community Garden, Dorchester PHOTO BY WHIT WALES

Take a Hike (or Two or Three!)

Join us this spring on one of our many guided hikes across Massachusetts. There are Wildflower Walks, Full Moon Hikes, Bird Walks, Sunrise Hikes, family adventures, and much more! thetrustees.org/outdooradventures

PHOTO BY JON SACHS

June is Pride Month

FARM DINNER: OUT AT THE FARM FRIDAY, JUN 10 | 6-8PM

OUT AT THE FARM: ADULT COOKING CLASS THURSDAY, JUN 16 | 6-8PM

DATE NIGHT: OUT AT THE FARM FRIDAY, JUN 17 | 6-8PM Powisset Farm, Dover PHOTO BY COCO MCCABE

Master Woodcarver Grinling Gibbons

Castle Hill’s Great House library houses one of the rare American examples of wood carvings by 17th-century English sculptor Grinling Gibbons. Join us for A Tale of Two Carvings: Celebrating Grinling Gibbons, featuring viewings of our library carvings, a lecture by Art Institute of Chicago staff about their recent Gibbons restoration project, and a reception. THURSDAY, JUN 2 | 6-8PM Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, Ipswich PHOTO BY ALEX JONES

South End Garden Tour

The garden gates open again for our annual South End Garden Tour. Explore some of the South End’s most spectacular private outdoor spaces in this always-popular neighborhood event. SATURDAY, JUN 18 | 10AM-3PM Boston Community Gardens Look for our new garden tour in Dorchester coming in July! PHOTO BY MARK GARDNER

Summer Solstice

FARM DINNER AT POWISSET FARM

FRIDAY, JUN 24 | 6-8PM | Powisset Farm, Dover

SOLSTICE CELEBRATION

SATURDAY, JUN 25 | 5-9PM | World’s End, Hingham

SUMMER SOLSTICE COCKTAIL PARTY SATURDAY, JUN 25 | 5-8PM Appleton Farms, Hamilton & Ipswich PHOTO BY KATE GLASS

For a FULL LISTING OF PROGRAMS not shown here, visit thetrustees.org/things-to-do

FATHER’S DAY WEEKEND PIZZA, BEER, BBQ & BLUEGRASS

SATURDAY & SUNDAY, JUN 18 & 19 | 12NOON-5PM Appleton Farms, Hamilton & Ipswich

FATHER’S DAY HIKE

SUNDAY, JUN 19 | 8-10AM Cormier Woods, Uxbridge & Mendon

FATHER’S DAY BBQ & BLUEGRASS

SUNDAY, JUN 19 | 12NOON-2PM Powisset Farm, Dover PHOTO BY TOM KATES

CELEBRATE MOM & DAD Treat the moms and dads in your life with a unique event at one of your favorite Trustees reservations or venture out to make special memories at a new place you’ve been meaning to visit! See thetrustees.org/ things-to-do for the latest updated program listings.

Mother’s Day MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND CRAFTING FAIR

SATURDAY, MAY 7 | 12NOON-4PM Appleton Farms, Hamilton & Ipswich

CLAY MOTHER’S DAY CARDS AND CHIMES WORKSHOP

MOTHER’S DAY YOGA SUNDAY, MAY 8 | 8-9AM Naumkeag, Stockbridge

WILDFLOWER WALKS

SUNDAY, JUN 19 | 1-2PM deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln

GRILL IT UP FOR DAD!

SUNDAY, JUN 19 | 4-6PM The FARM Institute, Edgartown

SUNDAY, MAY 8 | 9AM-5PM Bartholomew’s Cobble, Sheffield

MOTHER’S DAY WILDFLOWER WALK

SUNDAY, MAY 8 | 10AM-12NOON Slocum’s River Reserve, Dartmouth

MOTHER’S DAY SCULPTURE PARK SPOTLIGHT TOUR SUNDAY, MAY 8 | 11AM-12NOON deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln

MOTHER’S DAY BRUNCH AT THE FARM SUNDAY, MAY 8 | 11AM-1PM Powisset Farm, Dover

MOTHER’S DAY PICNIC AT THE LIGHT

SUNDAY, MAY 8 | 1-3PM Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge, Chappaquiddick

SATURDAY, MAY 7 | 1-2:30PM deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln

Father’s Day

MOTHER’S DAY FLORAL WORKSHOP

SATURDAY, JUN 18 | 5-8PM Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, North Andover

SATURDAY, MAY 7 | 2-4PM Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, North Andover

FATHER’S DAY GUIDED SCULPTURE PARK TOUR

Time outside is fundamental to a life well lived.

FATHER’S DAY BASH

Visit your local co-op today

BOSTON | CAMBRIDGE | FRAMINGHAM | HINGHAM | READING

IN THE KITCHEN Our kitchens at Appleton Farms, Powisset Farm, and The FARM Institute are busy making truffles, pizza, focaccia, quiche, risotto, and so much more. Here are just some of the programs on offer to sharpen your cooking skills with farm fresh ingredients and new friends. Visit thetrustees.org/trusteescooks for the most up-to-date list.

Cooking Classes at The FARM Institute The FARM Institute, Edgartown

TEENS CAN COOK WITH JENNY DEVIVO SATURDAYS, APR 2 & 16, MAY 7 & 21, JUN 4 & 18 | 1-3PM

HOMEMADE CHALLAH WITH VINEYARD BAKER

WEDNESDAY, APR 9 | 10AM-12NOON

PASTA CLUB WITH KATIE LEAIRD

SATURDAYS, APR 9, MAY 14, JUN 11 | 5:30-7:30PM

TACOS, TORTILLAS, AND MOCKTAIL MARGARITAS

THURSDAY, MAY 5 | 5:30-7:30PM

FAMILY FUN WITH CHEF KATIE LEAIRD SATURDAY, MAY 28 | 10-11:30AM

COOKING FROM THE ISLAND: EATING WHAT’S FRESH AND WHAT’S LOCAL WITH CHEF JENNY DEVIVO WEDNESDAYS, JUN 22 & 29 | 5:30-7:30PM

Powisset Cooks Powisset Farm, Dover

TOTS IN THE KITCHEN

TUESDAYS, APR 5 & 26 | 10-11:30AM

ADULT COOKING CLASSES

For a FULL LISTING OF PROGRAMS not shown here, visit thetrustees.org/things-to-do

HISTORIC SPACES The Trustees’ historic houses showcase architecture and design, collections and craftsmanship, and culture that spans more than 300 years. These spaces animate history, provoke conversation, and stimulate new thinking while reinterpreting our cultural past.

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Before heading out, be sure to visit thetrustees.org/ historicspaces for the latest details on opening schedules, tour dates and times, tickets, and more.

FRUITLANDS MUSEUM

THE GREAT HOUSE AT CASTLE HILL

LONG HILL

Themed tours include Cupola with a View, Guest of the Cranes, Highlights on the Hill, Servant Life in a Tech-Savvy House, The Cat’s Meow, and Within the Garden Walls. The Crane Estate, 290 Argilla Road, Ipswich

THE OLD MANSE

Choose from six themed tours, including four highlighting new stories and interpretations. 269 Monument Street, Concord

STEVENS-COOLIDGE HOUSE & GARDENS

The Stevens-Coolidge house is opening again after extensive restoration work. Ticketholders for BloomFest will be able to tour the house during their visit. After May 15, the house will open weekdays except Wednesday, with guided tours at 1PM, and on Saturdays and Sundays for self-guided tours. 153 Chickering Road, North Andover

102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard 576 Essex Street, Beverly

NAUMKEAG

The house at Naumkeag will be open for ticketholders to the Daffodil & Tulip Festival, and then will re-open for the season on May 26. 5 Prospect Hill Road, Stockbridge PROGRAM REFUNDS/CANCELLATIONS: In the event that a program is cancelled due to severe weather, low enrollment, or other circumstances, we will notify you as soon as possible by email and issue you a full refund within 14 days of the cancellation. If you cannot attend a program as planned, contact the Trustees property 7 days prior to the start of the program to receive a full refund. Refunds will not be granted for registration cancellations placed fewer than 7 days before the start of the program. There are no refunds for missed classes. The Trustees reserves the right to change program locations, schedules, or instructors when necessary. Note: Summer Camps and our inns and campgrounds each have separate cancellation policies.

Kayak the Crane Estate

Choate Island & Crane Wildlife Refuge Great Marsh & Historic Fox Creek Essex Bay & Castle Neck

©STONEY STONE PHOTO

• Guided trips for all ages and skill levels • Varied itineraries through the North Shore’s foremost kayaking destination • Daily from late May through October

thetrustees.org/cranekayak 978.356.4351 18 THE TRUSTEES

PHOTO BY J. DELORENZO

EXHIBITIONS ON VIEW For more information on these and all Trustees exhibitions, visit thetrustees.org/exhibitions.

5 Prospect Hill Road, Stockbridge GEORGE RICKEY: VIEWESCAPES April 18-Nov 1, 2022

A major exhibition of the late George Rickey’s kinetic sculptures, ViewEscapes features 12 of Rickey’s large-scale outdoor sculptures installed throughout the public gardens, as well as six sculptures and three works of art inside the historic house. The exhibition explores Rickey’s life, design process, and artistic intent, highlighting works spanning from the 1950s—as Rickey was gaining prominence—through the 1990s and the end of his long and prolific career.

DECORDOVA SCULPTURE PARK AND MUSEUM

51 Sandy Pond Road, Lincoln

+ FRUITLANDS MUSEUM

NAUMKEAG

Presented by The Trustees, in partnership with The George Rickey Foundation

ART & EXHIBITIONS

102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard NEW ENGLAND TRIENNIAL April 8-Sept 11, 2022 Rose B. Simpson, COUNTERCULTURE 2.a, 2021. Ceramic, steel, grout, and mixed media. Image courtesy of the artist and Jessica Silverman Gallery. Photo by Julia Featheringill

FIELD FARM

554 Sloan Road, Williamstown ROSE B. SIMPSON: COUNTERCULTURE June 18, 2022-Spring 2023

Counterculture is a mixed media installation that honors generations of marginalized people and cultures whose voices have been too often silenced by colonization. Simpson will collaborate with other native artists and communities to fabricate beaded necklace-like adornments that will be draped on the figures cumulatively throughout Counterculture’s run. Visit the Trustees website for information on programs and partnerships with other arts and cultural organizations in the area.

The New England Triennial 2022 features the work of a diverse and ambitious group of 25 artists, based across the six states. The exhibition foregrounds and reveals tendencies in contemporary art today, including ancestral knowledge and kinship, material transmutation, and intimate attachments to the natural world. Featuring a wide range of artistic mediums, the Triennial includes painting, sculpture, fiber arts, ceramics, print, installation, video, and performance. For the first time, the exhibition spans both of the Trustees museums: deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln and Fruitlands Museum in Harvard. Information at: thetrustees.org/triennial.

DECORDOVA SCULPTURE PARK AND MUSEUM

51 Sandy Pond Road, Lincoln MELVIN EDWARDS: BRIGHTER DAYS June 1, 2022-May 8, 2023

George Rickey, TWO OPEN TRAPEZOIDS EXCENTRIC III, 1977, stainless steel. Courtesy of the George Rickey Foundation. Photo by Matthew Healey

Melvin Edwards: Brighter Days showcases six large-scale sculptures by the inimitable contemporary African American artist Melvin Edwards (b. 1937). Organized by the Public Art Fund of New York City, the exhibition brings forth significant conversations on Black history and identity and continues to provide the opportunity to engage with pivotal figures of contemporary art across the two main lawns at deCordova.

Sascha Braunig, UNSEEN FORCES, 2017. Oil on linen over panel, 42 x 36 inches. Courtesy of Sascha Braunig. Photo by Mark Woods

SPRING 2022

Spring into Action CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

Get Outdoors at Crane

Whether you’re looking for adventure or just love being outside, the Crane Estate in Ipswich & Essex has something for outdoor enthusiasts of all ages. With over 2,100 acres

coastal meadows and woodlands offer some of the most beautiful scenery in the state. Get to know the area with a Signs of Spring Walk at Cornell Farm in Dartmouth, a Full Moon Hike at East Over Reservation in Rochester or the Lyman Reserve in Buzzards Bay, or a Wildflower Walk at Slocum’s River Reserve in Dartmouth. And what better way to walk off your sweet snacks than with a National Donut Day Hike at Copicut Woods in Fall River? So many options… see you on the trails!

Music Come Alive

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of beach, dunes, woodlands, and marsh at one of the most beautiful properties around, you’ll have an experience you won’t soon forget. Take a guided kayak trip up historic Fox Creek or to Choate Island, the crown jewel of the Crane Wildlife Refuge. Try a Castle Neck Hike in the Dunes, or a Sunset Riverboat Tour, or explore the trails around the grand seaside estate on a Castle Hill Hike. Find out more at thetrustees.org/ craneoutdoors.

Out & About Down South

This spring, we’re offering unique ways to see our incredible South Coast reservations. If you’re a local or a first-time visitor, the

There’s no better place to enjoy the sounds of live music than our special places! Take in the Kina Zoré Concert at Hutch, featuring the Boston-based Afropop band along with food and drink from local food trucks, at Hutchinson’s Field in Milton on Saturday, May 28. Fruitlands Museum in Harvard is expanding its concert programs this spring, presenting Ellis Paul, Heather Maloney, and Spouse in May concerts, and the always popular Summer Concerts with the Concord Band return in June. And Weir River Farm in Hingham starts up its beloved Sunset Picnics concerts again this June, featuring local breweries and food trucks, live music, and the best view on the South Shore.

Celebrations Galore

Jump for joy—spring is full of holidays and causes to get together in celebration! Come for an Egg Hunt at The FARM Institute on Martha’s Vineyard or Peter Rabbit’s Pizza

PHOTO BY MATTHEW HEALEY

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PHOTO BY JON SACHS

Party at Powisset Farm in Dover for Easter. On Earth Day there are hikes at Lyman Reserve in Buzzards Bay and Copicut Woods in Fall River, a Sculpture Park Tour at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, and a Kite Festival on the scenic fields of Fruitlands Museum in Harvard. June is Pride Month, and Powisset Farm in Dover has several OUT at the Farm events to celebrate with, and there’s a Pride Night Hike at Copicut Woods in Fall River. Join us for Juneteenth at Nightingale, one of Dorchester’s thriving, diverse community gardens, with an afternoon of uplifting music, spoken word poetry, a story circle for children, and blackowned food trucks. And Moms and Dads have their days, too! Check out the calendar section in the middle of this magazine for a list of the many fun activities we have in store to honor thy parents. More events are being planned, and as always, changes do occur—so be sure to visit our website at thetrustees.org/things-todo for the most up-to-date listings and to register. Spring into action and don’t miss out: Sign up for one or more of our hundreds of programs and events today.

WORLD’S END, HINGHAM

Landscape Wandering in the Shadow of

FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED

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BY CINDY BROCKWAY, TRUSTEES STAFF

Two hundred years after the father of American landscape architecture was born, his influence on The Trustees is still being felt.

n the pantheon of American landscape architects, the name Frederick Law Olmsted looms over all others. His oeuvre as a landscape designer is legendary, encompassing Central Park in Manhattan, the grounds around the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, and countless other works. His sensibilities are enduring, making an impression on apprentices that included Trustees founder Charles Eliot, who captured

Olmsted’s design ethos and shaped it into visionary responses to contemporary philosophical and social influences. From the founding of The Trustees in 1891 to World War II, the relationship between the organization and the Olmsted office was tightly intertwined; Eliot even became a partner in the firm of Olmsted, Olmsted and Eliot from 1893 until his death in 1897. Meantime, Olmsted’s approach helped define the character of some of the Trustees’ most revered reservations while

they were still private residences, including Moraine Farm in Beverly and World’s End in Hingham. With 2022 marking the 200th anniversary of Olmsted’s birth, his approach and his lasting legacy on Trustees properties demand a closer look. Frederick Law Olmsted created a national reputation for site engineering, landscape design, and public park design. Each of his projects upheld seven distinctive design principles (dubbed The Seven S’s—see the SPRING 2022

sidebar), and Olmsted landscapes were always meant to be experienced as you traveled through them, rewarding wanderers with one surprise after the next. Though these places have been sensitively manipulated and highly designed, they unfold naturally, as if they’ve always been there. The Trustees count seven properties where Olmsted—and, later on, his sons—had great impact, including Moraine Farm. In 1879, the Philips family commissioned Olmsted to design a Beverly country estate perched on the shores of Lake Wenham. Here, Olmsted created a forested lodge out of failing farmland with three distinct elements: forest, field, and estate grounds. More than 60,000 trees were planted across 75 acres between 1883 and 1892. Three carriage road loops meandered amidst newly curated scenery; the house not revealed until the last turn of the entry road. Charles Beveridge, editor of The Frederick Law Olmsted Papers Project, stated, “Moraine Farm was as fully executed as Biltmore but the picturesque quality of the house, its rugged terrace, and the scale and interest of the terrain all provide an effect that is more truly Olmstedian than is true at Biltmore … and retains more of his spirit than any other residential design still in existence today.” In 1889, John Brewer commissioned Olmsted to lay out a housing subdivision on Planter’s Hill in Hingham, two years after Olmsted created a similar subdivision plan in Swampscott on Boston’s North Shore. Today, Olmsted’s tree-lined carriage roads are the memorable core of World’s End, which encompasses Planter’s Hill. As with Moraine Farm, World’s End is a landscape meant to be experienced firsthand, with views and landscape scenery that reveal themselves as you wander. In the years following the completion of Moraine Farm, America’s wealthy turned away from Olmsted’s nature-inspired designs and looked instead to the Renaissance villas of Italy and France with their strong axial arrangements and viewing terraces. In 1909, six years after Olmsted passed away, Richard Teller Crane Jr. commissioned Olmsted’s sons to design his Italianate villa at Castle Hill in Ipswich. Here, the firm—whose name had changed to The Olmsted Brothers— 22 THE TRUSTEES

MORAINE FARM, BEVERLY

As with Moraine Farm, World’s End is a landscape meant to be experienced firsthand, with views and landscape scenery that reveal themselves as you wander. created a sunken formal garden, Italianate forecourt, and bowling green inspired by the Villa Gamberaia and Boboli Gardens in Italy. Meanwhile, between 1896 and 1943, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. advised and helped negotiate the acquisition of the William Cullen Bryant Homestead in Cummington (1891-1927), created the early surveys and signage for Rocky Narrows in Sherborn (1896-1901), and negotiated the gift of Holmes Field in Plymouth (1943-44). In 1943, Olmsted Jr. was presented with The Trustees’ award for “distinguished service for conservation.” Even 200 years on, Olmsted’s name and works remain timeless. As living art forms, his landscapes require rejuvenation and reinvestment: trees mature and decline, walls crumble. Today, we can walk through these remarkable places, experience these

living legacies, and celebrate the genius behind them. Be critical observers of your own this season: wander in the footsteps of Olmsted and Eliot at these Trustees reservations. Visit thetrustees. org/olmsted for more information on Olmsted’s legacy and these special places. Cindy Brockway is Cultural Resources Program Director for The Trustees. RIGHT: Photo albums in the Trustees archives show the planting of white pine seedlings at Moraine Farm in 1909, continuing the effort to achieve Olmsted’s vision of creating a forested lodge on what was failing farmland. FAR RIGHT: Landscaping under construction around the house at Moraine Farm. Olmsted’s designs called for “...highly picturesque in its outlines and material ... mainly field stones, laid with a large but variable batter and with many crannies...” PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MORAINE FARM ARCHIVE. THE TRUSTEES, ARCHIVES & RESEARCH CENTER.

The Seven S’s Frederick Law Olmsted’s projects each upheld these seven distinctive, and alliterative, design principles SCENERY: Create “passages of scenery”, even in small spaces, that enhance the sense of space SUITABILITY: Work with the natural scenery and topography, fully utilizing the site’s “genius of place” STYLE: Use pastoral and picturesque design styles to provide richness and variety

PHOTO BY KRISTA PHOTOGRAPHY

Olmsted’s history with The Trustees also included some interesting footnotes: after Joseph Choate invited Olmsted to provide design advice on his summer estate in Stockbridge, Naumkeag, Olmsted’s ideas were rejected when he recommended cutting the Choates’ favorite picnic tree—the great white oak on today’s South Lawn (left)— as the site for the main house. ©TRUSTEES

Olmsted’s sons—John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.—were contracted by the Crane family to site the original Italianate Villa at Castle Hill (left, since razed and replaced by the current Great House), as well as design a formal garden. Their Italian Garden remains a prominent feature of the property today.

SUBORDINATION: Individual elements are subservient to achieve the success of the whole design SEPARATION: Separate conflicting or incompatible uses SANITATION: Provide adequate drainage and engineering for the health of the landscape and its users SERVICE: Plan designs that best meet the purposes for which they were designed, with just enough ornament to meet the fundamental social and psychological needs of its users.

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SPRING 2022

IN THE GARDEN

Sharing time in the garden is an intergenerational gift

Small Hands,

Green Thumbs BY JEFF HARDER

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garden center. “It can be as simple as giving them a spoon, bowl, dirt, and seeds, and seeing what they can create,” Olivere adds. “Just let their curiosity lead them, and later on that can lead to a more hands-on, guided approach to gardening.” PHOTO BY MARK GARDNER

On any given day during the growing season, Kristin McCullin watches her five-year-old daughter Kalmia explore the small wonders of their family’s garden: weeding around the pink impatiens she raised from gardencenter seedlings, growing tomatoes from seed to harvest, noshing on fresh-plucked berries and cucamelons, pausing to inspect caterpillars and cicadas. “As a parent, it brings me so much joy seeing her interact with the natural world,” says McCullin, Horticulturist at Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens in New Bedford. Whether you’re a green-thumbed grandparent or a mom or dad who’s never touched a trowel, sharing time in the garden with younger generations brings a range of rewards: it’s a fresh-air alternative to screen time, a ruse to get colorful fruits

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and vegetables into starchy diets, and a safe environment where parents can step back, kids can grow their independence, and getting muddy doesn’t mean getting in trouble. Now, with Massachusetts’ final frost dates rapidly approaching, Trustees horticulture experts offer tips to help grow children’s passion for gardening and sustain it through the seasons.

Start Small

“A lot of times, parents overcomplicate things,” says Julie Olivere, a parent of two and Visitor Services and Enterprise Manager for Long Hill in Beverly and Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens in North Andover. Instead of planting a farmer’s market worth of produce, begin with lower stakes, like helping your child plant a flower they picked out at the

Give Space, Give Tools

Create designated spots for your kids’ crops, whether a newly built raised bed in the yard or a few terra cotta planters on the patio. If you already have a garden, Joe Berger, Horticulturist at Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, suggests devoting a particular section to family gardening. “Little kids get excited by being part of the action,” he says. “Instead of separating out their own place in the garden, find a place to work together.” Once they have their space, spring for kid-sized shovels, rakes, gloves, and other gardening tools.

Planting for the Plate

A child’s garden should lean on low-fuss, quick-growing crops like carrots, lettuce, beets, and summer squash. For parents of picky eaters, consider growing foods they already have an appetite for—tomatoes

and basil if they devour pizza slice after pizza slice, strawberries if they’re partial to Belgian waffles, a self-pollinating apple tree to eventually make apple sauce. And you can’t go wrong with potatoes: McCullin suggests planting tubers in a small pot, tipping the container over at the end of the season, separating spuds from soil, and making a batch of hand-cut French fries.

Outside Jobs

No matter your child’s age or experience, there’s a gardening job suited for them. Again, start small: give your preschooler a watering can and task them with soaking their herbs and flowers before school. In time, have them make plant labels with popsicle sticks, and help harvest food or collect seeds at the end of the season. Older, more experienced kids can help with culling, pruning, and other, more complex tasks under supervision. Just remember: not every chore is for every child. “My philosophical take on it is: some kids will be weeders, and some kids won’t,” Berger says.

Dig In!

We’ve got some great programs to get the kiddos started on their gardenloving journey.

Wee Explorers

Tuesdays, through Jun 28 9:30-10:30AM Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, North Andover

Garden Explorers

Opportunities for Education

A garden doubles as an outdoor classroom. At Stevens-Coolidge, Olivere hosts Wee Explorers, a nature-based program where toddlers explore the smells, textures, and colors of the gardens through the seasons. At home, watching butterflies flutter around a patch of milkweed can be a springboard to discussing the ecology of pollination, or the lifecycle of Monarchs. Adding nitrogen-rich lawn clippings to a compost pile, meanwhile, is the basis of a real-life chemistry lesson.

Have Fun…and Slow Down

When you’re introducing little ones to gardening, having fun outweighs a bountiful harvest. Instead of suffering till the sun goes down, set time limits and take breaks. Keep snacks and water on hand. Stop gardening before your child wears a look that says you should have stopped 15 minutes ago. And, parents: don’t forget to just follow your child’s lead sometimes. “[Raising children] is the ultimate mindfulness practice,” McCullin says. “My daughter notices every detail in the garden, and that makes me slow down and be a little more present in my life.”

PHOTO BY MARK GARDNER

Jeff Harder is a freelance writer and editor who lives in New England. SPRING 2022

AvianQuest Great birding spots across the state

Black Skimmer MARTHA’S VINEYARD PHOTO BY LANNY MCDOWELL

Mountain Meadow Preserve Royalston Falls

t Ri v e r

Jacobs Hill Jewell Hill Doane’s Falls Bear’s Den

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When it comes to Massachusetts birding, there’s no shortage of wonderful places to bring the binoculars and listen to the Field Farm birdsong, or simply keep your eyes open for the next great Bear Swamp sighting. Our forests and fields come to life in the spring and Notchview summer months, with the sounds of warblers, grassland Bullitt Reservation birds, and many others. And in winter, check out the Chapel Brook many species of waterfowl at our coastal reservations. Bryant Homestead Chesterfield Gorge Here are some ideas to get out there, check some new Petticoat Glendale Falls species off your list, and immerse yourself in nature’s Hill Naumkeag version of tweets. Goose Pond Reservation Little Tom Bartholomew’s Cobble SHEFFIELD

The amazing variety of flora at “Bart’s” earned it a National Natural Landmark designation in 1971, but the birds are no slouches either. According to eBird, 189 species have been spotted here in the past five years, from vireos and redstarts to bobolinks and bluebirds. Field Farm WILLIAMSTOWN

Turn your birding adventures into a multi-day experience! Stay at the Guest House—a historic mid-century modern B&B—and wake up to views of majestic Mount Greylock. Explore flowing streams, mature oak forests, open meadows, and the birds that love them, like pileated woodpeckers, indigo buntings, and kestrels. Dexter Drumlin LANCASTER

This 38-acre property in central Massachusetts is open meadow that’s managed for ground-nesting birds, including bobolinks, Savannah Sparrow, and even an occasional Eastern Meadowlark. In the summer, you might also find Red-winged Blackbirds, Northern Flickers, and Willow Flycatchers.

Harlequin Ducks HALIBUT POINT @HEATH_BLEAU

26 THE TRUSTEES

The Mission House Monument Mountain

Swift River Reservation

Quabbin Reservoir

Rock House Reservation

Worcester

Land of Providence

Springfield

Questing

Bartholomew’s Cobble

Quinebaug Woods Peaked Mountain

Moose Hill Farm SHARON

Doyle Community Park & Center Redemption Rock

Dinosaur Footprints

McLennan Reservation

Ashintully Gardens Dry Hill

Ashley House

North Common Meadow

Mountain

Becket Quarry

Tyringham Cobble

Mount Warner

Elliott Laurel

Berkshires

Moose Hill attracts all manner of warblers in the spring, Valley hummingbirds and swallows in the Pioneer summer, and hawks year-round. Its open pastures and meandering woodland Central MA trails offer the song of ovenbirds, phoebes, thrushes, and Metro West wrens to make you feel like you’re a world away from it all.

Northeast

Metro Boston Bobolink BARTHOLOMEW’S South of Boston COBBLE

COLGAN AZAR CapeKELLY and VIACod CC BY-ND 2.0 Islands

JAN 2022

American Kestrel DEXTER DRUMLIN PHOTO BY JON JONES

Tantiusques

RESERVATIONS IN THE CHARLES RIVER VALLEY Bridge Island Meadows, Millis Cedariver, Millis Charles River Peninsula, Needham 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 Peters Reservation, Dover Powisset Farm, Dover Rocky Narrows, Sherborn Rocky Woods, Medfield Shattuck Reservation, Medfield

Willet

Powisset Farm

Crane Beach and Crane Wildlife Refuge

DOVER

IPSWICH & ESSEX

Killdeer, bobolinks, turkeys, swallows, and hawks inhabit the hay and crop fields, vernal pools, and wooded wetlands at this vibrant farm just 15 minutes west of Boston. After you spot that Wood Duck or Cooper’s Hawk, head across the road for more great birding at Noanet Woodlands.

With miles of spectacular beach, dunes, and salt marsh, Crane Beach and Crane Wildlife Refuge teem with bird life throughout the year. Various species of plovers, sandpipers, and terns congregate on the beach in the warm months, and the salt marsh holds its own with herons, egrets, harriers, and hawks.

CRANE BEACH 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

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

Coolidge Reservation The Monoliths Misery Islands Crowninshield Island Gerry Island

Long Hill

The Old Manse

Fruitlands Museum

Mary Cummings Park

Chestnut Hill Farm

Ch a r l e s

Boston Gov. Hutchinson’s Field & Pierce Reservation

Cormier Woods

Francis William Bird Park

These pastoral drumlins jutting into Hingham Bay are a favorite of birders. Wading birds, woodpeckers, waxwings, and wrens are but a few of the species you might find here.

World’s End Weir River Farm

Bradley Estate Signal Hill Archives & Research Center Moose Hill Farm

At the breathtaking northern tip of Cape Ann, birders have sighted no less than 237 bird species, more than 50% of the total found in Massachusetts, over just the past five years, according to eBird. Orioles, swallows, towhees, and many others dominate the scene. HINGHAM

Boston Community Gardens & Parks City Natives

ROCKPORT

World’s End

Massachusetts Bay

deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

Whitney & Thayer Woods Norris Reservation Two Mile Farm

Dunes’ Edge Campground

Mallard WORLD’S END @FARMER_ROBIN

Gov. Ames Estate

Holmes Reservation

Cape Cod Bay

Copicut Woods

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

DEXTER DRUMLIN PHOTO BY JON JONES

Slocum’s River Reserve

Cornell Farm

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Red-bellied Woodpecker

Westport Town Farm

Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens

Bu z

Dexter Drumlin

Moraine Farm

Malcolm Preserve

Halibut Point Reservation

Lowell Holly

Mashpee River Reservation

Armstrong-Kelley Park

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

Mashpee River Reservation MASHPEE

If you’re partial to osprey, kingfishers, flycatchers, or woodpeckers, this is just the spot for you. Surrounded by national wildlife refuge and other conservation land, this property’s 248 acres feel more like 2,048. And the birds agree. Long Point Wildlife Refuge WEST TISBURY

Eastern Kingbird POWISSET FARM PHOTO BY KARI SASPORTAS @ AUTISTIC_BIRDER

Trustees beaches on Martha’s Vineyard all have fantastic shorebird activity. Oystercatchers, several species of plovers, sanderlings, and yellowlegs are common in the summer months. With its 632 acres, there’s no shortage of habitats to explore at Long Point. For more information and great birding spots across the state, visit thetrustees.org/birding. SPRING 2022

ICYMI #THETRUSTEES

You tag us. We

you!

“There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” —Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

find magic in the moment

28 THE TRUSTEES

Make a difference this year… Founders Circle members are vital partners who ensure The Trustees continues to thrive. Join this network of friends and support our 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 engage with our expert staff, plus private tours of our beautiful properties, fantastic events, and more!

We count on your generous support to make our work possible. Join the Circle today: thetrustees.org/founderscircle For information on giving through stock or your IRA, email development@thetrustees.org The Trustees is Massachusetts’ largest, and the nation’s first, conservation and preservation nonprofit. We are supported by members, friends, and donors. Explore 123 amazing places across Massachusetts, from beaches, farms and woodlands, to historic homes, museums, urban gardens, and more.

David Beardsley Interim Chief, Marketing & Audience Development John Judge President & CEO Paul Leech Chief, Finance & Administration 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 Graphic Designer

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 thetrustees.org. If you need to find your Member code, account information, or look up ticket and registration status for specific programs, visit thetrustees.org/customerservice. Special Places, Spring 2022. Volume 30, Issue Number 1. Special Places (ISSN 1087-5026) is published quarterly and distributed to members and donors of The Trustees of Reservations. Copyright © 2022. All rights reserved. Photographers may retain copyrights. Printed by Universal Wilde, an environmentally responsible printer in Massachusetts that strives to minimize waste, maximize recycling, and exceed environmental standards.

Upgrade your Trustees Membership and enjoy great added benefits like: • Free admission for more guests • Reciprocal benefits at other institutions • Crane Beach parking permits ...and more! Upgrade when you renew, or anytime! We’ll add 12 months to your new or existing Membership at the new level.

thetrustees.org/upgrade

Enjoy More Member Benefits!

©TRUSTEES

#thetrustees | A big Thank You to our Instagram followers who posted these spring photos, including (clockwise from top left): @maia_g_g (World’s End),

@buckar008 (Rocky Narrows), @close_2_nature (Naumkeag), @violetbirdhiker (Bullitt Reservation), @doublyhappyphotograp (World’s End), @sandandsalt.fish (The Brickyard), @its_in_the_journey (Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens), @bellavignettes (The Old Manse). To have your photo considered for our gallery, simply hashtag ‘thetrustees’ and the name of the reservation when you post. Keep ‘em coming!

SPRING 2022

THE TRUSTEES

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

WHERE WONDER HAPPENS Spring ephemerals at Bartholomew’s Cobble, Sheffield by @violetbirdhiker

thetrustees.org