By Sally Loomis, HLT Executive Director Before I worked for a land trust, I assumed that any land an owner was willing to donate for conservation ought to be protected. Why wouldn’t we want to conserve as much land as possible? When I started my first job in land conservation, I quickly realized how complex this […]
Want to Decrease Stress & Boost Your Immune System? Try Forest Bathing!
by Nadine Mazzola, Award-Winning Author of Forest Bathing with your Dog and Certified Forest Therapy Guide Around me the trees stir in their leavesand call out, ‘Stay awhile.’ -“When I am among the trees,” poem by Mary Oliver It is difficult to explain forest bathing in words alone. It is experiential and sensory. It is […]
The Bears in Our Woods
By Andrew Madden, HLT Board Member The American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) is part of life in the Hilltowns. But it wasn’t always so. Longtime Hilltown residents might remember back to the 1960’s and 70’s when a bear sighting was still a rare occurrence. Massachusetts has been undergoing a wildlife resurgence in recent decades and […]
Volunteer Spotlight: Vernal Pool Plunge!
In spring, as the snow melts and the warm rains fall, many a nook and cranny fills with water. What was once simply a dip in an upland forest may now be a shallow wetland; a vernal pool teaming with life. Vernal pools are easily overlooked as they dry out during the summer. But they […]
