A neighboring land, Summer Star Meadow, hosted a crew of five members of the SCA Massachusetts Conservation Corps between August 3rd and August 12th, 2021. The SCA Massachusetts Conservation Corps program members have served Massachusetts’s public lands each summer for the past 20 years, and more details about their program are found here: SCA Massachusetts Conservation Corps | The Student Conservation Association (thesca.org)
Our crew this year had the goal of creating a new trail at the nearby Summer Star Meadow. Building off an existing forest road, the crew improved that route, adding water bars to improve drainage and leveling a walking surface. The crew also built two new sections of trail, adding loops to both ends of the forest road. Near the old residence, a corridor was brushed out from the house to the future site of the parking area. This section of trail will be finished with engineered wood chips to make an accessible surface that will lead visitors from the parking area to the future gardens and the house. Leading east from the future parking lot, the crew also finished a walking trail that connects to the old forest road. At the south end of the forest road, after crossing the stream, the crew built a loop trail up the hill into the tall pine forest, then dropping back towards the stream corridor where it returns to the forest road paralleling the stream and a stone wall.
With some extra time at the end of their service, the crew was able to haul glass bottles and old farm equipment from the edge of the trails up to the house for disposal. In total, the new trail measures .65 mile and is a pleasant walk through a varied forest, featuring twists and turns, views of stone walls, the stream, and wetlands along the way. We look forward to welcoming the public to the new trail. Stay tuned for more news.
build a new trail at the property in the Summer of 2021. (Photo by Dan Stimson)
Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary® 