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Recent Events

WCLT 2008 Scholarship Awarded to Earth Day Essay Contest Winner

Westborough High School graduating senior Evan Gross received the 2008 Westborough Community Land Trust Scholarship. It was awarded on the basis of the essay he submitted in WCLT’s 2008 Earth Day Essay Contest.

The WCLT scholarship is awarded each year to a graduating senior to recognize a deep appreciation and concern for the natural environment, as expressed in an Earth Day essay. WCLT encourages young people to develop a strong connection with nature as the basis for responsible, thoughtful decisions about the environment.
(Read the entire press release, and the essay.)
June 2008

National Trails Day Hike on Westborough’s Charm Bracelet

Led by Don Burn of the Westborough Community Land Trust (WCLT), a 2008 National Trails Day hike followed a 7-mile route along Charm Bracelet trails on Saturday, June 7. The hike was co-sponsored by WCLT and the Sudbury Valley Trustees (SVT).

About 20 hikers set off in heat wave conditions and walked through lush sunny fields and cool green woods across the north side of Westborough. They crossed only one paved road in the 7 miles between the Mass Fish and Wildlife headquarters (off Rt. 135) and SVT’s Sawink Farm (off Walker Street). At one place, the trail avoids Lyman Street by passing under it via an old cow underpass once used by local farmers for their livestock.

Westborough’s Charm Bracelet trail system is now three-quarters complete, with 21 of its planned 28 miles of main trails built, according to Don Burn, who chairs WCLT’s stewardship committee. The Charm Bracelet trail system will make a grand loop around Westborough, connecting parks, open space, neighborhoods, and recreation areas.

In addition to the main Charm Bracelet trails, Don notes that 24 miles of side trails have been completed in town. Altogether, 45 miles of trails – 21 miles of Charm Bracelet trails plus 24 miles of side trails – are done, out of a total of 70 to 80 miles of trail that are planned.

That’s a lot of family-friendly trails to explore right here in town.
June 7, 2008

Introduction to Watching Dragonflies and Damselflies

Earle Baldwin of the Athol Bird and Nature Club teaches WCLT families how to handle and release a dragonfly during the dragonfly and damselfy identification program at Rogers Field.
June 7, 2008

Wildflower Walk

Annie Reid and Gary Kessler, of the WCLT “Nature Notes” in the Westborough News, led a wildflower walk for the Westborough Garden Club and WCLT to see May wildflowers, including pink lady’s-slippers in bloom at Bowman Conservation Area.
May 28, 2008

Bird Banding Field Trip

Susan Barnhart learns the techniques of bird banding from Helen Blazis of the Auburn Bird Banding Program led by Master Bander and Research Station Director Mark Blazis. Each spring and fall the team catches neotropic migratory birds in a mist net, then examines and bands them to collect valuable data on the birds’ health, population trends, and migration.
May 11. 2008

Earth Day Town-wide Clean up

Spirited neighborhood and WCLT volunteers, as well as individuals, businesses and church groups, collected more than 40 bags of debris from Westborough streets and parks during the 2008 WCLT Town-wide Spring Clean-up, coordinated by Bruce Tretter. This year the public was invited to identify areas that needed the greatest attention.
May 3, 2008

Spring Festival 2008

WCLT sponsored a Nature Crafts Table, coordinated by Susan Bush (l) at Westborough's Spring Festival Fishing Festival.
April 26, 2008

Raptors Struggle to Survive

More than 100 people attend the live birds of prey program by raptor expert and environmental educator Larry Keating from Rulers of the Wind, He reported on the birds' struggle to survive as habitats disappears and praised WCLT's efforts to preserve open space. This was a special Earth Day event sponsored by a Westborough Cultural Council grant to WCLT.
April 12, 2008

Waterman Design Associates Receives WCLT Community Service Award

The Westborough Community Land Trust (WCLT) has selected Waterman Design Associates, Inc. as the first recipient of the WCLT Community Service Award. This new Community Service Award recognizes a local business that has done outstanding work to advance the WCLT mission of land protection and stewardship.

James (Randy) Waterman, president of Waterman Design Associates, Inc., accepted the award for the company and credited Brian Waterman and Tom Converse of Waterman Design for the contribution to WCLT. Waterman Design Associates, Inc., located in the restored railroad station at 31 East Main Street, contributed its expertise to develop a landscape plan to restore the Gilmore Pond property into a woodland park.

Gilmore Pond is one of the jewels of the 128 acres protected and maintained by the Westborough Community Land Trust. It contains scenic views of the farm pond created by Richard Gilmore for use in his apple orchard on Adams Road. The landscape plan created by Waterman Design includes pond vistas, natural landscaping, bench locations, and a butterfly garden. As a first step, the Westborough Civic Club and local Boy Scouts have joined the Land Trust volunteers in work to clear the property of invasive alien shrubs.

“Waterman Design’s contribution of this landscape plan, reflecting its enlightened approach and understanding of the unique features of Gilmore Pond, is invaluable to the Westborough Community Land Trust,” says WCLT President Garry Kessler. “We wanted to recognize the company’s generosity and its appreciation of Westborough’s open space in this special way.”
January 2008

“Westborough’s Natural Treasures”

Striking images of Westborough’s natural beauty-- from the minute dew caught on cobwebs to a majestic sunrise over Mill Pond—capture the treasures found in the Town’s forests, meadows, and lakes. These images were on display in the Westborough Community Land Trust’s Photography Exhibition, “Westborough’s Natural Treasures,” from November 11 – 17. This free exhibit was open to the public.

The exhibit featured 149 photographs from 43 photographers of diverse ages, from the novice eight-year-old Gillian Fahey to senior citizens. Photographs depict favorite natural refuges for humans and animals including Mill Pond, local farms. Read more about it, and see some of the photos, on our Photography Exibition page
Nov 11-17, 2007

Invasives Giving Way to Views at Gilmore Pond

In late September, this year’s fourth major volunteer work party at Gilmore Pond continued to tackle the big job of removing the invasive Asian honeysuckle shrubs surrounding Gilmore Pond. Thanks to their hard work, volunteers began to glimpse views of the pond from the trail and to see the sort of scenic landscape that they are making available to Westborough residents.

About 40 people turned out for this work party, including volunteers from the Civic Club, WCLT, and Boy Scout Troops 4 and 100. Armed with loppers and gloves, most volunteers focused on learning to identify the unwanted invasives, cutting them down, and hauling brush. In the future, work parties will also target areas containing invasive oriental bittersweet and multiflora rose.

WCLT and the Westborough Civic Club are jointly sponsoring the multi-year Gilmore Pond Restoration project. Earlier major work parties were held in February, May, and July.
September 29, 2007

Paddling on Mill Pond

Wheaton College Biology Professor Scott Shumway led a flotilla of ten canoes and kayaks with 18 adults and children on a "Nature Walk on Water" on Mill Pond on September 9. Professor Shumway pointed out and provided fascinating background on native pickerel weed, waterlilies (white waterlily, spatter dock, and water shield), non-native weeds (Eurasian watermilfoil) and sunfish and bass. The paddlers also enjoyed watching a kingfisher and a pair of mute swans, as well as a green heron in flight. This adventure was part of Westborough Community Land Trust's Walks and Talks Program to highlight the natural treasures of Westborough and the importance of preserving them.
September 9, 2007

Naturethon 2007

June 16, 2007