Help Clean Up the Richardson Preserve on April 27
A Spring Clean-Up will be held on Saturday, April 27, at the Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve, 577B Wilmarth Street, Attleboro, from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon. Your participation will be welcomed, whether you have volunteered before or this is your first time.
Maintenance tasks will include:
— Raking up fallen branches in lawn areas
— Picking up trash
— Pruning along edges of lawns, hayfields, and street
— Removing invasive plants
— Weeding flower gardens
Tools needed may include:
— Standard rakes and leaf rakes
— Loppers, pruning shears, pruning saws, and other pruning tools
— Shovels
— String trimmers, weed whackers, brush cutters
— Chain saw
— Gardening tools
We will have some tools, but please bring what you have.
Dress accordingly for protection against poison ivy and ticks. Please bring your own:
— Work gloves
— Water
Volunteers under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Rain date is Sunday, April 28, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Any cancellations due to weather will be posted on this website.
Make Arbor Day Last All Year Long!
Please note there will be a 1 hour delay in the start of this event.
The Attleboro Land Trust is excited to once again distribute free trees in honor of Arbor Day. Our goal is to empower individuals to contribute to a healthier environment for generations to come.
The trees will be distributed, while supplies last, at the Attleboro Land Trust table at the Spring Fling, which is being held at Balfour Riverwalk Park in downtown Attleboro on Saturday, April 20. Originally scheduled to run from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, it will now start at 12:00 noon and end at 3:00 pm.
Both trees selected this year are native species that contribute significantly to our local wildlife habitat. When these trees flower in the spring, they attract pollinating insects, birds, and even bats. By planting one of these beautiful trees in your yard, you will be supporting the survival of its pollinators, many of which are facing the peril of habitat loss.
Downy Serviceberry (photo credit: Arbor Day Foundation)
The Downy Serviceberry is a fine naturalizing species that is very adaptive to our local soils–on the edges of woodlands, the moist low areas, and the rocky slopes that are found in our area. The tree bears flowers in white drooping clusters at the beginning of spring in late April. Late summer finds small maroon fruit that birds are particularly fond of. The tree’s fall color is pleasing though it does not last a long time. Arbor Day.org Downy Serviceberry Care Instructions
White/Bur Oak (photo credit: Arbor Day Foundation)
The White Oak/Bur Oak is a stalwart in woodlands as it supports many forms of life, from the soil to the top of the tree, including over 520 different pollinators. Beginning in May, the flowers attract both nocturnal and diurnal insects, bats, butterflies, and birds, all of which help to produce acorns that are key to the survival of a number of birds and mammals. Arbor Day.org White/Bur Oak Care Instructions
A huge thank you to the Arbor Day Foundation for providing affordable trees for our Arbor Day handout!
See their bare root planting instructions here: https://www.arborday.org/trees/planting/bare-root.cfm
Volunteers got it done in 2023!
At the Annual Meeting on November 16, Property Management Committee Chair Charlie Adler asked everyone present who had helped in the maintenance of our properties over the past year to stand, and he thanked them for the essential work that they voluntarily do for the good of the land trust. He was especially appreciative for the number of people who volunteered to be site stewards this year.
He also singled out the following individuals for noteworthy accomplishments:
- Bill Ward – mowing the hayfields at Richardson.
- The Mowing Team for mowing the lawn areas at Richardson – Phil Boucher, Randy Lithway, Russ Pray. Also pitching in were James Tetreault and Johnny Bender.
- Russ Pray – rebuilding the bulkhead of the Barrows House at Richardson.
- Macie Broussard – monitoring the bluebird houses at Richardson.
- Lauretta Koch – for tending the perennial gardens at Richardson.
- Dave Rolince and Scott Hirshberg for some major repairs to the Scout boardwalk at Colman.
- Mike Davis and his sidekick Alan Henry for being our Storm Response Team and doing whatever is necessary to mitigate the effects of fallen trees at our properties.
- Randy Lithway for suggesting and completing a new pathway across from the Colman parking lot to the beginning of the Vaughan trail.
- And last but not least, board member and attorney Patrick Sullivan for his assistance in matters where our boundaries must be defended from encroachment.