At 10:00, start from the Friends Meeting house for the dedication and tour of the new Brownell Preserve and, as time permits, the adjoining Hiller Preserve.

At 12:00 bring a main dish or salad to share at the Pot-luck Lunch. The MLT provides beverages and dessert.

After the meeting, at 12:45, there will be a presentation by ORRHS students on their environmental fieldwork.

Following this, at 1:00, Dr. Tom French, Assistant Director, Mass Division of Fisheries and Wildlife will talk about bats that live in Massachusetts and the white nose disease that has affected them recently.

Come early, take a hike, or try your hand at the Viking lawn game KUBB.

By Ellen P. Flynn, Chair of Education Committee.

While still in High school Jonathan Wilbur, 2011 Mattapoisett Land Trust scholarship winner, attended a Weekend Environmental Symposium at Mass Maritime College. He spent the night on the T.S. Kennedy maritime ship, attended lectures, learned about sharks, and got a taste of what his college life experience might be like, if he chose to attend. After the weekend he told his parents “that will be my choice”.

EF. When you were thinking about colleges what part of the decision process helped you choose Mass Maritime?

JW. I wanted to be close by to my hometown and on the water, able to have an outdoor environment and hands on experience. I have selected two majors: Marine Safety and Emergency Homelands Management, a curriculum similar to environmental Police. All throughout H.S. the courses I enjoyed were Marine Biology and the sciences.

EF. Share with us some of the skills you have learned at college and on the T.S. Kennedy.

JW. Orientation up at 4:45am, run a mile, do pushups, crunches (sit ups), mountain climbers, learn knot tying, line splicing, and academics of Labs& Lectures, and advanced algebra, with Marine Biology. There was a manual we held and read about chafing gear. Our squad leaders instill a lot of discipline and respect. Before boarding the ship, we take a course on Vessel Familiarization we raise & lower 7ft life boats, we are taught how to stay alive at sea, meaning if an oil fire broke out on the starboard side and the winds were blowing in that direction do not jump into the wind. We are always busy on the 540-foot long vessel with 600 cadets and 100 crew members. We do painting, scrubbing the decks, some do outside work on line handling, and transportation, others times we are down below working as engineers.

EF. While at sea with only you the horizon and the ship how did that experience affect you? Did you have any type of awareness about the power of humans vs. power of the oceans? Where else did you sail on the T.S. Kennedy?

JW. Just yesterday I saw the entire Milky Way, from Horizon to Horizon. It was so peaceful and so clam. The stars were like a fog of lights traveling through the air, it was nothing like just looking at the sky from my hometown. My 1st semester friends became better friends and closer classmates, while at sea. When leaving St. Thomas we had an experience of rough seas, a wild ocean storm, with forty-foot waves normally the kind you might expect off Cape Hatteras, the Graveyard of the Atlantic. At that time upperclassmen and our supervisors were really great to assist us. While traveling to Cuba on the ship, I turned 19 years old, having no phone service, and not hearing from my parents was a unique time for me. Crossing the equator and being so young, was an experience of a lifetime!

 EF. When attending to the poor in the poverty stricken areas, how has that experience changed you?

JW. When traveling to Ecuador we collected clothing and gave out food and supplies for the hospital. At first it was a scary time to see collapsed buildings and we were instructed by Embassy representatives of the dangers of blacked out areas, and the very high crime rate. We saw junk cars abandoned in the streets with garbage strewn around. I realized how thankful I am for my home life and how I have a great love for the Mass Maritime Academy. I kept a journal and saw flying fish, sea turtles and dolphins, but after 52 days it did seem too isolated for my world

EF. Coming through the Panama Canal what was that experience like?

JW. It was beautiful, at early morning 5:30am seeing the fog was like being in shock and watching the water rising up at 85 ft above sea level, to the three sets of locks, on the Gatun Lake, and the Gaillard Cut. It was much wider than I thought, and it took five hours for the transit through two sets of locks over to the Pacific side. I was able to work from start to finish and also see the building of the new canal. It was good luck for me! Panama City is so much more developed than I what saw in other areas. It is the city of world banks lining the streets. The architecture is outstanding, spiraled glass buildings and cranes everywhere for new building. From the docks you see boats bringing in all the money for exchange to the banks. It was very different from the streets of Massachusetts

EF. I realize this experience is early in your lifetime but can you see how it might change your course of where you want to be in the future?

What kind of advice can you offer younger people like H.S students or even younger who are looking for a unique college experience.

JW. Yes, while in H.S. I enjoyed nature and being outdoors, hunting and learning about the natural world, and the marsh and its habitat. Hunters are some of the best conservationists. In the future I would like to talk to teachers and keep a connection with my H.S. to relate to younger students about how important it is to choose a college that best suits what you want to do in life.

I will do two or three internships where I will travel to Alaska, or possibly to Shanghai, China, where our school has an exchange research program. My interest is in studying and following trout patterns, and how I can continue to help protect wetlands and hunting grounds. I hope to work with Ducks Unlimited and a future plan is to raise a population of approx 100 Wood Ducks by building Wood Boxes similar to bird houses, (only much larger) clip the ducks’ flight wings and keep them close by like on the Mattapoisett River or the marshland. This poultry is a type that helps keep away coyotes and creates a habitat for the wetlands. Most of my leisure time has been shared between Mattapoisett and St John in the Caribbean where I travel with my grandparents and family. These environments are two totally different worlds, one being tropical and the other having all four seasons, so here in Mattapoisett with the water and the woods, I have it all; and I am grateful to the Mattapoisett Land Trust for awarding me this scholarship.

In 2007 Judith, my mother, passed away after a long, ferocious battle with cancer at the age of 65. In 2009 her sister, Lynda, passed on after a similar fight at the age of 61.

They left this world and the people they loved far too soon. But people have a way of figuring out how to carry on; those without a voice–the birds, deer, frogs, raccoons and all the rest of the Southcoast’s year-round and seasonal non-human residents–have a less predictable future. That’s why they left instructions with me to portion off the part of the land the wildlife call home and donate it to the Mattapoisett Land Trust. It’s not the largest piece of property–just under two acres–but added to the generous size of woodland already protected by the MLT it makes a nice cherry on the proverbial sundae. And you better believe my mom and aunt loved sundaes.

When Gary Johnson asked me to write a short note to let you all know why they gave this piece of paradise to them I had to put it off several times. I didn’t really want to think about the loss that my family and I endured when these two gentle souls were taken from us any more than I have had to over the last few years. But the part of me that is part of them–the part that feels that connection to the land, sea and sky–ultimately realized that in preserving this little part of the world they loved and held so dear I am preserving not only a place for nature to continuously unfold in peace but I am preserving their memory and their deepest wishes.

The gift was made in January and the MLT was wonderful to work with. It was a simple process and one I would urge anyone thinking about to act on. But there will be no plaque of dedication or ribbon-cutting ceremony. It’s not that kind of event. But simply an act of assurance for the quiet continuation of the cycle of life for all that care to wander through the bramble.

And they would have had it no other way.

Take a right off of Mattapoisett Neck Road onto Old Mattapoisett Neck Road. Take the 2nd right onto West Hill Road and then the first left onto Tara Road. Follow Tara Road to the end where it intersects with Anchorage Way and you’ll see a yellow Mattapoisett Land Trust sign.

Ozzie’s enthusiasm and knowledge are infectious, so come prepared to learn and have fun exploring what your Land Trust has to offer.

Be there at 10 a.m. and have appropriate footwear for potentially damp slogging.

Bring cameras to record the spectacular scenery.

Louv spoke at the Tifereth Israel on March 29.

A reception was held.

Video of Reception

Visit the MLT table for fun activities

On Saturday, April 14, 2012 we will join wetland scientist and board member Elizabeth Leidhold on the Brownell Preserve to certify a large vernal pool, using Massachusetts guidelines.

On Wednesday, April 11, at 7:00 p.m., Elizabeth will present on the importance of vernal pools and background information of the certification process.

The Saturday field trip will involve attendees in collection of samples (egg sacs, etc.) and information needed for the application to certify this pool.

This event is open to the public.

Attendance at the Wednesday presentation is not required, but highly recommended!

In these clips from a longer set of interviews, Brad Hathaway and George Mock reminisce about the early days of  the Mattapoisett Land Trust.