Over the past few years, I’ve become interested in land conservation, so I was thrilled to hear the news recently that the 350-acre property in Spencer known as the Sibley-Warner Farm had been purchased from the developer through the efforts of three organizations, the Common Ground Land Trust, Mass Audubon, and the Greater Worcester Land Trust. The asking price was almost three million dollars, so you know that the efforts to raise this amount were nothing short of heroic.
This morning, a group of about 20 of us gathered at 131 Greenville Street at 10 am for a 2-hour guided walk through part of the property. After the searing heat of the past few days, the cloudy morning was a welcome change, though we knew we would not see a lot of butterflies, insofar as these insects prefer full sun. At least we figured that the ticks would not be out in full force either!
The property features diverse landscapes, including fields and forests. We started out walking through the fields, which are now quite overgrown, often with invasives such as multiflora rose. The land has not been cared for in a while, so we literally bushwhacked our way through vegetation which grew up over our heads. We listened for birds, and kept an eye out for other signs of wildlife. We did see signs of deer, including droppings and patches of flattened grass where a small group would bed down for the night. Here are a few of the plant and animal species we noted:
- praying mantis
- indigo bunting
- cedar waxwing
- barn swallow
- common wood nymph
- pearl crescent
- black raspberry
- doll’s eye
- false Solomon’s seal
- hemlock
- Christmas fern
- leather fern
- wild basil
I was disturbed to note that most of the hemlock trees we saw are infested with the woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae). I know that foresters are working on this issue, but I’m not sure how much progress has been made.
On our walk, we first climbed the hill, trudging upwards east from Greenville Street, then gradually turned north, scrambled over a horse jump, and then pushed our way through tall grass to join the yellow-blazed Mid-State Trail. Once we were on the trail, we hiked through forest, turning west and then south, and soon found ourselves back at the road, a few hundred yards from where we started out.
A management plan for the property is now being developed, and many hours of volunteer effort are needed to polish this newly-preserved gem in the heart of the Commonwealth. Come join us!