PETERSHAM – A milestone anniversary for Earthlands and the University of the Wild will also mark an important occasion for its founder.

On Sunday, Aug. 27, a 30th anniversary ceremony will be held for the Petersham-based environmental organization, with a symposium and reunion for its members. It also marks Founder Larry Buell’s 80th birthday.

In a statement, Buell said, “The 30th anniversary is truly a dream come true for me. To be one of the many holders of the original Earthlands vision and sit in circle with those who have been guided by the vision and influenced by our work together, will be a momentous occasion. It is with great gratitude and appreciation that I acknowledge all those with believe in the vision, trusted my leadership, and carried on a dream worth living.”

Earthlands and the University of the Wild were founded by Buell in 1993. It has a partnership with UMass/Amherst’s University Without Walls and the Learning to Learn University.

A historic celebration

The 30th anniversary of the founding of Earthlands and University of the Wild will be marked by a reception, reunion of founding members and past participants, and a tour of the property on the afternoon of Aug. 27.

The celebration will be capped off the following day with a symposium on ‘underground chambers’ located in Petersham. Monday’s event starts at 2 p.m. at 73 Glasheen Road and is open to the public. The reunion gets underway with a reception at 3 p.m.

Panelists for the symposium include Pam Kimball, an Earth Energy Dowser and Native Ceremonial Stone Structure Advocate working with Archeology Outreach of Acton; Master Stonemason Jim Dowd of Petersham; Matt Adams, founder of New England Historic Stone Structures Investigations & Explorations; and Stone Structures of Antiquity Director Michael Menders.

“People have been studying those chambers for a long time,” said Buell. “A lot of people know that there’s an amazing story there, particularly now that the Nipmucs own some of their own original land.”

Buell said an organization known as the Early Sites Research Society visited the location in 1973 and determined that the chambers are “of colonial influence.” He said a garrison house was also established on the site in 1748.

The site was subsequently studied by Byron Dix, co-author of the book “Manitou: The Sacred Landscape of New England’s Native Civilization.” Buell said Dix determined there was direct evidence of Native American stonework on the site, including a chamber marking important annual milestones.

“It is considered an equinox site,” Buell explained, “which means that…on the 21st of March and the 21st of September, the sun comes directly into (the entrance of) that chamber. That’s because the Nipmucs were all about balance and connection to the earth.”

The chambers, however, were used for more than just keeping track of the seasons.

“According to some of the research I’ve done in speaking with the Nipmucs and others, they were used as a vision quest – a quest for vision – for both young men and young women in sort of a right of passage,” said Buell. “They were placed in the chamber for, say, a three-day period and that’s where they wend to quest for their name and to get a clear vision of what they were supposed to do.”

Other research, he said, has determined the presence of Indigenous Peoples at the site, and at many others around New England, may date back as far as 8,000 years. Buell said some of the stone structures in Petersham may date back approximately 280 years, while others are millennia old.

A release from Earthlands and UofWild states, “These sites, when understood, can give information to the modern era on how to live, learn, and act in concert with the Earth.”

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.

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