ATHOL — The Mt. Grace Land Conservation Trust recently landed a $7,500 grant from the Fitchburg-based Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts to undertake a trail project in the town of Winchendon. Mt. Grace was awarded one of 11 Environmental Preservation and Animal Welfare grants totaling just over $72,000.
David Kotker, major gifts and grants manager for the organization headquartered in Athol, said most of the money will be used to establish a trail on property that lies between the two disconnected stretches of Benjamin Street in the town of Winchendon. It can be seen from the south side of Front Street in the center of Winchendon and looking across the Millers River and Tannery Pond.
“The property, called Whitney Memorial Forest,” said Kotker, “was donated to Mt. Grace by a woman named Adelaide Whitney — actually bequeathed to Mt. Grace by Adelaide Whitney.”
The property, some 89.5 acres, has been owned by Mt. Grace for about two decades.
“It’s wooded,” Kotker continued. “A lot of oak, a lot of pine, a lot of hemlock. And it’s a slope. It’s Benjamin Hill.
“It’s neat, because it’s walking distance to a downtown, which is quite rare for property for us. So, we would love it if more people were able to get out there on the land and enjoy it.”
The exact location of the trail has yet to be determined, said Kotker.
“It looks like the trail is going to go in from Benjamin Street,” he explained. “We’re still in the process of creating a final route for the trail. But once we have a final route for the trail, and everybody has signed off on it, we will work with some local volunteers to put that trail in.”
Not only will the money be used to establish a trail system, according to Kotker. It will also be used to establish a program with Beals Memorial Library.
“One of our TerraCorps volunteers came up with the idea of a nature backpack,” he said. “What that’s going to be is a kit of things like wildlife guides, maps of the property, various things you would use to head outdoors — even potentially something like a little non-toxic bug spray.
“So, it’s a whole kit that would allow a kid, or a kid and their parents, to get out and enjoy that property. So, those will be available at the library. And we hope it’s something that kids and families will enjoy to get them out on the land.”
Kotker explained, “TerraCorps is a program that we do with AmeriCorps, the federal program. So, we have, usually, four TerraCorps members serving at Mt. Grace and they all have different roles, and one of them is a youth education coordinator.
“Our youth education coordinator, Meira Downie, came up with this idea and we liked it and we incorporated it into the grant.”
Kotker estimated that it will be late summer or early fall before volunteers get into the Whitney Forest to begin trail clearing.
“It is coronavirus-dependent,” he said, “and we also need to make sure that everybody who is involved in trail design has signed off with it and is comfortable with the trail.”
Area residents who might like to help with the project are more than welcome, said Kotker.
“We have a number of people who volunteer regularly, but we are always happy to get more. They can reach out to us through the Mt. Grace website, through the contact form, and volunteer that way.”
The website address is: www.mtgrace.org.
The CFNCM also awarded a $5,000 grant to Mass Audubon’s Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary for their Nature and Social-Emotional Learning offered in conjunction with the Athol, Gardner and Winchendon Head Start programs, and $750 to the Farm School in Athol for work on its goat farm.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com