I grew up in Amherst and attended school not far from this property, so I have some attachment to the area. After our walk in May, I wrote my father a letter about the historic farm site. The letter to him turned into a guest commentary for their local paper, the Amherst Bulletin, submitted by my Dad and I. The commentary was published today - you can link to to it here.
I've also reprinted our commentary below. The title was chosen by the Bulletin''s editor.
Cultivate Hawthorne Farm's gifts
The 6-plus-acre town-owned historic Hawthorne Family Farm on East Pleasant Street in Amherst is a small gem given its proximity to the schools, its farm history, the rolling topography and row of mature sugar maples, and the varied habitats of old field, high meadow and low wet meadow.
What a great spot adjacent to the schools and to other nearby open spaces. A look at the town maps shows the potential trail connectivity from East Pleasant Street, through the meadow and shrub habitats on the old farm, to the schools, and then to Wildwood Cemetery and beyond.
When I (Ellen) attended the nearby junior high school in the 1970s, our biology teacher Mr. Bozzo took us outside birding. We'd walk along the woodland edges near the school and on up to Wildwood Cemetery. I'm sure we were within listening distance of the Hawthorne Farm and perhaps I learned some of my bird songs from those farm fields, something that helped my career as a wildlife biologist. It would be a great tribute to Mr. Bozzo to see this farm used for outdoor learning.
This historic farm also offers much potential for experiential learning. Community or educational gardens could be created in conjunction with maintenance of portions of the old fields and meadow as habitat, with walking paths that lead through the property. It is amazing what can happen on a small parcel of open space such as this. The recently released movie, Green Fire, a documentary about the renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold and his land ethic, tells of a 3.5-acre abandoned site in Chicago that was transformed into an educational space for youth. They restored prairie and wetland, and now raise vegetables and chickens and offer places to relax. That site is full of children's laughter and lush growth, both wild and cultivated. Without much effort (since the Hawthorne Farm already has much to offer) something similar could happen here.
Some have suggested soccer fields for this area. We believe that not only is this site ill-suited for athletic fields, it would be a great loss of the natural and cultural features of the property. It would be better to find a place that is already well-suited for soccer rather than re-engineering nature to fit such a use. Given the site's topography and drainage and some of the irreplaceable features (such as the mature sugar maples and the farm history), soccer fields would be a poor choice for this community-owned property. It concerns us that we are leading our youth down a path that says it is OK to completely change the topography, soils and drainage on a site to create athletic fields. Ignoring or overlooking the natural attributes of a given piece of land is not good leadership for our youth, who are already much more disconnected from the outdoors than past generations. In contrast to the cost of building and maintaining soccer fields there, a group of local volunteers could easily build and maintain one or more walking paths. Trails and community gardens and wild habitats would offer something for all generations and for all who helped protect this historic property in Amherst.
If one thinks deeply about what is missing in our youths' lives, it is not a shortage of organized sports, but rather a lack of time in wild places, in solitude, and in understanding the outdoors. On Hawthorne Farm young and old could spend time handling soil and growing food, learning to raise chickens, tapping a sugar maple in late winter, or listening to and learning the varied song of a common robin. Perhaps one could even find a quiet spot on those 6.76 acres for some solitude. Their lives will be richer for those experiences.
What a great spot adjacent to the schools and to other nearby open spaces. A look at the town maps shows the potential trail connectivity from East Pleasant Street, through the meadow and shrub habitats on the old farm, to the schools, and then to Wildwood Cemetery and beyond.
When I (Ellen) attended the nearby junior high school in the 1970s, our biology teacher Mr. Bozzo took us outside birding. We'd walk along the woodland edges near the school and on up to Wildwood Cemetery. I'm sure we were within listening distance of the Hawthorne Farm and perhaps I learned some of my bird songs from those farm fields, something that helped my career as a wildlife biologist. It would be a great tribute to Mr. Bozzo to see this farm used for outdoor learning.
This historic farm also offers much potential for experiential learning. Community or educational gardens could be created in conjunction with maintenance of portions of the old fields and meadow as habitat, with walking paths that lead through the property. It is amazing what can happen on a small parcel of open space such as this. The recently released movie, Green Fire, a documentary about the renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold and his land ethic, tells of a 3.5-acre abandoned site in Chicago that was transformed into an educational space for youth. They restored prairie and wetland, and now raise vegetables and chickens and offer places to relax. That site is full of children's laughter and lush growth, both wild and cultivated. Without much effort (since the Hawthorne Farm already has much to offer) something similar could happen here.
Some have suggested soccer fields for this area. We believe that not only is this site ill-suited for athletic fields, it would be a great loss of the natural and cultural features of the property. It would be better to find a place that is already well-suited for soccer rather than re-engineering nature to fit such a use. Given the site's topography and drainage and some of the irreplaceable features (such as the mature sugar maples and the farm history), soccer fields would be a poor choice for this community-owned property. It concerns us that we are leading our youth down a path that says it is OK to completely change the topography, soils and drainage on a site to create athletic fields. Ignoring or overlooking the natural attributes of a given piece of land is not good leadership for our youth, who are already much more disconnected from the outdoors than past generations. In contrast to the cost of building and maintaining soccer fields there, a group of local volunteers could easily build and maintain one or more walking paths. Trails and community gardens and wild habitats would offer something for all generations and for all who helped protect this historic property in Amherst.
If one thinks deeply about what is missing in our youths' lives, it is not a shortage of organized sports, but rather a lack of time in wild places, in solitude, and in understanding the outdoors. On Hawthorne Farm young and old could spend time handling soil and growing food, learning to raise chickens, tapping a sugar maple in late winter, or listening to and learning the varied song of a common robin. Perhaps one could even find a quiet spot on those 6.76 acres for some solitude. Their lives will be richer for those experiences.
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