Sudbury Valley TrusteesConservation, Collaboration, and Community since 1953

Recognizing that the watershed is one ecological unit, SVT has in recent years expanded its field of operations to include the Assabet and Concord rivers and is concentrating more attention on the vulnerable headwaters whose health determines the health of the entire river system.

Garfield Woods, the organization's first property in Berlin is a beauty and fits nicely into this expanded area of concern. North Brook rattles through, flowing over - and under! - rocks on its way to the Assabet River. Dramatic rock outcroppings and boulders dropped by passing glaciers punctuate the woods. This 85-acre property was a generous gift from the Garfield Corporation in 1991. Once boundaries were located, SVT staff worked with current and former members of the Berlin Conservation Commission to lay out trails that would provide access to more of the land's special features. It was a hot day in November 1994 when 25 volunteers gathered to create these new trails. Unfortunately, it became even hotter on a weekend in early May 1995 when a brushfire blown by high winds scarred the rocky ravine where two of the new trails are located. The trails provide links to the old cart paths at Forty Caves, adjacent land owned by the town. There's much to be seen - and heard - along the way. At most times of year, North Brook provides audible accompaniment as you follow the trail along its banks. Wood anemone, marsh marigold, and bellwort bloom in mid-May. Lady slippers come along a little later. Evergreen ferns grace the rock ledges and boulders right through the winter. Local resident Lee Mungeam remembers reunions in the late 30s and early 40s, when his grandfather owned the land. The family gathered around a huge and ancient oak that stood near the present trailhead on Lancaster Road, an area known as Fountain Pasture, although even then the name was commemorative of an earlier time before the woods started to creep back in. It was memories of courting under that same oak tree in the days of horse-and-buggy that inspired a later purchaser to acquire the land. He in turn sold to the Garfield Corporation in the early 60s. Although the corporation considered development of the land at one point, they ultimately decided to preserve it as open space by giving it to Sudbury Valley Trustees, a generous decision that we and future generations can all be grateful for.