Youth Conservation Stewards

This program is being supported by REI.

 

View a list of current opportunities or highlights from past projects.

The Youth Conservation Stewards Program provides an opportunity for youths to build their skills in community service and conservation.  Youths learn new skills while contributing to the improvement and maintenance of our reservations or providing environmental education to the public.  Initially, the program focused on boy and girl scouts in the communities of Framingham, Sudbury, Wayland and Westborough; however, the program is open to all youths in any of our 36 communities and from any affiliation. 

Past projects have included environmental education, designing and posting signage, controlling exotic-invasive plant species, trail improvements and bridge work.  Youths are encouraged to visit our properties and suggest projects of their own. 

Our projects generally fall into two categories: leadership projects and general community service projects.  Leadership projects require the youth to do project design, planning and coordination as well as implementation.  Leadership projects are appropriate for Boy Scouts seeking their Eagle rank, Girl Scouts seeking a Silver or Gold Award, and school students doing an honor project.  The general community service projects are usually group projects, although some can be done by individuals.  They usually entail tasks that can be implemented during one or two work sessions. 

How does the program work?

A youth group leader or individual youth should first review the information contained on this web page and then contact an SVT staff member, Laura Mattei or Dan Stimson, about their interest.  We will discuss potential projects, suitability and timing and choose an appropriate project.  Project selection may include site visits.  SVT staff provides guidance and technical support throughout the project.  In the towns of Framingham, Sudbury, Wayland and Westborough, we have an SVT volunteer adult liaison who works with the youth or youths through their project.

Current Youth Volunteer Opportunities

Berlin
  • Garfield Woods - Remove invasive species.
Framingham
  • Baiting Brook Welch - Create Interpretive material and relocate existing kiosk.
  • Cowassock Woods - Help to evaluate trails and possibly close and revegetate an unnecessary trail.
  • Cowassock Woods - Invasive plant control.
  • Harrington Field - Clear a stone wall of exotic-invasive plants.
  • Henry's Hill - Plan, get approvals for, and create a 3-car parking lot near the entrance kiosk on Wayside Inn Road.
  • Waters Field - Invasives removal, especially bittersweet vines on trees, this would be a good group project.
Southborough
  • Turenne Reservation - Invasive shrub removal.
  • Turenne Reservation - Bird garden maintenance and enhancements.
Sudbury
  • Lyons-Cutler Reservation - Regularly monitor, prune and clear trails.
  • Memorial Forest - Turtle and trout surveys.
  • Wolbach Farm - Remove invasive species, including garlic mustard, pachysandra and lily of the valley.
Northborough
  • Cedar Hill - Build bench at hill-top kiosk.
  • Cedar Hill - Remove Japanese barberry, an invasive species.  Note that there is poison ivy at this site.
Wayland
  • Greenways - Create a handicapped accessible trail.
  • Upper Mill Brook - Improve trail from Claypit Hill Road.

Possibilities for multiple reservations

  • Nature study and education.
  • Design interpretive trails to be posted on the website.
  • Meet and greet day at local reservations, design and conduct visitor surveys.
  • Events or programs to bring more visitors to SVT reservations.

Past Projects

November 2011

Framingham Troop 12 Boy Scouts removed the invasive Oriental bittersweet vine from trees at SVT's Waters & Weir Fields in Framingham.Framingham Troop 12 Boy Scouts helped to clear storm debris from trails at SVT's Henry's Hill in Framingham. Photo by Gregg Shupe.
Framingham Troop 12 Boy Scouts helped to clear storm debris from trails at Henry's Hill and removed the invasive Oriental bittersweet vine from trees at Waters & Weir Fields.  Learn tips on improving wildlife habitat in your own back yard, including how to deal with invasive species such as bittersweet, with our Improving Wildlife Habitat In Your Backyard brochure.

November 2011

Sudbury Cub Scout Den 3, Pack 60, helped trim trails at SVT's Lyons-Cutler Reservation in Sudbury.Sudbury Cub Scout Den 3, Pack 60, helped trim trails at SVT's Lyons-Cutler Reservation in Sudbury.Sudbury Cub Scout Den 3, Pack 60, helped trim trails at SVT's Lyons-Cutler Reservation in Sudbury.
Sudbury Cub Scout Den 3, Pack 60, helped trim trails at SVT's Lyons-Cutler Reservation in Sudbury.  The boys, all third graders at the nearby Loring School, opened up a trail that had received a lot of damage in the recent heavy snow storm.  Frank Vitale, an SVT volunteer, showed the group some results from his Camera in the Woods that he's been monitoring this year at the reservation.  The group also checked out the great blue heron rookery at the reservation.

November 2011

A group of volunteers help carry in a new bridge at SVT's Wolbach Farm in Sudbury, as part of Charles Eyermann's Eagle Project.The new bridge is in place over a newly restored section of stream at Wolbach Farm.The stream now flows unimpeded across the trail.
Charles Eyermann, of Troop 61 in Sudbury, finished work for his Eagle Project at SVT's Wolbach Farm in Sudbury.  Over the course of a few weekends, Charles and his group of volunteers removed an old culvert along the Nature Trail at the property.  The culvert would often clog up, resulting in erosion on the trail and the banks below.  After removing the pipes, Charles and his group created more natural stream banks, stabilizing them with jute netting.  They used some of the soil removed from around the pipes to repair damage from past erosion on the trail and built a new bridge to cross the stream that now flows freely underneath.

June 2011

Sudbury Brownie Troop #77134 helped to make bee hotels at SVT's Wolbach Farm.Sudbury Cub Scout Pack 62, Den 12 helps remove invasive knotweed at SVT's Centennial Place in Framingham.
Knocking-out Knotweed, Promoting Pollinators
Removing and constructively using an invasive plant species was the name of the game in a two-part effort by Sudbury scout groups and SVT.  In late May, members of the Sudbury Cub Scout Pack 62, Den 12 visited SVT’s Centennial Place in Framingham.  Equipped with loppers and knowledge of the invasive characteristics of Japanese Knotweed, they helped clear a small hill of the fast-growing non-native.  Then, with great enthusiasm, they boys developed techniques like “the can-opener” to trim the knotweed’s hollow stems into 3-4" pieces.  
Using these knotweed pieces, members of the Sudbury Brownie Troop #77134 set to work to build bee hotels at SVT’s Wolbach Farm on June 8th.  While we’ve all heard of the plight of the honey bee, there is another bee, the orchard mason, that is native and is an excellent pollinator.

June 2011

L-S students work in the garden at Wolbach FarmTeam work is the best way to get the job done, as thse L-S students find outWorking with a weed wrench, L-S students help out at Wolbach Farm
Lincoln-Sudbury High School sponsored their first Community Service Day for graduating seniors on June 1st.  Eleven enthusiastic seniors came to Wolbach Farm and assisted with gardening and invasive plant removal.

May 2011

ABRHS students clean up at Wolbach Farm's Founders GardenABRHS students clearing brush at Wolbach Farm's annual cleanup dayABRHS students volunteering at Wolbach Farm
SVT would like to thank the fourteen students from Acton-Boxborough Regional High School for their efforts at our annual Wolbach Farm cleanup, helping to beautify Wolbach Farm prior to the Family Fair.  The fourteen students are all graduating seniors participating in ABRHS Senior Community Service Day.  
Additionally, twenty-one students from ABRHS helped SVT's Americorps Mass-LIFT members Erin Snook and Thai Ha-Ngoc with turtle surveys at the Desert Natural Area.

March 2011

The Scouts show off their finished product.
Sudbury's 4th grade Webelos Cub Scouts of Den 16, Pack 61 from Nixon Elementary School volunteered with SVT for a service day.  The group created three learning activities for SVT's Nature Nook at Wolbach Farm.  The activities feature photos of local wildlife that were taken by Ron McAdow as part of his Camera in the Woods project.

October 2010

Back row, from left to right: Layla Mays, Julia Palmerino, Abby Gogan, Avis Lee, Ruiyi Gao, Elizabeth Dewey, Paula Weiman. Front row, from left to right: Rachel Hausmann, Faith Richard, Carolyn Houle.New raised walkways were installed at SVT's Brues Woods in Sudbury by Sudbury Girl Scouts Troop #77163.
New raised walkways were installed at SVT's Brues Woods in Sudbury by Sudbury Girl Scouts Troop #77163.  Ten girls installed five sections of boardwalk through a wetland trail area.  The boardwalks provide firm footing for visitors and prevent trail widening over time.
This was an empowering experience for the troop.  The all girl team used power tools and hand tools to settle the new walkways into place.  The troop had considered this project for their Bronze Award 3 years ago, but the project was delayed due to obstacles with wetlands permitting.  So, now as Senior Girl Scouts it was great to see the project completed.  The girls enjoyed seeing permanent results of their work that will be appreciated by the community.  Experiences like this help develop confident and capable citizens, and it was a lot of fun!
The girls that participated were: Elizabeth Dewey, Ruiyi Gao, Abby Gogan, Rachel Hausmann, Carolyn Houle, Avis Lee, Layla Mays, Julia Palmerino, Faith Richard, and Paula Weiman.

September 2010

Thirteen students from the Rivers School in Weston, four students from Marlborough High School and several Sudbury residents removed glossy buckthorn, an invasive plant, at SVT's Memorial ForestMarlborough High School Students pull buckthorn at SVT's Memorial ForestStudents from the Rivers School move a boardwalk at SVT's Memorial Forest
High School students came out in force to assist SVT with banishing buckthorn from Memorial Forest in Sudbury.  Thirteen students from the Rivers School in Weston,  four students from Marlborough High School and several Sudbury residents removed glossy buckthorn, an invasive plant.  The students also managed the herculean task of moving two boardwalks to a trail section that was flooded by recent beaver activity.  The removal of the buckthorn is part of the overall habitat restoration of the Desert Natural Area.

May 2010

Marlborough High School Seniors tend loosestrife for the loosestrife biocontrol project.
Marlborough High School Seniors tend loosestrife for the loosestrife biocontrol project.

May 2010

Volunteers build a new bridge over Cranberry Brook at SVT's Memorial Forest.Jason Porter designed and organized the building of the bridge over Cranberry Brook on the Pipeline Pass.
Jason Porter, a Sudbury Boy Scout, completed the work for his Eagle Project at SVT's General Federation of Women's Clubs of Massachusetts Memorial Forest.  Jason and his crew designed and built a new bridge to span Cranberry Brook at the Pipeline Pass, connecting the northern and southern trails on the west side of the reservation.  Jason and his volunteers also used an existing bridge to cross a small intermittent stream on the pipeline, to connect the trail to the Ocean ByPass.

May 2010

Michael Arsenault, a Boy Scout from Hudson, designed a bridge for SVT's Garfield Woods Reservation in Berlin. Michael gathered donated materials from local businesses and coordinated volunteers to install the bridge on a rainy day in May, 2010.Michael Arsenault, a Boy Scout from Hudson, designed a bridge for SVT's Garfield Woods Reservation in Berlin. Michael gathered donated materials from local businesses and coordinated volunteers to install the bridge on a rainy day in May, 2010.
Michael Arsenault, a Boy Scout from Hudson, designed a bridge for SVT's Garfield Woods Reservation in Berlin.  Michael gathered donated materials from local businesses and coordinated volunteers to install the bridge on a rainy day in May, 2010 as part of his Eagle Scout Project.  The bridge crosses a muddy portion of trail along North Brook at the boundary between Garfield Woods and Berlin's Forty Caves Conservation Land.

April 2010

Lauren Smith and Stewart Craig pulling up Japanese Barberry.Cooper Shumway applying a weed wrench to a stubborn Japanese Barberry.Lauren Smith, Stewart Craig, Tim Olson pulling up Japanese Barberry.Attacking Japanese barberry with a weed wrench.
The afternoon of April 9th seven students from Professor Scott Shumway’s “Alien Invasion” Senior Seminar joined nineteen Boy Scouts from Troop 100 Westborough to remove invasive plants from the Walkup and Robinson Memorial Reservation.  The Wheaton students prepared a photographic field guide to invasive / non-native plants that the scouts used to guide their efforts to eradicate Japanese Barberry, Bush Honeysuckle, and Burning Bush from this 62 acre conservation area owned by the Sudbury Valley Trustees.

April 2010

Students from Fay School participated in a conservation project at the Turenne Wildlife Habitat in Southborough. Students from Fay School participated in a conservation project at the Turenne Wildlife Habitat in Southborough.
Fay School and SVT Celebrate Earth Day
Students from Fay School participated in a conservation project at the Turenne Wildlife Habitat in Southborough.  Nine students and two teachers made improvements to the trail through the bird garden and also removed invasive plants from the woods near the bird garden.  The bird garden was initially established in 1995 by neighbors and volunteers.  SVT has worked over the years to control invasive plants and expanded the native plant bird garden two years ago.

February 2010

Troop #77163 tried their hands at sewing up net cages for the purple loosestrife project. Photo by Elaine HausemanTroop #77163 tried their hands at sewing up net cages for the purple loosestrife project. Photo by Elaine Hauseman
A second group of Sudbury Girl Scouts, Troop #77163, tried their hands at sewing up net cages for the purple loosestrife project.

January 2010

Sudbury Girl Scouts held a sewing bee to make nets for purple loosestrife plants, as part of SVT's Bio-control of Purple Loosestrife Project.
Sudbury Girl Scouts Troop #77171 held a sewing bee to make nets for purple loosestrife plants, as part of SVT's Bio-control of Purple Loosestrife Project.

October 2009

Ryan Healy organized volunteer work days to complete the Cranberry Brook boardwalk at SVT's General Federation of Women's Clubs of Massachusetts Memorial Forest in Sudbury.  Ryan and his crew built the remaining sections of the boardwalk as part of his Eagle Scout Project.

August 2009

Volunteers working on Ryan's bridge at Hazel Brook Conservation Area in Wayland.The completed bridge.
Ryan Jones designed and built a new bridge over an intermittent stream at SVT's Hazel Brook Conservation Area in Wayland.  The work was done as part of Ryan's Eagle Scout Project.

Sudbury Venture Crew Volunteers at Greenways

The Sudbury Venture Crew at Greenways Conservation Area in Wayland.The Sudbury Venture Crew at Greenways Conservation Area in Wayland.The Sudbury Venture Crew at Greenways Conservation Area in Wayland.The Sudbury Venture Crew at Greenways Conservation Area in Wayland.

The Sudbury Venture Crew helped to install a split rail fence along a trail at Greenways Conservation Area in Wayland on June 7, 2009. The fence will help keep foot traffic off of the slope next to the Sudbury River as vegetation is restored.

New Interpretive Trail Brochure at Round Hill

Kevin Ravesi's Eagle Project at Round Hill in SudburyKevin Ravesi's Eagle Project at Round Hill in SudburyKevin Ravesi's Eagle Project at Round Hill in SudburyKevin Ravesi's Eagle Project at Round Hill in Sudbury

Kevin Ravesi, of Troop 60 in Sudbury, created a new interpretive trail and map borchure for the Round Hill Reservation in June, 2009.  Kevin gathered volunteers to install posts at 6 points along the trail and to write the content for the map brochure.  The group also installed a map stand at the entrance of the reservation, where his brochure will be displayed.