Land Preservation Committee

The BBC Land Preservation Committee seeks to expand the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area in order to protect open space and habitat in the Broad Brook watershed.  We keep in touch with area landowners and provide information about options for preserving land.  We work with the Northampton Conservation Commission to set priorities for preservation, and we participate in discussions with interested landowners, the City, and other conservation groups.  We attend select meetings of City Council, Conservation Commission, Community Preservation Committee, and other area land trusts and conservation groups.  We make recommendations to the BBC Board regarding financial contributions toward land purchases or easements.  We work with other conservation groups to hold workshops on issues of land stewardship and land preservation for both landowners and land trust volunteers.

Stewardship Committee

The responsibilities of the Stewardship Committee encompass the control and removal of terrestrial and aquatic invasive plants throughout the FLCA, periodic analysis of water quality in the Broad Brook,  Fitzgerald Lake and the adjacent marsh, the planting and care of fruit-bearing shrubs in Cooke’s Pasture, maintenance of the Fitzgerald Lake outflow drain, and mowing of Cooke’s and South Pasture.

Trails Committee

The Trails Committee is responsible for the maintenance of the trails, bog bridges, and the dock.

Trails committee’s duties include:

1. Remove trees and branches that have fallen across trails because of storms, or from natural causes.
2. Repair and maintain bog bridges and build new ones to provide passage over wetlands.
3. Maintain trail signs including repair, or replacement.
4. Re-blazing trails.
5. Maintain the dock, including repair of loose boards and cutting back foliage overhanging the dock during the spring and summer to allow passage of people and boats.
6. Keep the parking areas at North Farms Road and Cooke Avenue clear of debris and litter.
7. Maintain the Mutt Mitt dispensers at the North Farms Road and Cooke Avenue parking areas.

All of the above tasks are achieved by regular maintenance activities and volunteer workdays.

BBC Walks and Talks Program Committee

BBC sponsors educational programs from time to time throughout the year to help acquaint the public with the natural history and ecology of the FLCA. Walks are led by skilled naturalists and are free for members and nonmembers alike. In addition to the plants and animals that inhabit the conservation area, walks may also feature such topics as night sounds, winter tracking, and nature photography. Notices of these programs are placed on the BBC website and Facebook page as well as in the Daily Hampshire Gazette. Please join us for one of these opportunities to learn about the natural world that the FLCA helps protect.

For upcoming programs visit our Events page.

Education Committee

The goal of this committee is to further BBC’s educational outreach by sponsoring nature programs in the local community, especially in the schools. Using the resources of the FLCA, we partner with classroom teachers to help support aspects of their curriculum that study the natural environment. As with our Walks and Talks programs, we enlist local naturalists to organize these programs for the purpose of teaching and inspiring children to learn about the world of nature.