Bog Bridge Project Started at Beals Preserve
The short hiking path at the lower end of the lower meadow at Beals Preserve can get quite wet during the winter and spring months. Board members Larry and Eileen Samberg installed one of three planned 8-ft bog bridges in mid-November 2025.
Tree Work at Beals Preserve Pond
On Saturday, November 8, 2025, volunteer Hewitt Heiserman, and SOLF trustee Debbie Costine spent a few hours cutting up and moving felled dead trees next to the “ice pond“ at Beals Preserve. All wood will remain on the property to allow nature to do what it does. Some of the shorter lengths were arranged in […]
SWCA Environmental Consultants Volunteer Their Time
On Thursday, October 23, 2025, a group from the Southborough office of SWCA Environmental Consultants volunteered their time at SOLF’s Bigelow Wildlife Preserve. In September, Stumpy’s Tree Service removed a large fallen tree blocking the path to the platform and extending into a neighbor’s yard. The group worked to restore the area, moving and adding […]
Mushroom Walk at Beals Preserve
On October 19, 2025, the Southborough Open Land Foundation sponsored a 2-hour mushroom walk and talk at SOLF’s Beals Preserve. Jonathan Kranz, a mushroom enthusiast, former park ranger (Boston Harbor Islands), and current vice president of the Boston Mycological Club, led twenty plus participants, covering the basics of mushroom habitat, identification, and ecology. Participants closely […]
Bow Hunting Season October 6 – December 31, 2025
Two permits for bow hunting deer have been issued for Beals Preserve and Lynbrook Hollow. There is no hunting allowed on Sundays. These hunters are very experienced and have been hunting at these two properties for years. They will not be near any trails on Beals Preserve. Visitors are encouraged to wear some blaze orange. […]
Art on the Trails Closing
Art on the Trails at Beals Preserve had a very successful closing day on Sunday, September 14, 2025. Attendees, accompanied by artists and poets, were treated to poetry readings at each art piece. SOLF thanks director Catherine Webber, the artists, and the poets for a wonderful season of Art on the Trails.
SOLF Receives NRCS Grant
The Southborough Open Land Foundation is excited to announce that we received a grant in April of 2025 from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to partially fund the development of a Forest Management Plan for the Elaine and Philip Beals Preserve. This diverse and vital ecosystem—comprising meadows, woodlands, wetlands, trails, and a serene pond—is […]
Maintenance at Templeman Woods
In August 2025, Board members (Eileen, Larry, Lawrence) and volunteers (Phaea, Jim H, Jim S) cleaned up the trails at SOLF’s Templeman Woods and the town’s Watkins Woods. In October 2025, Board members Debbie and Lawrence returned for more cleanup work. The combined trails on 18 acres of wetlands and uplands can be accessed from […]
New Gate Installed at Beals Preserve
In July 2025, a new gate was installed at Beals Preserve at the Route 30 end of Old Farm Lane (the path between Route 30 and Red Gate Lane), replacing the old, creaky, hard to manage one. This entrance to the property is used primarily by authorized vehicles but is an access point for visitors […]
WBZ TV Highlights Art on the Trails at Beals Preserve
Unique exhibit invites visitors to enjoy art on a walking trail in Massachusetts WBZ TV’s Chris Tanaka took a look at Art on the Trails at the Beals Preserve in Southborough, Massachusetts. See the July 16, 2025 video here.
SOLF 2025 Annual Meeting Presentation
At the SOLF Annual Meeting last night, Trustee Debbie Costine gave a presentation highlighting recent projects and beautiful scenes across some of the properties we provide as open space to the public. SOLF mission is supported by your donations. Recent Projects and Beautiful Scenes by Trustee Debbie Costine
2024 Year End Property Summary
Beals Preserve: In honor of Whit Beals, Kevin and Mike Sanford dedicated much of the winter and spring to clearing trails as well as the area by the ice pond, exposing stone walls, mowing trails, and seeding. They also cleared the area around the pump house and added a missing wall and missing portion of […]
SWCA Environmental Consultants Volunteer at Beals Preserve
SWCA Environmental Consultants members replaced 4 water bars near the Red Gate Lane entrance on Old Farm Lane at Beals Preserve today, as part of their “Gives Back” program where SWCA employees receive eight hours of paid time off each year to volunteer for events or for projects such as ours. Thank you SWCA! Other […]
Beals Preserve Seeding Project on Old Farm Lane
A section of Beals Preserve Old Farm Lane (the main walking path) has been loamed and seeded. Please do not walk on it and please keep your pets off. There is now a hard gravel path alongside that you can walk, as well as the grass on the edge of the loamed area. Thank you.
Picnic Table at the Main Street Field
Thanks to the Bancroft Family of Southborough, visitors to the Beals Preserve will now be able to enjoy our new Picnic table! The children gave half their profits of a yard sale to SOLF! (the parents also chipped in.)
Hickory Trail Re-route on August 22, 2024
PLEASE NOTE: At Beals Preserve, The Hickory Trail from the Hickory Road cul-de-sac to the split in the trail has been re-routed. The old trail, which had eroded badly, has been blocked off. The trail will be blazed soon, but should be easy to follow.
Hickory Bridge Replaced July 2024
Over the course of 3 days, July 23 – July 25, 2024, Trustee Larry Samberg and volunteers Vincent Valvo and Colby Chase, with assistance from “go-fer” Trustee Eileen Samberg, demolished and replaced the bridge on one of the Hickory Trail segments. A hearty “well-done” to the crew.
Work Days at Eastbrook Farmlands and Bigelow Wildlife Refuge
On May 24 and May 25, board members and volunteers had work days at Eastbrook Farmlands, improving the street appearance, and Bigelow Wildlife Refuge, weeding and improving the appearance of the property. Eastbrook Farmlands Bigelow Wildlife Refuge – We were happy to see Eagle Scout Robby Stewart home for the weekend from Wentworth Institute and […]
Scout Troop 92 Installs Bluebird Boxes at Beals Preserve
Local Scout Troop 92 has taken on a community service project in collaboration with the Southborough Open Land Foundation. (SOLF) Using a design created specifically for bluebirds, the scouts, under the leadership of Kevin Tyson and George Harris, carefully constructed four nest boxes and installed them at Beals Preserve. These boxes will help support the […]
Recap of SOLF Annual Meeting on May 8, 2024
The Southborough Open Land Foundation’s held its Annual Meeting on Wednesday, May 8, 2024 at the Community House at 28 Main Street in Southborough. The evening started at 6 pm with light refreshments, followed by Trustee remarks by President Destin Heilman, a presentation on raptor rescue at 7 pm, the presentation of the 2024 Elaine […]
Birding walk on April 27 – Beals Preserve
On Saturday, April 27, SOLF hosted a birding walk at Beals Preserve. Eleven people attended the Earth Day Birding Walk at Beals Preserve. Unfortunately the presenter was unable to make it at the last minute, so trustees Sally Watters and Debbie Costine led a walk featuring some property history (like “fox hunts”) as well as […]
Beals Preserve Maintenance & Restoration
SOLF is undergoing some significant property restoration at the Beals Preserve. This includes the creation of a comprehensive management plan by “Conservation Works” that will include ecological resiliency. Our visitors have already noticed the beginning that has also created some pretty muddy areas in the process! We appreciate your patience! Recently, Pete Westover from Conservation […]
Work at Bigelow Wildlife Refuge
This past Saturday, March 9, 2024, SOLF volunteers Kathryn Korostoff and Laurie Guertin joined trustees Lawrence Spezzano and Debbie Costine with some maintenance work at the Bigelow Preserve at the end of Bigelow Road. A large part of the work involved removing quite an excess of bittersweet vines and fallen branches. On Saturday, March 16, […]
Riding Ring Circle Reclaimed at Beals Preserve
In the early 1900s, Margaret Leland, daughter of Bostonian Samuel Carr, and her husband Charles Leland owned Chestnut Hill Farm and what is now known as Beals Preserve. The preserve was almost devoid of trees and was pasture land. A riding ring was built for the Leland family for horse riding practice. The riding ring […]
Winter 2024 Work at Beals Preserve
SOLF’s Beals Preserve is getting some valuable maintenance done thanks to the generosity of SOLF supporter Kevin Sanford and his brother Mike. Kevin has a long-time love of both the Beals Preserve and the Beals family. He promised his friend Whitney Beals, who died this past September 14 that he would take care of the […]
SOLF Presents: Nature Columns
SOLF has been publishing a local nature series on MySouthborough.com. Read the columns here.
The Maple Syrup Making Presentation Now Online
Have maple trees? Want to learn how to tap trees and make maple syrup? On October 25, 2023, Tony Willoughby, an experienced maple syrup maker, gave a presentation on how you can make your own. You can now view the presentation! The talk was courtesy of the Southborough Open Land Foundation in partnership with the […]
Beals Preserve Chronolog Project
Announcing our new citizen science tool, Chronolog, a photo stand for our visitors to take pictures from the Upper Meadow (near the Lone Wolf trail) looking north towards Main Street (Route 30). The stand is right by our new beautiful bench built and installed by Cassie Melo for her Eagle Scout project. You, the visitor, […]
SOLF Maintenance at Eastbrook Farmlands
On Saturday, November 4, SOLF Trustees Eileen Samberg, Larry Samberg, Brett Peters, and volunteer Kathryn Korostoff worked near the entrance of SOLF’s Eastbrook Farmlands. SOLF does periodic maintenance of properties even when there are no trails. To improve appearance at the street, the group cleared around the sign, pulled invasive buckthorn, removed entangling grape vines, […]
SWCA Environmental Consultants Volunteer at Bigelow Wildlife Refuge
On October 12, 2023, employees from the SWCA Environmental Consultants office in Southborough volunteered at Bigelow Wildlife Refuge, spreading gravel along the path to the viewing platform. This is the second year that SWCA has volunteered its time! SWCA also sponsors our Chronolog project at Beals Preserve. Thank you, Ariel and group for thinking of […]
Bancroft Children Donate to SOLF
The Bancroft family of Southborough recently showed their support for local causes! Paxton, Asher, and sister Flora held a sale of gourds, donuts, and cider and decided to give half their profits to SOLF! We were so touched by their interest and generosity that we, the board of trustees invited them to hand over the […]
Remembering Whitney Beals
We are sad to share that accomplished conservationist Whit Beals passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by his family, on September 14. His long career included work with the Connecticut DEP, the Roaring Brook Nature Center, the Nature Conservancy in Maryland and Boston, the Town of Wayland, Sudbury Valley Trustees, and the New England Forestry […]
Dedication of The Whit Beals Garden at Beals Preserve
On September 23, 2023, Freddie Gillespie, Chair of the Southborough Open Space Preservation Commission, and Sally Watters, Southborough Open Land Foundation Trustee, honored Whitney Beals’ dedication and life passion for open space by renaming the pollination garden at Beals Preserve to The Whit Beals Garden – Biodiversity Through Pollination. Whit devoted much effort in recent […]
Granite Benches Installed at Beals Preserve
Beals Preserve now has 2 granite benches, in addition to the wood benches built by Cassie Melo for her Eagle Scout project. SOLF trustees Brett Peters arranged for delivery to the property and then prepared the ground and set the legs. Trustees Whit Beals with his trusty tractor, Brett Peters, and Larry Samberg worked to […]
New Benches for Our Visitors at Beals Preserve
Thanks to Cassie Melo and her Eagle Scout project, visitors to The Elaine and Philip Beals Preserve can now take advantage of two beautiful oak benches on which they can relax and enjoy the scenery. Cassie, a member of Troop #823, along with some help from her father, John Melo, built and then on April […]
Al Bezanson Receives Elaine Beals Conservation Award at the Annual Meeting
Southborough Open Land Foundation had its Annual Meeting on Wednesday, May 10 at the Community House at 28 Main Street in Southborough. The evening started at 6 pm with light refreshments, followed at 7 pm with Trustee introductions and remarks, the presentation of the 2023 Elaine Beals Conservation Award to Al Bezanson, and a program […]
Dark Skies Initiative
Light pollution is an ever growing problem as land is continuously developed. Without an eye towards the future, open land conservation, and responsible lighting choices, we’ll lose what little we have left on the planet for truly dark skies. Visit our page under Resources to learn about the Dark Skies initiative in Southborough.
SWCA Environmental Consultants Volunteer at Bigelow Wildlife Refuge
On Monday, November 28, eight employees from the SWCA Environmental Consultants office in Southborough volunteered at Bigelow Wildlife Refuge, spreading wood chips and pulling invasive honeysuckle. Thank you, Ariel and group for thinking of us!
Cub Scout Pack 1 Service Projects at Beals Preserve and Templeman
On Sunday, November 20, Cub Scout Pack 1 learned about and practiced trail maintenance at two of our properties, Beals Preserve and Templeman Woods. The older Cub Scouts and their parents worked with Board members Brett Peters and Larry Samberg at Templeman Woods-Watkins Woods off Rt. 85 by the Mass Pike overpass. With some hard work, […]
History Walk by Whit Beals on October 16, 2022
Whitney Beals, president of the Southborough Open Land Foundation (SOLF), led a group of about sixteen on a history walk at the Elaine and Philip Beals Preserve on Sunday, October 16 , 2022. In the 1950s, Whit’s family purchased land on both Chestnut Hill north of route 30 and what is now the Beals Preserve […]
Beals Preserve Main Street Field Parking Area
We are happy to announce that there is now a small parking area at the Beals Preserve Main Street Field on Route 30. The entrance to the parking area is on the south side of Main Street, between two stone pillars, east of Northborough Road and west of Chestnut Hill Road. Pull into the fenced […]
Bigelow Wildlife Refuge Progress Report – September 2022
As of August 2022, there is now just off-road parallel parking available for one or two cars on a cleared wood-chip area. Please do not park on Bigelow Road as it has no shoulder and parking is not allowed in the turn-around at the end of Bigelow Road. (Alternatively, visitors can drive to Walker Street […]
Pollination Preservation Garden Planting at Beals Preserve – September 2022
Freddie Gillespie, chair of the Southborough Open Space Preservation Commission, has been recruiting volunteers to install a Pollination Preservation Garden at SOLF’s Beals Preserve. Preliminary work was done last summer and fall. After poison ivy control work and garden prep in June, volunteers did a major planting on July 16–17. Volunteers did another major planting […]
Guide to Invasive Plants
The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has published a 25-page pictorial guide to Invasive Plants. You can view the guide on our Resources page.
Bigelow Wildlife Refuge Update: Knotweed Control
Although best known for the rustic landscapes and hiking trails of our Beals Preserve, did you know SOLF also maintains about 20 properties and community spaces in town? SOLF trustee Lawrence Spezzano and volunteers having been working to remove invasives and beautify our newest property trail at our Bigelow Wildlife Refuge near the end of […]
Stewardship & STC “Scoop the Poop” Education Campaign
SOLF supports the Stewardship and Trails Committees’ Scoop the Poop campaign to protect our conservation lands, our trails, our wildlife habitat, our water, and to keep Southborough clean and beautiful. Over the coming weeks they will be posting information to promote awareness about the importance of picking up dog waste and where dog walking is […]
Bigelow Wildlife Refuge
Bigelow Wildlife Refuge, on Bigelow Road, features a beautiful wetland swamp and woodland that can be explored along a 300-foot gravel path to a viewing platform. Link to the Bigelow Wildlife Refuge page.
Templeman-Watkins Loop Trail
Link to the Templeman Woods page and Templeman-Watkins Loop Trail. The joint Templeman Woods and Watkins Woods Conservation Land properties comprise 18 contiguous acres of wetlands and uplands. The Templeman-Watkins Loop Trail can be accessed from Cordaville Road (Rte 85). Features include wooden boardwalks constructed by several Eagle Scout candidates, vernal pools, glacial rock formations, […]