It’s all about love of place

KENT — There are many things to love about Kent: the art galleries, the abundant and delicious food, the excellent schools. 

But everyone can pretty much agree that it is the exquisite landscape and rustic character that make Kent stand out. 

Kent doesn’t look the way it does by accident; it’s a community effort. Preserving the town’s open space and its rural  heritage are two of the key goals in the Town Plan of Conservation and Development, approved by voters here in 2012. 

And while everyone pitches in, on their own property and by contributing toward purchases and care of open space, it’s the Kent Land Trust that organizes and achieves much of the conservation and preservation of open space and historic structures (often in partnership with the Kent Historical Society); and it is the Land Trust that helps make those preservation projects accessible to (and enjoyable for) the public, through picnics, hikes, birding projects and more.

Last month, the national Land Trust Alliance honored the Kent Land Trust with its 2015 National Land Trust Excellence Award. The award was presented Oct. 8 in Sacramento, Calif., during the alliance’s national conference. 

The award was given to the trust “for its leadership and demonstrated commitment to community priorities for conservation. In particular, the award recognized the recent preservation and opening of the East Kent Hamlet Nature Preserve, formerly Girl Scout Camp Francis.”

The Land Trust’s director, Alice Hicks, thanked “the hundreds of volunteers who contribute time, energy and expertise to the Land Trust’s stewardship and community-based activities.”

She added that, “At the heart of this achievement is simply the love of place.”

The preservation of the former Camp Francis was a recent, major initiative of the trust. The preserve’s 250-plus acres are on the site of the town’s earliest settlements. 

The property was purchased with grants from state and federal agencies and national conservation groups, and with support from the town (approved by town residents in a referendum vote). 

Volunteers helped to clear trails on the property and to take down some of the ailing structures left over from the Girl Scout camp, which had been unused for many years. 

The Land Trust and the Historical Society also worked together to create an exhibit last summer that showed the history of the many camps that have been in Kent through the years. 

The two organizations co-hosted several hikes during the summer, as well as a Camp Francis Reunion. Former campers returned to the site of their summer holidays (and sang old camp songs); and they shared stories about the camp from days gone by.

“We learned and laughed so much that day,” said the Historical Society’s Melissa Cherniske in a press release last week announcing the Land Trust Alliance award. 

Connie Manes, who is executive director of the Land Trust, said, “The women returned to their childhood days, and around each corner encountered memories of self-discovery and friendship.”

This month, the Land Trust also inaugurated the new Homestead Trail at the Audrey and Robert Tobin Preserve. At the end of Dugan Road, the trail is about a mile long and is an easy hike. It is open to all Kent residents.

To learn more about the trails and the Kent Land Trust, go to www.kentlandtrust.org.