Above: The trails and meadows of SOLF’s jewel, Beal’s Preserve, beckons the public to explore it. Just don’t forget that maintaining the protected space is made possible by charitable donations. (images from Facebook)
Southborough Open Land Foundation asked me to help them dispel a common (and apparently increasing) misconception about their 58.5 acre property known as Beals Preserve. Many mistakenly believe it is Town owned Open Space.
Since SOLF’s work managing its open spaces relies on volunteers and charitable support from the public, the detail matters.
SOLF’s trustees asked me to share the following statement:
In Southborough there are town-owned lands like Breakneck Hill and there are privately owned lands like Beals Preserve. Beals Preserve and 14 other properties in town are owned by the Southborough Open Land Foundation (SOLF) which is a private, non-profit trust. SOLF has found that many visitors to Beals Preserve mistakenly believe that it is a town property supported by tax dollars; however, it is entirely separate from town government and funding! All maintenance is done by volunteers or paid for solely by donations. We at SOLF preserve land for the enjoyment of current and future generations of our town. For more information or to donate go to SOLF.org
I’ll add some more details that I think are worth noting.
Thanks to the Beals family’s generous gift to SOLF, under the non-profit’s stewardship, the public has access to the gorgeous property for “walking, jogging, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing” daily from dusk to dawn. (Bicycles and motorized vehicles aren’t allowed beyond the parking lot — except as used by SOLF for maintenance.) Leashed dogs are permitted, though their waste must be picked up.
SOLF’s website describes:
Located in Southborough on Main Street across from Chestnut Hill Road, the property features a diverse ecosystem including Wachusett channel frontage, a pond, meadows, woodlands, and trails that link to the Sudbury Reservoir Trail and Boroughs Loop Trail.
Plus, the property has hosted the Art on the Trails exhibit for 9 straight summers. And it features the Whit Beals Garden: Biodiversity Through Pollination garden.
In looking for a photo to share of the property, I came across an interesting post on SOLF’s Facebook page, promoting a public invitation to be part of their “chronolog”:
We have a Chronolog stand at the top of the upper meadow at Beals Preserve. The visitor takes a photo with a mobile phone and uploads via email so that SOLF gets a a time-lapse record of the meadow. Take one next time you are there. The instructions are on the stand.
The photos below are some of the great examples from the website. You can view the chronolog and all of its photos, apparently started in May 2023, here.
On the less pretty side, SOLF’s Facebook page also shows examples of the volunteer efforts involved in maintaining publicly accessible land and trails:
While Beals Preserve is their largest and best known property, SOLF protects an additional 132.5 acres of open space in Southborough, including three other parcels with publicly accessible trails (Bigelow Wildlife Refuge, Templeman Woods/Watkins Woods, and Clark Grove). You can find details and a map here.
To learn more about supporting SOLF, click here.
