Pawtucket Farm Wildlife Sanctuary
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Trail Opening Celebration December 7, 2024
When Rollie Perron and his family decided it was time to sell their 20-acre Christmas tree farm—the last one in Lowell—they hoped it might be possible to benefit the community.
THIS is how excited we are to share Pawtucket Farm with you!
In December 2023, the Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust and Mass Audubon completed its purchase of the former Rollie’s Farm property in Lowell, protecting the farm in perpetuity for the public to enjoy.
The project to create the Pawtucket Farm Wildlife Sanctuary is a driven by a partnership between Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust, Mass Audubon, the City of Lowell, and Mill City Grows. Now that the land acquisition is final, the property will become a wildlife sanctuary and education center that brings the benefits of nature and community farming to an urban setting.
Pawtucket Farm is one the first open space projects to use funds from Lowell’s Community Preservation Fund, created in 2019. Mass Audubon will own the property and manage it collaboratively with the three partner organizations, subject to a conservation restriction granted jointly to the City of Lowell and Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust. Mill City Grows, a Lowell-based food justice organization will have a year-round farm stand and plans to establish a variety of community agriculture and food access programs at the farm.
The Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust first became concerned about the protection of Rollie’s Farm when the back 20 acres were sold in 2004. Since, LP&CT has kept an eye on the farm and, when the time was right, we gathered a team of partners to make the protection of the farm a reality. Meeting the needs of the community has been a central focus of the project. The partnership team hosted nine community meetings in 2022 in four languages, providing a forum for Lowell residents and organizations to shape the programming and research to come.
What Makes This Land Special
Open greenspace is increasingly a rare commodity in Massachusetts’ urban cities; Lowell ranks 304 out of 351 towns in Massachusetts in percentage of protected open space. The opportunity to add a parcel of this size is unlikely to come around again. It will:
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Restore a natural forested landscape, significantly expanding the tree canopy and the amount of greenhouse gases it can absorb and cooling it can provide.
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Reduce stormwater runoff to the neighborhood and the Merrimack River (less than 1,000 feet away) in the future. If not preserved, the land would likely have been developed with extensive pavement and impervious surfaces that make the surrounding area more vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather events, such as flooding.
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Preserve a functional wildlife corridor between the adjacent 1,100-acre state forest and the river.
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Increase access to nature by creating an ADA-accessible All Persons Trail featuring multi-sensory interpretive materials.
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Expand farm and environmental education programs, as well as recreational opportunities such as gardening and wildlife viewing.
Vision for the Future
The partners’ plan for Pawtucket Farm includes ecological restoration of the former Christmas tree farm; establishing a working farmland that includes a farm stand, food forest, and community gardens; and building a nature center that offers educational programming. Together, we will create a vibrant neighborhood destination accessible by bike, car, and city bus. Pawtucket Farm will become a new amenity for Lowell with accessible trails, a summer camp, field research opportunities for high school and college-aged students, and programs for families and adults.
Read The Mass Audubon “Explore” Feature Story
Making an Investment
We have a lot of exciting work ahead of us! The three partners have committed, together, to raise the resources for Pawtucket Farm. The required investment is as follows.
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$4,500,000 – land acquisition Complete
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$2,500,000 – restoration plan, trail improvements, outdoor classroom, parking area and signage, technical and design support Fundraising complete, trails complete
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$6,000,000 – Building a shared education center with year-round farm stand and a farm support building In Progress
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$2,000,000 – seed support for staff (across all three partner organizations) In Progress
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$15,000,000 – TOTAL
