On this day in 2005, four people met at the Lime Quarry in Chelmsford for the first official workday of Chelmsford Open Space Stewardship.
Back then the Lime Quarry was nothing like what you see today. It was directly accessible from the 495 rest area and had a reputation for illegal activity. A week before that first workday, I came out of the Quarry, and a CPD officer was in the lot. He looked at me and said, “We know what goes on in there. Why were you there?” He was not wrong. The place was a mess.
There were trash piles, burned out fire pits, dead trees in pits, and arrows painted on trees marked “Way Out” so people could slip out toward Route 110 if police were at the rest area. Trails crisscrossed everywhere, and there were holes cut in the fence to get in from the highway side. It felt like a forgotten place.
That first year we closed the fence holes. Not once but many times until people finally gave up trying to reopen them. We blocked and filled the access trail from the rest area over and over. We dragged out trash, wood, and debris. Furthermore, we closed extra paths and created a single reasonable loop trail. Later we widened and packed sections to control poison ivy and eventually added a second loop.
At the time many open spaces in Chelmsford were like this. Thanksgiving Forest, Russell Mill, the Bog, Crooked Springs. People could drive vehicles into some of these places. Fires, dumping, and parties were common. Picking up a hundred cans a week around town was not unusual.
Slowly it changed. The Quarry and Crooked Springs were cleaned up first. As the group grew, we moved from parking lots to the interior, replacing bridges, improving trails, and working with Scouts to make Eagle projects part of a long-term plan. The goal was always to make these places clean, safe, and family-friendly.
Today people do not say, “The Quarry is a bad place,” or “You can drive into Thanksgiving Forest and party at the rocks,” or “Russell Mill back lot is rough,” or “You can dump anything at the Bog.” That time is gone. The culture changed. These spaces are used by families. When there is a problem, it is noticed and addressed. Social gatherings moved from remote open land to private spaces. There is now an expectation in Chelmsford that open space is clean, safe, and welcoming.
COSS has been here for twenty years, and I expect it will be here twenty more. Over the years we have worked closely with the town and conservation, and at times we have taken a step back and supported from the side. It has always been a healthy and respectful balance. We all share the same goal: to care for and protect our open spaces for the community. Through changes, seasons, people, and policies, our mission remained the same.
We care for our open spaces because they belong to the community. They need to be clean, safe, and accessible. Along the way we added support for youth, farmers, and community partners when we could, but the core mission never moved.
So happy 20th to COSS. Chelmsford is a different place today. I believe COSS played a small but real part in making our open spaces what they are. I could not be prouder of the volunteers who made it happen and continue to make it happen.
Mission first. Always.
COSS exists to support, protect, and steward Chelmsford’s open spaces for everyone, working alongside the town, residents, and community partners to keep these places clean, safe, and welcoming for future generations.
Phil Stanway, Co-Founder of COSS
with Joanne Stanway
Proud to be one of the original four volunteers at that first work party
on a cold November day in 2005.