Good evening. My name is Phil Stanway, of 6 Lantern Lane, a resident and Precinct Five representative. For over 20 years, I have worked across Chelmsford’s open spaces, including 90 Eagle Scout projects and hundreds of volunteer events and work parties. I am asking you to protect the public uses that made Sunny Meadow a community resource.
Sunny Meadow has taken two blows. The concert area was moved over concerns about possible produce theft, and its replacement is now in an area slated for National Grid construction. The Storybook Trail has also moved over concerns about that work and crossing leased farmland.
But the Storybook Trail followed the existing nature trail. Moving the storyboards leaves the walking route and its future unresolved. Please protect it before residents lose another recreational opportunity.
When the town purchased Sunny Meadow, the vision was farming, conservation, and public enjoyment together. The nature trail was built in 2009 as an Eagle Scout project with town and Conservation Commission approval. Farmers and volunteers have maintained it ever since.
The Storybook Trail, a Girl Scout Gold Award project, added to that experience. Byam students have walked there, visited the pollinator gardens, read the story, and seen a working farm.
Birding Hotspots lists 120 bird species recorded across Sunny Meadow over the years. Its fields, woods, gardens, and water provide varied habitats, and the nature trail lets residents experience them. This is an outdoor classroom worth keeping.
My handout includes Max Jordan’s farming proposal and the November 30, 2020, Select Board minutes approving his lease. Under “Community Educational Component,” he supported continued use of the path and wrote, “I will take over the mowing and maintenance of the path through the plot.”
My understanding is that the trail protection and educational provisions were not carried forward when the relevant agreements changed in 2025. If that omission is now the obstacle, this is a self-inflicted problem with a straightforward remedy: restore explicit trail protection in the affected farmer’s license.
Please also restore winter access and allow volunteers to maintain the trail and roads, including clearing snow.
I reviewed the maps with National Grid, including the Nature Trail’s access point from Robin Hill Road beyond the work area. They said that with this alternative access, the impact would be minimal, if any.
We own three farms as a town, and Sunny Meadow is the only one with a walking trail for residents. Please keep it open.
I believe this is important enough to bring before Town Meeting as a citizen’s petition in the spring, but I am asking you to act now. Farmers, scouts, volunteers, and residents have spent years making Sunny Meadow’s shared purpose a reality. Please protect what this community helped build and keep the town’s promise to residents.
Thank you,
Phil Stanway, P5
Max Jordan’s farming proposal, including the trail and educational provisions on pages 6–7:
https://www.chelmsfordma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/2736?fileID=4595
November 30, 2020, Select Board minutes, with the lease approval on page 9:
https://www.chelmsfordma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/2838?fileID=5041
Sunny Meadow birding information and recorded species total:
https://birdinghotspots.org/hotspot/L16796820