Well, another amazing day. One of the things you realize as you get older is that time is precious. As we get closer to winter, good outdoor days become even rarer. The plan we started last week and posted about got a lot of traction. When I arrived this morning, a...

Major event time is here. With three events happening almost all at once things are about to get busy around town and there will be a lot of chances to enjoy the outdoors before winter really takes hold. This stretch between Thanksgiving and the holidays is one of the...

How a Trail Is Designed Learning from the Koulas Farm Extension Project Designing a walking trail looks simple when you see the final product, but the process behind it is careful, slow, thoughtful, and based on many years of experience. At Koulas Farm we are...

Growing Participation in Recreation Programs Since the COVID-19 pandemic, park and recreation agencies have expanded their offerings for older adults. Approximately 62% of agencies have increased the number of programs available to this demographic, while only 7% have...

COSS Day Before Thanksgiving Walk Background, Purpose, and Operational Plan For nearly 20 years, the Chelmsford Open Space Stewardship (COSS) group has hosted the Day Before Thanksgiving Walk at Thanksgiving Forest. What began as a way to reclaim the forest from...

If you have ever strolled the beach at Heart Pond on a summer afternoon, it might feel timeless, but the pond’s story actually begins 12,000 years ago, when a retreating glacier left behind a giant block of stranded ice. As that block melted, the earth around it collapsed, forming what geologists call a kettle pond. Heart Pond is one of those rare relics, a deep, round basin, about 91 acres, with water as old as Chelmsford itself.

Well, two big events are now behind us, what we like to call our “Halloween events,” and we have a few days’ break before we start the “Thanksgiving events.” I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what happened and how it all came together.

Chelmsford doesn’t have a full recreation department like many surrounding towns do, so it’s the residents and community groups who organize most of the events you see. These events don’t have large budgets or resources behind them, but what they do have is a tremendous amount of heart.

Whether it’s a trunk-or-treat, a small neighborhood Halloween parade, or a party and movie night in one of the old town halls, Chelmsford residents have figured out how to make things happen with just a few dollars and a lot of creativity.

Bill Edge / Deep Brook Reservation – 2025 Update The Bill Edge, also known as Deep Brook Reservation, sits quietly at 214 Dunstable Road in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts. This fifteen-acre property is mostly woodland and wetlands, centered around the twisting waters...

With the weather too cold for painting, our weekend work will shift to clearing the old silage pit at Koulas Farm. The pit sits just to the left of “Big Red” and is about 40 feet long. It’s only a few feet deep with gently sloped sides, making it a perfect and safe...

Blanchard’s Meadow has been part of Chelmsford’s agricultural landscape since before 1671. For centuries, it functioned as a managed hay meadow with shallow ditches and channels designed to carry away excess surface water while keeping the soil moist and productive. These drainage systems were maintained by local farmers and community members and remained in use until the year the Town of Chelmsford acquired the property.

One of the most interesting features of Koulas Farm is its long, historic, and original dry-stacked stone walls. Once all the vines and brush are removed, the walls will be carefully restored and maintained to keep alive the traditional skills used in stone wall...

Well, it is the first work party at Koulas and I am excited to get back out there and make a difference. From all the prep work, the site is in good shape and this should be a great start. I would expect low exposure to ticks today which means good walking conditions if people stay on the main routes. Someone shared photos that deer have returned to the meadow which is a very good sign. There is also a very large coyote in the area and one was seen on Lantern Lane last night. So please make sure your dogs are always leashed on this site. This is required on all town land and especially important at Koulas.

What is going on at Wright is actually pretty simple. For as long as I have been in town, kids have been riding up and down the powerline trails on ATVs and dirt bikes. They always have and probably always will. Gates and No Trespassing signs do not make much difference. It has been part of the landscape there for years.

Today was another great E-Recycle Day, hosted by the Center School PTO and the McCarthy Middle School PTO. This is one of those events that really shows what community looks like in Chelmsford. The funds raised go right back into local PTO programs that support students and teachers, so every old TV, laptop, and toaster dropped off helps make a difference.

Yesterday’s work party at Koulas Farm gave me a chance to introduce some very old technology to new users. This wasn’t for a history lesson or nostalgia, it was because this technology just works, and it works well.

Say hello to “Throne Rock” at Koulas Farm. Every now and then when you are out doing restoration work or cleanup, something interesting pops up. Koulas Farm has a few of these surprises that over time have earned names of their own. There is “Stone Bridge,” “Split Rock,” “Silage Pit,” and “Big Red.” Mention any of these to the regulars and you will get an instant nod and probably a story about how it got its name.

As a member of the Koulas Task Force, I know there has been interest in adding a sledding hill there because safe public options in town are limited. The town has always said it is open to new ideas from residents, so from time to time I come up with them. Sometimes it’s ideas like making Red Wing family friendly, building community gardens, adding pollinator gardens, or finding locations for a Storybook Trail. This is not something new. Sometimes these ideas happen, sometimes they don’t, and sometimes a variation happens. That is understood with any plan and is key to a good community decision.

The Lime Quarry Reservation off Littleton Road holds one of Chelmsford’s oldest industrial stories. Long before the highway or modern houses, this area was a working quarry where stone was burned into lime for building mortar and plaster. The first kilns and quarry pits appeared in the 1730s, and by the early 1800s as many as five separate lime operations were active. The work was tough and hot. Quarrymen split limestone from the ledges using hand drills and black powder, loaded the stone into ox carts, and hauled it to kilns built into the hillside. Inside each kiln, the stone was fired for days with stacked wood until it turned white and crumbly. The finished lime was packed into barrels and shipped to builders in Chelmsford and Lowell.