07/12/2026
“Look closely at nature. Every species is a masterpiece, exquisitely adapted to the particular environment in which it has survived. Who are we to destroy or even diminish biodiversity?”
- E. O. Wilson
Altering nature in a dedicated bioreserve to accommodate people defeats its own purpose by destroying the very ecosystems that sustain both wildlife and human life. By engineering our wild environment, we risk triggering cascading collapses in biodiversity, weakening natural resilience and depleting vital natural resources like clean water, air, wildlife.
Shame on The Trustees of Reservations, once again, for reneging on their original promise to fund and staff an environmental education center for children and adults in the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve. And now, disgustingly, thinking they could fool us and Mother Nature nature with what they are calling an "accessible" nature trail for mobility and sensory challenged children.
This is the wrong place for what they say they want to do. There is no water, no food, no bathrooms, no shelter should a summer thunderstorm pop-up, no phone/emergency services close by, no real nature because TTOR took most of it away. What's there? Tacky cedar log entranceway on Indian Town Road. Faux path, faux animal tracks carved in rocks, faux critter painted holes in logs, a couple of old wood boards on rocks if you wish to sit down. All this in the northeast edge of Shockley's swamp. Since the swamp is close by, there are deer flies, horse flies, mosquitoes, deer ticks, dog ticks, possible lone star ticks, Bring lots of insect repellent during biting bug season.
There are some lovely educational areas in the Southeastern Massachusetts for All children by laughing brooks, shady pines, fields of ferns and smiling wildflowers. We ask again for The Trustees of Reservations to restore the Shockley Trail and marbled salamander habitat they've impacted. And, return the funding, our money, they received from the state for this nonsense, faux nature trail.
TTOR is the oldest and wealthiest land trust in Massachusetts. We were thrilled, 26 years ago, when the said they would be a Bioreserve land holding partner and build an environmental education center. What happened? Mother Nature is not happy.
