Page 7 - wildlands 2024 spring Newsletter v2_Neat

Full Steam

Ahead at the

Stewardship

Training Center

After establishing the Stewardship Training Center (STC)
in 2022, Wildlands Trust spent many months putting its
bold idea to the test. An educational facility to build the
state’s capacity to care for ever-growing conservation
lands sounded useful in theory, but how would the
stewardship community respond to this new resource? Stewardship Training Center, Plymouth

A series of pilot programs confirmed our well-
researched hunch—that the STC fills a longstanding gap
in our region’s land conservation infrastructure. From
March to December 2023, 266 people flocked to the
scenic shores of Halfway Pond in Plymouth for trainings,
conferences, and residence at our 12,000-square-
foot facility on 450 acres of diverse conservation
land. Training courses were presented by 17 different
instructors and attended by staff of 16 organizations
and eight municipalities. Nine organizations, in addition
to Wildlands, used the facilities for their own training,
research, and housing needs.

In 2024, the STC entered its first official year in
operation. This spring and summer, our Tier 1 Volunteer In 2023, 28 organizations and municipalities
attended or led programs at the STC.
Training Series is advancing a crucial element of the
STC’s mission: equipping volunteers with the skills
and confidence they need to, in turn, equip their
towns, cities, and local land trusts with much-needed
stewardship support. Four sold-out trainings prove that
volunteers are eager to contribute to the long-term care
of our region’s special places.

“Last year, we learned that there is widespread support
for expanded land stewardship education, and that
our facility on Halfway Pond is highly conducive to this
work,” said Zoë Smiarowski, Wildlands’ Stewardship
Programs Manager who oversees the STC. “We’re
excited to keep building this diverse community of
environmental caretakers across the state and region.”

To learn more about the Stewardship Training Center,
visit wildlandstrust.org/training. For questions about
training and rental opportunities, email
trainingcenter@wildlandstrust.org.

Seasonal Land Steward Training in June 2023 at the STC. 7