BERNARDSTON — Members of the Friends of the Charity Farm Lot will lead a hike through the lot on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon to familiarize locals with its terrain and features.
Bill Montiglio, a member of Friends of the Charity Farm Lot, said the hike will cover about 1½ miles of the land’s “hilly, rolling terrain.” The hike will be moderately difficult, he said, but the guides will tailor it to attendees’ abilities.
The hike is open to the public, but attendees are asked to register in advance by emailing Bill Montiglio at charityfarmlot@townofbernardston.org or calling at 413-824-1004.
Charity Farm Lot is a an 86.64-acre plot of undeveloped land situated next to Bald Mountain Road, 0.4 miles north of the intersection with Burke Flat Road.
The lot was donated to the town of Bernardston in 1832 by landowner Job Goodale, “to assist the industrious and deserving poor.” It has not been used regularly, however. Logging companies used to transport timber through roads in the lot, and in the 1970s Boy Scouts used the land to grow Christmas trees.
Friends of the Charity Farm Lot was established and subsequently recognized by the Selectboard as an official town committee in autumn of 2017 to maintain and preserve the lot. It is the first organization to take a specific interest in the lot.
The organization’s next upcoming event is a “work party,” scheduled for Saturday, April 14, 8 a.m. to noon. Attendees will be working to remove exotic, invasive plant species that crowd the native plants for access to sunlight. For information or advanced registration, email John Lepore at charityfarmlot@townofbernardston.org or call at 413-512-0644.