04/08/2024
Join us! Belchertown Spring Outside is a series of accessible and inclusive outdoor activities,
free and open to the public, and organized collaboratively between the Conservation
Department, Friends of the Lake Wallace Trail, and McPherson Garden Committee.
Respectively, the events activate open spaces in Belchertown, and invite residents to engage in
them anew.
EARTH DAY TOWN WIDE CLEAN-UP - Organized by the Conservation Department
Saturday, April 20 from 9am - 12pm
Town wide
Register, pick up cleanup supplies and drop off trash bags at the Town Common parking lot, 25
Park Street.
The first event of the series is the Conservation Commission’s annual Earth Day Clean-Up
event, which invites residents to take ownership of local open spaces through stewardship
activities. The town-wide trash clean-up event, which focuses on conservation and recreation
areas, rivers, and roadways, makes a visible and tangible impact, offering a sense of
accomplishment and belonging to participants. For more details contact Sarah Fortune,
Conservation Administrator at (413) 323-0405 or at [email protected]
HEALTHY WETLANDS - Organized by the Friends of the Lake Wallace Sensory Trail
Saturday, May 11 from 10am - 11:30am
Whitlock Way, Belchertown
Next in the series, the Friends of the Lake Wallace Trail is organizing a themed walk along the
edge of the lake on Foley Field recreation area, Healthy Wetlands. Sampling the water of Lake
Wallace from Foley Field with Louise Levy, participants will learn to identify, do scientific
illustrations, and count the diverse critters that reveal the quality of the lands around Lake
Wallace, the headwaters of Lampson Broom and the smallest watershed in all of the CT River
watershed. Our counts add to over a decade of data collection at the lake. For more details
contact: Louise Levy at [email protected]
SPRING OPEN HOUSE - Organized by the McPherson Sensory Garden
Saturday, May 18 from 10am - 2pm
47 State Street, Belchertown
Finally, the McPherson Sensory Garden will invite residents to the annual Spring Open House
to present and showcase the accessible paths that were installed in fall 2023. There will be a
demonstration on scarecrow making by Michael Melle, music, rock painting, strolling through the
gardens, seed planting to take home, plant swap, and books in the woods. For more details
contact: Pat Barry: 413-478-4610 or Sharon Marean: 413-896-7531
