Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary Expands Thanks to Generous Land Donation by Neighboring Carroll School

LINCOLN, MA.—Carroll School and Mass Audubon, longtime neighbors in south Lincoln, have re-affirmed that sense of community with a generous donation by the School of 85 acres to the state’s largest nature conservation nonprofit. These 85 acres are part of an acquisition of 103 acres made possible by a generous donation to Carroll School. 

The property, adjacent to Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary off Old Sudbury Road, has been opened to the public for some time and features a meandering boardwalk passing through pristine wetlands.

The land straddles the borders of Lincoln, Wayland, and Weston, with the entirety of the property in Lincoln and Wayland. The nearby Carroll School, whose longstanding mission has been to empower children with language-based learning differences, also operates campuses in Waltham and Wayland.

Mass Audubon is extremely grateful to the School and looks forward to continued collaboration as an innovative education leader and the state’s largest nature conservation nonprofit develop ways to incorporate students’ outdoor time on the sanctuary.

In addition to the boardwalk that runs through a red maple swamp, the land supports habitat for numerous plants and animals.

The 85 acres are protected by a permanent Conservation Restriction now held by the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust. Mass Audubon will own and steward the property as part of their adjacent Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary. The remaining 18 acres, which currently includes a single-family home, detached garage, and pond on Appletree Lane, will be owned by Carroll School.

According to Steve Wilkins, Head of School, “We will continue to be good neighbors in the towns of Lincoln, Wayland, and Waltham. We look forward to the outdoor education opportunities that access to this property provides.”

The property connects to a much larger network of protected land and hiking trails. This includes land protected by the Town of Lincoln, the Weston Town Forest to the south, and of course, Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary.

 “This new addition to the sanctuary will extend the Drumlin Farm conservation corridor through south Lincoln and into Wayland, providing continued protected habitat for wildlife as well as a wonderful mixed forest/wetland environment for visitors to explore on the boardwalk and lesser-known trails beyond,” Drumlin Farm Sanctuary Director Renata Pomponi said.

“We are excited to extend Drumlin Farm’s stewardship to include this important parcel and the opportunities it brings for environmental education and conservation,” Pomponi added.

The property, best accessed via the trailhead on Town of Lincoln conservation land on Old Sudbury Road, is part of the Bay Circuit Trail, a 200-mile recreational path and greenway connecting the outlying suburbs of Boston from Plum Island in Newburyport to Duxbury Bay in Kingston.