Blue Hills Trailside Museum State Partnership

Blue Hills Trailside Museum, which serves as the interpretation center for the state-owned Blue Hills Reservation, is owned by the state and managed by Mass Audubon. 

Through this successful partnership. we welcome over 100,000 visitors a year to the 7,000-acre Blue Hills Reservation; provide environmental education to over 200 schools; and offer a universally accessible nature trail, including sensory materials for the visually impaired.

How Trailside is Funded

The government has been providing operating funds for Trailside since it first opened in 1959. When Mass Audubon took over managing the museum for the state in 1974, we began raising additional money above and beyond the state funding to provide programs for museum visitors and the surrounding communities, to care for exhibit animals that cannot survive in the wild, and to support conservation research.

In order for Trailside to operate at its fullest potential, we need both sources of funding on an annual basis. Without a sustainable source of funding, the museum would be forced to cut back on staff and could not fully leverage the resources of Mass Audubon or plan for its future.

This is why each year, we need to advocate that funding for Trailside is in the Governor's budget each year. We are grateful to our state representatives for all the work they do to ensure this happens on an annual basis.