Sustainable Forestry at Land's Sake

In partnership with the Weston Conservation Commission, Land’s Sake selectively cuts firewood on Weston Conservation Land to maintain the forests and keep them healthy. Previous cutting areas include Highland Forest, Jericho Town Forest, Sears Land, and Ogilvie Town Forest.

For the first time this winter, Land’s Sake is managing the forest on a portion of the Municipal Purposes land at the Case Estates, abutting the Woodland Elementary School. Trees have been marked for cutting, and Land’s Sake will cut approximately 50 cords of firewood over the next two years. This will remove about one-quarter to one-third of the trees, cutting the lowest quality trees to allow the rest to grow. The firewood will be sold to Weston residents.

As the days grow warmer while nights remain chilly, Land’s Sake enters the peak of maple sugaring season. This temperature fluctuation sends sap running through the maple trees, ready to be made into maple syrup. Middle School students in the After-School Maple Program collect sap from hundreds of maple trees in Weston and help Land’s Sake boil it into fresh syrup. Between 50 and 70 gallons of syrup is produced each year, and will be sold at the Land’s Sake Farmstand.

Learn more at landssake.org/forestry and attend the annual Sugaring Off Festival on Saturday, March 24 from 9 am to 12 pm at the Bill McElwain Sugar House at Weston Middle School, 456 Wellesley Street, Weston, MA, 02493. Participants can watch maple sugaring demonstrations and enjoy a pancake breakfast, all led by students in Land’s Sake’s maple education program.