Horse Meadows Knoll will open officially as Harvard’s newest conservation area Saturday, Sept. 29, with hiking trails and an area for parking at 45 Sherry Road. The Harvard Conservation Trust and Sudbury Valley Trustees invite the public to join them from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. for a guided 1-mile loop walk to the top of the drumlin-shaped knoll, through hardwood, beech, pine, and hemlock forest, with rocky outcroppings and steep slopes overlooking the reservoir where green herons and beaver are active.
The opening is the culmination of more than three years of collective effort to protect this 47-acre scenic area. The Sudbury Valley Trustees committed $285,000 toward the purchase price, while the Harvard Conservation Trust raised and contributed the remainder of the $832,000 total cost to acquire the property. The SVT holds a perpetual conservation restriction on the land, which is now permanently protected. The SVT will also have a long-term lease on the land to manage the property’s trails and tackle other stewardship activities.
A 2016 effort by the Harvard Conservation Trust and the Conservation Commission to acquire Horse Meadows Knoll collapsed when the project did not receive an expected state grant. But six months later, with the help of the Sudbury Valley Trustees, the purchase was completed.
To restore this unique natural area and make it safe for public use, the conservation groups razed an abandoned house, created a gravel parking area, and recently held a work day to make walking trails. The two groups invite the public to discover this important and beautiful land.
