People go to Harvard’s conservation lands for many reasons—relaxation, birdwatching, exercise, identifying wildflowers. Many go just to enjoy being outdoors in nature. But recently, people have gone to two conservation areas to do damage.
Harvard police say someone has been putting log blockades on the trail through the Callahan land, a Harvard Conservation Trust (HCT) property that stretches from West Bare Hill Road to Bolton Road. Police told the Press they are installing cameras in the area to discourage the vandalism.
John Lee, an HCT trustee, described the blockades as three or four logs piled across the trail. They pose a tripping hazard for walkers who have to scramble over them and could cause a major accident if a trail biker hit one. (Bikes are allowed on HCT properties unless signs say otherwise.) Both Lee and the police expressed puzzlement as to why someone would want to block the trails.
Another case of vandalism took place recently at Horse Meadows Knoll, a conservation area on Sherry Road. The area was acquired in 2018 in a joint effort of the Sudbury Valley Trustees and HCT.
Earlier this month, with the permission of both conservation groups, the Harvard organization Arm in Arm set up a self-guided “reflection walk” along the trail at Horse Meadows Knoll. Arm in Arm describes itself as an organization that spreads messages of diversity and inclusion.
The reflection walk featured signs with quotations about the relationship between humans and nature. Among those whose words appeared on the 10 signs were Benjamin Franklin, Crazy Horse, Leo Tolstoy, Vandana Shiva, and Wangari Maathai. Each sign had a QR code—a matrix barcode that allowed trail walkers to use their cellphones to learn more about the person who was quoted.
Almost as soon as the signs were put in place, the first five were ripped up, Ellen Sachs Leicher told the Press. Leicher, who is a member of the Arm in Arm steering committee, said some of the signs were thrown in the woods and one had been tossed into the water repeatedly. Some of the QR codes were damaged beyond usability. Leicher said it wasn’t clear what the motives behind the vandalism might be.
As with the Callahan land, the police have been informed of the damage at Horse Meadows Knoll and are investigating it, as well as a hostile online posting directed at Arm in Arm about the signs.
