Hike Worcester Week Invites Residents to Exp

From Japan’s Northern Alps to the Trails of Worcester

By-Hank Stolz
Graphic-Radio Worcester/HikeWorcester.com

Questions, Concerns, Opinions?

Worcester, MA-Colin Novick is just back from Japan where he hiked the Northern Alps. He tells us how he was out on a trail for 11 days in a Japanese national park with a backpack and had an incredible trip.

Colin stopped by Radio Worcester to promote Hike Worcester Week.

Hike Worcester Week Returns September 11–20

Indeed, it is time once again for Hike Worcester Week, running September 11-20.

This annual initiative by the Greater Worcester Land Trust is designed to showcase Worcester’s extensive trail system while raising funds for trail maintenance and improvements.

Colin tells us it’s a real community out on the trails whether in Japan or the U.S., “If you’re out on a trail and you’ve been out there for hours, if you come across anyone, you immediately strike up a story. You immediately say hello. Even the most reserved introvert is ready to say hi, wants to know how you’re doing. It’s sort of a different space.”

Trails for Different Experience Levels

The program invites participants to explore multiple trails throughout the region, with options ranging from introductory hikes to challenging five-mile treks.

“So, Hike Worcester Week is two things. It’s first of all, getting people to realize just the richness of the trail system that we have here in Worcester, a chance to promote the incredible resources we have, but it’s also a chance to raise money to care for those trails, to do the improvements.” says Colin.

New Longer-Distance Hikes

New this year are two longer distance hikes led by Novick, including routes through Holden to Cascading Waters and a five-and-a-half-mile hike that includes Paxton.

Participants can register individually, seek pledges from supporters, and compete for prizes including a weekend getaway to the White Mountains.

Hike Worcester Week promotes outdoor activity, community engagement, and awareness of Worcester’s unique network of forest corridors, creating opportunities to experience diverse landscapes and potentially encounter local wildlife.

“We are absolutely blessed. And one of the things that’s neat is you go to other cities; there’s usually the city and then there’s the suburbs and then there’s the forest. For Worcester, we have these corridors of forest that come deep into the city.”

Registration is available at gwlt.org.

What Is the Greater Worcester Land Trust?

The Greater Worcester Land Trust is a nonprofit conservation organization that protects forests, wetlands, farms, waterways and other open spaces in Worcester and surrounding communities.

How did it begin?

The organization was created in 1987 to identify and preserve environmentally important land that could otherwise be lost to development.

The Land Trust operates with a small professional staff, a board of trustees and a large network of volunteers. Colin Novick, a Worcester native who has worked in conservation for approximately three decades, serves as its executive director. Greater Worcester Land Trust.

What is its mission?

The organization’s stated mission is to promote the “protection, stewardship, and appreciation of open space” to improve quality of life and support functioning natural systems in Worcester and the surrounding region.

Its work includes:

Purchasing land with conservation value
Accepting donated land
Obtaining and enforcing conservation restrictions or easements
Helping landowners explore preservation options
Working with municipal and state officials
Securing grants for land acquisition and stewardship
Building and maintaining public trails
Protecting wildlife habitat, wetlands and waterways
Connecting individual properties into larger forest corridors

A conservation restriction allows land to remain under its current ownership while permanently limiting development and protecting its environmental value.

How much land does it protect?

The Greater Worcester Land Trust reports that it manages and protects more than 2,900 acres in Worcester and neighboring communities.

Its geographic reach includes Worcester, Boylston, Holden, Leicester, Paxton, Spencer and West Boylston. Some properties are owned directly by the Land Trust, while others are protected or managed through conservation restrictions, partnerships and agreements with municipalities or other organizations.

What properties are connected to the Land Trust?

The organization’s property and trail network includes dozens of natural areas, among them:

The Cascades
Asnebumskit Ridge
Blueberry Hill
Broad Meadow Brook
Cook’s Pond
Crow Hill
Difley Family Forest
Donker Farm
East Side Trail
Kettle Brook
Moreland Woods
Sibley Farm
Tetasset Ridge
Coes Reservoir
Green Hill Park

The complete network also includes smaller woodlands, overlooks, farms, ponds and parcels that create connections between larger protected areas. GWLT property directory.

What happens after land is protected?

Preserving a property is only the beginning. The Land Trust must continue monitoring boundaries, protecting wildlife habitat and maintaining safe public access.

Its Volunteer Conservation Corps, established in 2001, performs much of the trail and stewardship work. Volunteers:

Clear and mark trails
Install signs
Build bridges and water crossings
Control erosion
Remove trash
Monitor plants and wildlife
Report property damage or unauthorized use
Maintain habitat-improvement projects

Volunteer conservation rangers also inspect assigned properties and document their condition through field reports, photographs and maps. GWLT volunteer program.

Why does its work matter?

Worcester is unusual because wooded corridors extend deep into an urban city. Protecting connected parcels gives wildlife room to travel, helps preserve water quality, reduces flooding and provides residents with nearby places for hiking, education and quiet recreation.

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