“There are only so many ways, and few of them good, to tell someone that nature is vital…. So let’s just let these kids roam free, get muddy, skin a knee, catch a frog or two, and then no one will have to tell them.”

“Sometimes the impact we make can be difficult to measure, but when I help deliver boxes of produce to Come Spring Food Pantry the impact of MCHT’s work is undeniable.”

“For me, land conservation is about natural resource sovereignty and land justice. Protecting, stewarding, and holding these places and resources in common and in perpetuity.”

“When I watch kids working with the animals, when I smell the ocean breeze through the barnyard and hear the bellowing of cows, I try to stop, take a deep breath, and quietly give thanks that Aldermere Farm is conserved and here to stay.”

“I started working on a dairy farm when I was 14. It’s great to see kids at Aldermere learning about hard work and how to do things around a farm. So many don’t know where their meat comes from, or their milk; it’s very helpful for people in the area to come here and see how it all works.”

“Working with young people, I see the impact of MCHT’s work on a daily basis—when a teenager asks why something grows a certain way, or how a bee finds a flower. My hope is that this engagement with nature is the beginning of a life-long respect for the earth.”