ROCHESTER – The Rochester Land Trust (RLT) will hold its Annual Meeting on Oct. 8th at 1 p.m. at Church’s Field on Mattapoisett Road in Rochester. This family friendly event will have a brief speaking program highlighting RLT’s accomplishments over the past year, followed by the Barnes Tree Preserve Opening, and launch of the new Trail Tale. Light refreshments will be served.

Church’s Field is a 32-acre property donated to RLT by George Church in 2010. It contains a mile of trails traversing a large open field and forest to the Mattapoisett River, where there is a scenic overlook and benches.

The new Trail Tale will feature a fall themed book taking hikers down to the Mattapoisett River. This trail is a half mile to the River, returning on the same path. The Trail Tale is a partnership project with the Plumb Memorial Library and has been supported in part with a grant from the Rochester Cultural Council, a local agency funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

The Annual Meeting will be followed by the opening of the Barnes Tree Preserve, just down the road. This 18-acre property was purchased by RLT in 2017 and is mostly forested with wetlands leading down to the Mattapoisett River. RLT volunteers removed an old cabin of the property and have constructed a trail. The property can be accessed by walking from the parking lot at Church’s Field.

RLT is an all-volunteer land trust founded in 1997 with a mission to acquire and care of land in Rochester to benefit nature and preserve Rochester’s rural character. To learn more about the organization and to find a list places to walk to go: http://www.rochesterlandtrust.org