October 25, 2016
“A Place in Nature for Everyone”
In 2012, PCT acquired a 6 acre parcel of land, located between E. Green and East Streets, consisting of a large meadow, surrounding woodlands and two small brooks, adjacent to its most visited property, the Brickyard Brook Conservation Area (11 acres). After considerable deliberation, the Board decided that, given the mostly flat terrain here and other factors, the property would be an ideal location for an accessible trail, designed for visitors of all abilities to use and enjoy.
The Mutter’s Field Accessible Trail (MFAT) consists of an 1800-foot loop skirting a 2-acre meadow, with a connection to our non-accessible, Brickyard Brook trail. The trail offers a quality, passive outdoor recreation opportunity for people of all abilities, in a tranquil setting with striking views of Mt. Tom. Along the trail, we’ve installed seven, beautiful accessible benches and picnic tables, built by Easthampton carpenter and PCT supporter, Kevin Mulligan.
Some of the features you will find here include:
- An accessible picnic area, adjacent to the trail
- Plantings of native grasses, flowering plants and shrubs
- Two field stone raised bed butterfly gardens, planted with native flowering plants (donated by Dr. Leslie Harrington)
- An entrance and parking area at East St. with 2 designated handicapped spaces
- An improved entrance at the end of E. Green St.
- An inclement weather shelter with two accessible benches
In the fall of 2016, we installed five colorful, interpretive signs, created to educate visitors about some of the natural features found at the trail. In addition, PCT began the process of controlling/eradicating non-native plants that have invaded much of the property. Over the next several years, we hope to restore it to a place where native plant species can flourish.
It is expensive to maintain a property like Mutter’s Field. PCT, an all-volunteer non-profit organization, has limited resources to keep this property looking beautiful. Therefore, we hope you will support us by donating to our MFAT maintenance endowment fund. We are also seeking volunteers to help out in a variety of ways. Please contact us if you’d like to contribute your time and skills to this most worthy cause.
Thank you to all who have helped make this dream a reality for all of us to enjoy!
