Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Public is Invited to Open House at Davis Douglas Farm Saturday, November 26th, 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Front steps at the Davis-Douglas Farm.
Please stop by to visit the Davis-Douglas Farm and learn about the Wildlands Trust’s plans to relocate its headquarters to the property and to establish a new educational center focused on passive outdoor recreation and land conservation.

This fall, the Trust entered into an agreement to purchase the Davis-Douglas Farm, a beautiful ten-acre property on Long Pond Road. Long a beloved scenic landmark in south Plymouth, this lovely property is currently owned by the Bongiovanni Family.

The Davis-Douglas Farm property.
 “This is a wonderful opportunity to save a beautiful piece of land and to restore the very interesting farmhouse that has been part of the landscape for over a century,” said Charlotte Russell, long time Wildlands Trust board member.  “We look forward to welcoming the Trust back home.”

The Wildlands Trust, a regional land trust serving all of southeastern Massachusetts, was based in Plymouth from 1973 until 1995 before moving to a donated office space in Duxbury.  Since it was founded, the organization has conserved nearly 10,000 acres of land, much of it within Plymouth.

Davis-Douglas Farm is a dream property for the Trust.  Besides being a very important land protection project, it will provide the Trust with ample space for staff, stewardship equipment, and outreach programs.  The Trust plans to rebuild the barn for community education programs and presentations.  They also plan to host a community garden on the property, similar to the one they’ve had in Duxbury for the past 3 years. 

The Davis-Douglas Farm was once part of Howland Davis’ estate on Long Pond, and the Bongiovanni Family has designated that the property be named “Davis-Douglas Farm” to honor both Howland Davis and their grandfather, Percy Douglas, who farmed the land for many years.

“The property holds tremendous meaning to my family and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome,” said David Bongiovanni.  “We support the Trust’s plans and are thrilled to know that the property will look very similar to how it has looked for the last hundred years.”

Property tours will be conducted for the public on Saturday, November 26th from noon to 2:00 p.m.  For directions to the Farm, visit www.wildlandstrust.org.

For more information, please contact Karen Grey at kgrey@wildlandstrust.org or 781.934.9018.