My friend Don’s mom owns a patch of land in Randolph, and she can’t keep up with it anymore. In Massachusetts, small pieces of land get subdivided and sold all the time. But not everyone wants to do that.

I thought she’d sell it, but she really didn’t want it to see it cleared, paved over or developed. She wanted the land to be available to local kids, so they can observe animals, make a stick fort, breathe fresh air and maybe put down their phones.

I’m involved because Don offered to donate the land to someone who could do something good with it, but I didn’t know where to start. Doing the right thing isn’t cheap, even when the land is free. I still need costs for closing, insurance, maintenance…and I’m not rich.

I went to my boss. He’s not rich either. But together we set up the Massachusetts Urban Conservancy, which sounds a lot fancier than it is. It’s a brand new and unfunded nonprofit. I thought we could get a grant once we had nonprofit status, but all those grants are gone.

So here I am, looking at the future of this land and feeling stuck. MUC has no capital, no resources besides a small ad budget, but I want to do something good and give back to Massachusetts.

Am I in over my head with this? Maybe. That doesn’t make it a bad plan. It means I need help.

That’s where you come in.

This Land’s Future Can Be Wonderful

This little spot will be a great resource if we can save it. One day, local kids will be able to use it for outdoor learning. We can make it a haven for native species, and the air will be cleaner because there will be more trees, and less pavement, in this spot of land. If not, this wild space could be gone forever.

You can visit our website and read about our future preservation and environmental goals. You can check out the Zoom meetings we’ve had about this land. Experts agree that our plans are important.

If you have $5 to spare today, you can be part of preserving this space. There are no strings here. We’ll create a safe place for natural, native species and let kids have access to it, with involvement from local schools. We already have the land. We just need to close on it, insure it, and remove invasive species, trash and whatever else doesn’t belong there. Then it will be nature forever. There’s a lot to look forward to!

I’m up against red tape, developers with deeper pockets than I’ll ever have, and a natural world that is shrinking at a scary rate, but I’m optimistic, because I know I’m not the only one who wants to help the environment, even if I don’t have the money to do it all myself.

My Dunkin’ app is a source of great shame some months, but it does remind me that $5 is just a little more than a coffee. It’s not much, but if everyone who sees this donates, we will have enough to close on this land and work toward future projects. (Other people want to donate land to MUC. I’ve had to say no for now, but hopefully that won’t always be the case.)

Just $5 will save baby animals. It will save trees. It will give kids a place they can be excited about, and will keep the air clean.

Can you help?

People Who I've Convinced To Help Me:

Doug Quattrochi – my boss and the person who helped me set up this 501(c)(3). He also gave me an advertising budget, which is probably why you’re even here. Meet Doug.

Don Sanders – offered to let me have the land, and participated in this Zoom explaining why it means so much to his family. Meet Don.

Nate Fournier of Reimagined Roots – Nate runs an organic landscaping company and believes in what I’m trying to do. Thanks, Nate!

Tom Chase and Tripti Thomas-Travers of Village and Wilderness – this is a nonprofit forum that supports biodiversity, which is exactly what we want to see on this land.