An intrepid group of volunteers from Church & Dwight Corporation joined Northeast Wilderness Trust (NEWT) staff and board members in Montpelier, Vermont in September for two days of hiking and fieldwork. In recent years, Church & Dwight Philanthropic Foundation has become a valued partner to NEWT, providing generous support for the organization’s land conservation projects.
Learning to Read the Landscape
The group came to Vermont excited to see firsthand the lands that their support helps NEWT protect in perpetuity. A key goal of the trip (in addition to spotting a moose) was for the attendees to learn how to “read” the landscape at large—identifying clues about its history, ecology, and future.
On Day One the volunteers donned boots and rain jackets for an ecology-focused walk at Woodbury Mountain Wilderness Preserve led by ecologist and NEWT board member Brett Engstrom. Engstrom provided a crash course in landscape analysis which allowed them to walk in the shoes of NEWT’s ecology, land conservation, and stewardship teams. They learned to identify several tree and plant species of the Northern Hardwood Forest and to observe how the shape of the land and the movement of water determines which plants can thrive in a given area.
The peak of the day was a spot on the eastern side of the Preserve atop one of Woodbury Mountain’s scenic waterfalls. But this vista offered more than a beautiful view. From that vantage point, the volunteers watched water flow down into nearby Greenwood Lake—and were able to visualize, as Engstrom encouraged them to do, the interconnectedness of the landscape. Engstrom underscored for the group that conserving forests is a tried-and-true way to safeguard water quality downstream. In the case of Woodbury Mountain, its protected forests encompass 39 miles of the headwaters of Vermont’s Winooski and Lamoille watersheds. The Preserve thus helps ensure that the area’s aquatic resources remain healthy, all while providing home to wildlife and sequestering carbon for generations to come.
Rebecca Blank, Vice President of Church & Dwight Philanthropic Foundation, reflected on how the Foundation’s relationship with NEWT opened her and her colleagues’ eyes to the power of an ecocentric approach. “Forever-wild conservation and rewilding makes so much sense, yet this concept was new to us. As we have continued to partner with NEWT, we have learned more about the outsized impact rewilding has on climate and wildlife. And by providing opportunities for our employees to experience these protected areas in real life helps bring even more purpose to our day and keeps us growing on our sustainability journey.”
