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Who We Are

Established in 2000 by Jim Dehner and Tim Driskell, registered as a  501C3 Non-Profit organization and managed by an "All-Volunteer Board" working  mostly in the town of Ashburnham, MA. Our current board members are: Gary Howland, President, Matthew Christensen, Treasurer, Sherisa Sterling, Clerk, Cec Snow, Stewardship Manager, Karen Sargent, Brian Mulroy
Lorraine DeSouza, Mark Washburn, John Mulhall

What We Do

Our primary focus is to identify critical natural landscapes and water resources, primarily in Ashburnham however our work has reached into Winchendon and Ashby, to facilitate their protection. We use a variety of financing tools such as working with the municipality, grant writing, fundraisers, memberships, sponsorships, and selling books and other promotional items. We maintain strong partnerships with the State and other land trusts and conservation groups to secure conservation restrictions, purchase land, advise landowners of tax credit programs, provide access for passive recreation and educate the public on critical environmental issues. Our sub-committee Keep Ashburnham Beautiful connects us to Keep Massachusetts Beautiful, an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful. Since our incorporation in 2000 we have facilitated the protection of over 5,500 acres of contiguous open space, a number which increases with every passing year.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Wow, 180 +,- of you came out over the course of two wet and rainy weeks to remove unsightly trash from our neighborhoods back roads and highways. THANK YOU.

This year we removed a little over 2 tons of trash, not counting tires and appliances. We were overwhelmed by the turnout this year, so much so that we will be convening soon to decide how we can channel that civic spirit and extend it beyond picking up to sprucing up our by-ways. Watch for more information to come.

As much as two tons of trash sounds it is actually significantly less than in prior years. In all of the years prior that Town has compacted two 15 Cu Yd roll off containers that were completely full, and like I said compacted. This year we did not quite fill the second container and neither of them were compacted.

This signals to us that we are not only making a difference on a day to day basis, but overall we have dug deeper and perhaps raised the consciousness about litter within the community, which has expressed appreciation for what we all have done. We are just now recuperating but will be back soon with some new ideas.

 

 

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Protect & Preserve

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ABOUT

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Gary Howland

978-827-6427

Address

33 Main Street

PO Box 354

Ashburnham, MA 01430

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©2025 by Ashburnham Conservation Trust

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