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"Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb,
Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow."
- Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Lady's Book, 1830s |
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What does a civil war-era dress, an archaeological excavation, a prized collection of trees, and sheep all have in common? All offer unique learning opportunities here at the Wakefield Estate. This summer, high school, college and post graduate students are busy furthering their knowledge and expertise in historic landscape preservation and management, collections management, archaeology field work, and alternatives to petroleum-based turf management - this is where the sheep come in! Following in Polly Wakefield's footsteps, we have re-introduced sheep to the estate as a way to more naturally and sustainably manage the turf in parts of the landscape - just as Polly did 50 years ago. We hope you'll stop by to see these projects in progress!
-Mark Smith
Executive Director
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Quick Links
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Introducing the new Wakefield Estate lambs!
Tuesday was an exciting day at the estate - our final school visit of the spring - and the arrival of 3 beautiful baby Shetland Sheep. After weeks of fence building, clean-up, and preparation, our lambs arrived fresh from being weaned at a farm in Rhode Island. Polly Wakefield (Mary) had 25 Horned Dorset sheep during the seventies, a variety much larger than these will be as adults. A true Yankee and conservationist, she enjoyed the pastoral beauty of having sheep grazing, but loved the fact that it saved money on mowing, and fertilized all her trees. While we have yet to name the sheep, we found out that the all black and all white lambs are twins referred to as #50 and #51 from a mother named Queen Elizabeth! |
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High School Archaeologists Dig In!
On Monday, June 20th, we launched the first session of our High School Archaeology Institute for the third year. There are two 2-week sessions of this hands-on course, taught by doctoral candidates in Boston University's renown archaeological program. Based on earlier study and underground radar imaging, the dig is in an area we hope to find evidence of an earlier barn foundation. The Institute is open to students in or entering high school, as well as college freshman. There is still room in session 2 which will begin on July 5th and run through July 15th. For more information or obtain an application, call Mark Smith at 617-333-0924 or email mark@dogwoodlanefarm.org |
 Coming Soon: A Mid-Summer's Night Garden Tour Encouraged by the response to our mid-winter's evening walk, later this summer we will be holding our first annual Mid-Summer's night Garden Tour, where we illuminate parts of the garden and the statuesque forms of some of the estate's oldest trees. Watch our website, Facebook page, and July's e-newsletter for more information. |
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Mary M. B. Wakefield Charitable Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Staff:
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