"If winter is slumber and spring is birth, and summer is life, then autumn rounds out to be reflection. It's a time of year when the leaves are down and the harvest is in and the perennials are gone. Mother Earth just closed up the drapes on another year and it's time to reflect on what's come before."
                                                   ~Mitchell Burgess
October continues our transition of seasons. Last week, I read this quote: "Fall is a season for balancing light and dark, letting go, and accepting the impermanence of things."As we reflect and focus on the work of the past year, we are reminded of our mission: To promote life-long participatory learning using the land and resources of the Wakefield estate in order to foster an engaged and knowledgeable citizenry. For me this translates to providing a transformative experience that inspires passion, hunger, and curiosity in our youth, future educators, and all citizens. This fall, as we welcome out hundreds of elementary students, and dozens of future teachers from Curry College, we take stock - recognizing that our work in 2015 has been indeed transformative.
As you reflect on the year, we hope you too will regard our endeavors to be worthwhile, and think about becoming a member, participating in our year-end activities, and consider a year-end gift in support of this learning. We can't change the "impermanence" of life, but we all can make a difference, and we hope you will collaborate with us to change lives.

 Erica Max
Program Director

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HOT SPOT!


 

What we need from you in OCTOBER:

Spread the word or come out to help! 

Drop-in Volunteer Work Day - November 11th!


 

Our effort to build our volunteer corps is beginning to reap results! You too can help us in a variety of ways. If you want to log some community service hours, help with our fall school visits, help man open hours, or have something else in mind, please give us a call:

 617-333-0924 x22.

 

 www.wakefieldtrust.org

 
Welcome Back Students!
For the past few weeks, visitors to the estate would have heard peals of laughter and screams of joy, as students are back for their fall semester. The Wakefield Estate has extended a welcome and sponsored buses for the Bates, Conley, Taylor, Edison, and Hale elementary schools, and is looking forward to visits from the Murphy, Russell, King, and Henderson Inclusion school during the fall. We've also been excited to welcome Dr. Foley-Peres' Early 
Education and General Science students and Professor Samuelson's Sustainability class from Curry College.
Holiday Inspiration with Lisa of Cedar Grove
Wednesday, Nov. 4th, 7:00-8:30 pm
With the holidays suddenly sneaking up, it's time for "Holiday Inspiration with Lisa," our annual holiday decoration demonstration by Lisa Ahern, floral designer for Cedar Grove Gardens. Lisa will share her tips on how to create beautiful and easy floral accents for the holiday home, emphasizing creative and fun ways to make your home and table "shine" during the holidays. Enjoy some light refreshments, mulled cider or a glass of wine while watching Lisa work her magic! Most of the arrangements created during the workshop are raffled among those present at the end of the evening. Price for the workshop, which includes light refreshments, is $20 per person, $15 for members. Pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, call 617-333-0924.

Wreath Making Workshop
Wednesday, Dec. 2nd, 6:30-8:00pm
Create a fabulous holiday wreath for your door with locally-sourced fancy evergreens gathered from the Wakefield Estate and neighboring area. This session will begin with a short demonstration by Lisa Ahern from Cedar Grove Gardens, who will show how to embellish a plain balsam wreath and turn it into a  custom-made show stopper! All materials provided. If extra wreaths are produced, they will be sold as part of our Holiday Wreath Sale. For more information or to register for this special program, call 617-333-0924. The fee for this class is $25 and registration is required.
Once again this holiday season, we are selling our popular hand-crafted, locally-sourced holiday wreaths. The wreaths are 18 inches in diameter and can be hung or used as a holiday centerpiece. The deadline to order a wreath is Wednesday, Dec 2; order by calling 617-333-0924 or send an email to: wakefieldtrust@dogwoodlanefarm.org. 
Wreathes will be available for pick up at the estate during the week of Dec. 7-11, or earlier if arranged with staff. The wreathes are $35-50; all proceeds benefit The Wakefield Trust's educational programming.

PLEASE SAVE THE DATE!
Noted Environmental Educator David Sobel to speak at Thacher Montessori School on December 1st
David Sobel, dubbed by Teacher magazine as one of the "rock stars and gurus of environmental education," will speak to parents, educators, and environmentalists at Thacher Montessori School in Milton, MA on Tuesday, December 1 at 6:00 pm. The Wakefield Charitable Trust is co-sponsoring this event.  
Sobel will talk about the importance of environmental education in children's lives, sharing examples from a number of schools and organizations across the country and from a few of his eight books, including the upcoming "Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens: The Handbook for Outdoor Learning."  
More details to follow soon!
Want to get your hands dirty? 
Need some Community Service Hours?
Our Volunteer Corps is growing, and beginning to have a real impact. If you would like to get more involved with the Wakefield Estate, you too can make a difference!
This fall, we are anxious to partner with corporations, churches, community groups, scout troops, families, and groups of friends who are interested in coming out for a few hours to help with fall clean-up. We have a "Drop-In Community Service Day" on Veteran's Day, November 11. We've got lots of work to do, ranging from trail maintenance and preparation for the school trips, to fall clean-up and raking. If getting dirty isn't your thing, give us a call and we can probably find a task that will match your interests and our needs!
If you're interested in learning more about our volunteer needs and opportunities, please call Erica Max at 617-333-0924x22.
Upcoming Events - Save these Dates! 
Nov. 4: Fall Decoration Demo with Lisa-7:00-8:30 pm
Nov. 11: Volunteer Drop-in Day-noon-3:00 pm
Dec. 1: David Sobel Talk at Thacher-6:00-7:00 pm
Dec. 2: Holiday Wreath order deadline
Dec. 2: Holiday Wreath-making -6:00-8:00 pm
Dec. 5: Family Wreath & ornament-making-10-noon
Dec. 9-12: Holiday Wreath pick-up-9:00 am-5:00 pm
Dec. 10: Holiday Open House 4:00-8:00 pm
Dec. 14: Holiday Open House SNOW DATE
Jan. 9: Winterfire - 4:00-6:00 pm
Jan. 28th: Ist 2016 Stone Soup & Speaker event
For more information about any of these programs, visit our website:  www.wakefieldtrust.org or call us at 617-333-0924.
Mary M. B. Wakefield Charitable Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Staff:
Mark Smith, Executive Director - email: mark@dogwoodlanefarm.org
Erica Max, Program Director - email: erica@dogwoodlanefarm.org
Dave Cafaro, Grounds and Building Maintenance - email:  d3838374@aim.com
Deb Merriam, Landscape Director - email: debbie@dogwoodlanefarm.org 
For more information, call us at (617) 333-0924 or check out our website at wakefieldtrust.org