You don’t have to travel far on the North Shore to see something magnificent. Just tread out to the edge of Halibut Point Reservation in Rockport and watch the open Atlantic crash onto the shoreline. Or head to Stevens-Coolidge Place in North Andover with a picnic basket, find a spot underneath an oak tree, and gaze out at the historic gardens. Or bring your kids to Appleton Farms in Ipswich—the nation’s oldest continuously operating farm—and watch them ramble through the fields.
“They all have a common thread: They’re all places that take your breath away, and they all celebrate the best of Massachusetts,” says Barbara Erickson.
They have something else in common, too: They’re all among the 114 properties under the auspices of The Trustees of Reservations, the nonprofit conservation and preservation organization of which Erickson is president and chief executive officer. Founded in the late 19th century by Boston landscape architect Charles Eliot, The Trustees of Reservations remains the nation’s oldest statewide land trust. Today, with more than 25,000 acres under its protection, the group is among the largest conservation organizations in the Commonwealth. And The Trustees has an especially strong presence on the North Shore—more than a third of its properties are found in this part of the state, a mix of scenic open space, cultural and historical landmarks, and natural treasures. “When you look across the properties we have and how long we’ve been working to protect those lands, I feel that the North Shore is so beautiful because of the work of organizations like The Trustees over so many years,” Erickson says.
In July 2012, Erickson became the fourth president and CEO in the history of The Trustees as well as its first woman chief executive. In the three years since she took the helm, the organization has gone to great lengths to revisit a key aspect of its original purpose: revitalizing and restoring its culturally and historically significant properties and collections, bolstered by a $26 million campaign with the moniker Bringing Our Stories to Life. “We’ve believed since the beginning that conservation is both cultural and natural, and we’ve worked to get our organization to be more proud and excited about the historic and cultural side as much as the natural side,” she says.
In Ipswich, those funds have helped with a face-lift at Castle Hill on The Crane Estate—once a seaside escape for early-20th-century aristocrats, now a National Historic Landmark and one of The Trustees’ best-known and most-visited properties. After decades of neglect, some of the grounds’ signature elements have been subjects of million-dollar revitalizations, like the rolling hills of the Grand Allée and the carved-into-the-hillside elegance of the Casino. Next on the agenda is the first phase of a restoration of the Italian Garden, a project slated for completion next year.
On the North Shore and around the state, The Trustees’ properties have also seen an infusion of programs to lure back repeat visitors, from cooking classes and field-to-table dinners at Appleton Farms to uncommon tours like Hard Hats and Hooch, a libation-fueled look at the restoration work going on around The Crane Estate. “Conservation work can be serious, but it doesn’t mean the programming always has to be so formal…. We can be old and fun, right?” Erickson asks with a laugh.
That approach is working so far: After three years of continuous growth, Erickson says that more than 350,000 people visit The Crane Estate every year, a trend mirrored by significant increases in memberships and visitation to properties around the state. And through an array of family-oriented programming and day camps at its signature North Shore properties, Erickson says the organization is determined to get a quarter of a million people outdoors by 2018. “We know that generations growing [up] right now—as people continue to move into cities and lead busier lives that are more and more digital—have a disconnection to the land in a very real way,” Erickson says. “The Trustees offers a great way for families to enjoy and share quality experiences and memories.”
There’s yet another milestone in the offing: Next year marks 125 years since the founding of The Trustees of Reservations, with some of the festivities being targeted to take place on the North Shore. And while it’s been just three years since she became head of the organization, Erickson has a deep appreciation for the legacy that stems from those who came before. “In our work, we deal in the long term,” she says. “This has been a real movement of people over a century-plus, and rarely does anything last that long these days. That’s something to celebrate.”