Every so often, a grant we make turns into something bigger than the check we wrote. That's exactly what happened this year with North County Land Trust (NCLT) and 32 acres of forest and wetland at High Meadow Farm in Hubbardston, MA, land that sits right in the headwaters of the Ware River Watershed. 

Through our Environmental Preservation & Animal Welfare grantmaking, we backed NCLT's effort to permanently protect this land through a Conservation Restriction (CR). As NCLT told us directly, without our support for this specific project, they wouldn't have had the capital to get the project to the point where committing their own resources made sense. Our grant was the piece that got the whole thing moving. 

Still, we didn't realize at the time how important that early support would be. Massachusetts' Conservation Land Tax Credit program, a key part of NCLT's plan to reimburse the landowners, usually takes two years to approve. NCLT didn't have two years. When another project unexpectedly dropped out of the program, a slot opened a full year ahead of schedule, and NCLT scrambled to get every piece of paperwork (appraisals, legal filings, the Baseline Documentation Report) finalized before December 31st. Because we'd already put capital behind the project, they were positioned to move fast when that window opened. On December 18, 2025, they recorded the Conservation Restriction, completing the project ahead of schedule. 

That's 32 acres now protected in perpetuity. The CR guarantees Zone A surface water protection for the Ware River Watershed, the drinking water source for downstream communities. It links directly to the Department of Conservation and Recreation land and the Bratko family's existing Agricultural Preservation Restriction, knitting together a larger, unbroken forest corridor. It preserves unfragmented habitats that support wildlife movement and long-term carbon storage. And it opens public, passive-recreation trail access from Gardner Cutoff Road, connecting hikers to DCR land beyond. 

None of it happens without the landowners saying yes. Tom and Jassy Bratko donated the restriction on land their family has cared for generations, and Jassy captured why: "Tom and I have always believed we don't really own our land — we just lease it for the time we are here, and it is our responsibility to care for it in the best way we can... Being given the ability to conserve it by North County Land Trust, and ensure that it is never developed, means we know that it will be enjoyed by future generations of people who can continue to explore the recreational opportunities and benefit from the diverse ecosystems that it supports."  

Their generosity was met by more community goodwill along the way.  When the contractor hired for the Baseline Documentation Report realized the project was in his own hometown of Hubbardston, he donated nearly all his services, stretching the funding even further. 

This is the kind of ripple effect we hope for in every grant we make. The project's success has already inspired a new donor to step forward, hoping NCLT can replicate this model elsewhere, meaning our initial investment is already multiplying its impact. 

High Meadow Farm is just one piece of what NCLT is building across the region. We're proud that our funding gave this project the foundation it needed to move quickly when opportunity knocked, and we're grateful to organizations like NCLT for turning our grants into permanently protected land, clean water, and open trails for our communities.