Land Trust Alliance Recertification
On November 11, 2020, Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation’s Land Trust accreditation was renewed by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. In the letter of accreditation, the following commendation was included: “Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation has made an extraordinary commitment to excellence, trust, and permanence in land conservation. The commission especially recognized Sheriff’s Meadow for successfully negotiating the purchase of the historically and ecologically significant Red Gate Farm.” The current accreditation will last until November 11, 2025
Elinor Moore Irvin Trail
We are delighted to announce the opening of the Elinor Moore Irvin trail. The two-car trailhead is located off of Indian Hill Road, found immediately before the junction with the Obed Daggett Road. The trail crosses over 110 undulating wooded acres of land which were donated to Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation by Ms. Irvin. For several years, SMF has been working with Marie Vayo Greenbaum and Perry Vayo, Elinor’s niece and nephew, to create a trail that would satisfy their aunt’s desire that the land be used as a resource for scientific reflection and study. We express our profound and sincere gratitude to Ms. Greenbaum and Mr. Vayo, and to all of the landowners along and beside this trail, for making this beautiful trail possible. We will be sharing more about the Elinor Moore Irvin Trail in our next newsletter.
Updated Trailhead at Middle Road Sanctuary
Updates have been made to the parking area at Middle Road Sanctuary, thanks to a generous donation from Geoffrey and Sarah Gund. The parking area has been regraded to improve drainage and eliminate puddles and mud. In addition, a fourth parking space and a turnaround space was added and a dead tree stump was removed at the road to improve sight lines.
New Board Member – Tara Gayle
Our apologies to Tara Gayle. In our previous newsletter, we mistakenly left out part of her bio.
Tara Gayle is a landscape designer with an emphasis in resilient ecological design. In addition to becoming a certified soil consultant, her education has taken her across the country and the world, studying permaculture design and regenerative agricultural systems. At the core of her philosophy is a mission to encourage people to look at their environments holistically, while incorporating elements of time-honored design through reconnecting with and reinforcing our sacred relationship with the natural environment.
Gayle is a year round resident of Martha’s Vineyard, and founder of the island-based landscape design company Gayle Gardens. Tara is a lead designer with United Designers; an intercontinental team seeking regenerative solutions for large scale projects. She has an Advanced Permaculture design certificate from Holland, and a BA in Studio Arts from MMC Marymount Manhattan College.