Harwich Conservation Trust Honored with Excellence in Conservation Award

A culvert at the Cold Brook Preserve being removed and replaced with a bridge. Photos by Gerry Beetham

AMHERST, Massachusetts – The Harwich Conservation Trust was honored with the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition’s inaugural Excellence in Conservation Award at the 2025 Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference, held on March 21^st at UMass Amherst.  An audience of 600 was on hand for the presentation, which was followed by a keynote address by Congressman Jim McGovern.

This award is in recognition of the Harwich Conservation Trust’s Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project at the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve in Harwich Port. This multiyear restoration project was undertaken in partnership with the Town of Harwich Community Preservation Committee, the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Kelly Grant, Land Protection Specialist with Harwich Conservation Trust (center), accepts the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition’s (MLTC) inaugural Excellence in Conservation Award from MLTC Board of Directors member Loring Schwarz (left) and MLTC Executive Director Robb Johnson at the 2025 Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference.

Kelly Grant, Land Protection Specialist with Harwich Conservation Trust, accepted the award at the ceremony.

“On behalf of the Harwich Conservation Trust Board of Trustees and staff colleagues Halley, Connor, Christy, Eric, Charlie and Mike as well as our dedicated volunteers, we thank the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition Board of Directors for this honor,” said Grant. “Cold Brook now runs wild and free for the first time in over a century on its way to Saquatucket Harbor on Nantucket Sound.”

The project successfully restored retired cranberry bogs to improve public access to the land and enhance nearly a mile of stream and over 44 acres of adjacent wetland habitat. The restoration included the addition of ponds, a salt marsh, and native plant species.

This project has already seen notable ecological benefits, such as increased habitat diversity, improved water quality of the stream, improved fish passage, and increased wetland stormwater absorption. Additionally, this project improved community access to public lands through the addition of a half-mile wheelchair accessible trail.

A Town of Harwich feasibility study commissioned during the design process concluded that the restored wetlands’ ability to reduce nitrogen releases to the Harbor will help the Town avoid $6 million in sewer installation costs.

“In the bigger picture, we also see this award as a reflection of the critical land and water protection efforts each and every one of you are engaged in,” Grant told the audience. “We appreciate and respect how hard you work to make a lasting, local, land-saving difference in your communities.”

More information on the Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project is available on the Harwich Conservation Trust’s website. 

Founded in 1988, Harwich Conservation Trust is a non-profit land trust organization working to preserve land that protects woods, water, wildlife and quality of life in Harwich, Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition advances land conservation across the Commonwealth by providing education, tools, networking and advocacy to 140 land trusts and their partners.