Martha's Vineyard Spring Service with TNC at Hoft Farm

The Trip

Discover the Martha’s Vineyard few tourists ever see. New England’s largest island, the Vineyard, lies four miles south of Woods Hole, off the coast of Cape Cod. Triangular in shape, the island is twenty miles long and nine miles wide. It was formed by glaciers over 10,000 years ago, and its distinctive landscape consists of kettle ponds, open meadows, forests, steep cliffs, sand beaches, and natural harbors. Its globally rare habitats include coastal sandplains, grassland heaths, and scrub oak woodlands.

The Vineyard’s bountiful lands and waters provided ample sustenance to Native Americans long before the first European settlers arrived in 1642. Over the next 200 years, islanders made their living as fishermen, merchant seamen, pilots, and whalers. The island’s rich history is evident in its six towns. Each has its own individual character expressed in widely divergent architectural styles -- from the gingerbread cottages of Oak Bluffs to Edgartown's aristocratic, white-clapboard sea captains' homes to the traditional fishing village of Menemsha. Today, farmers and fishermen remain close to the land and sea, and tourism is a large part of the Vineyard’s economic base, which supports a large and vibrant artistic community, environmentally sustainable agriculture, and preservation of many acres of undeveloped forest and woodlands, grassland, and sand plains.

The Project

Since 2000, Sierra Club groups have partnered with the Massachusetts chapter of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in its Islands Program. TNC seeks to protect the Vineyard’s significant ecosystems and preserve biodiversity in the face of unrelenting development pressures. While protecting land is one key strategy, TNC also seeks to restore the island’s once-expansive sandplain habitats by replanting native species in these rare seaside prairies. Through its work with many local environmental groups, the Conservancy has become a leading voice in the fight to safeguard the island's special qualities.

Specific tasks will be based on the Conservancy's most pressing needs at the time of our trip. In past outings, Sierra Club groups have tackled projects such as helping with the preparation of native grassland seeds for planting in spring, flagging and counting native plants, and removing invasive species. We have worked on TNC's Hoft Farm both indoors and out—weeding the garden, loppering hedges and trails, painting, cleaning out the tool shed and basement—wherever our help is needed.

We will meet at Hoft Farm on the north shore of Martha's Vineyard, less than four miles from the ferry landing in Vineyard Haven. Specific directions will be sent later. Dinner on Sunday evening will be our first meal together.

We will work a total of four days (at least two full six-hour days). There will be ample free time to visit nearby towns, stroll along the beaches, and hike preserves. Each day includes planned group activities. Possible activities include touring Polly Hill Arboretum and the colorful clay cliffs of Aquinnah, biking, antiquing, and birdwatching. Spring finds the Vineyard landscape filled with flowering azaleas and rhododendron. The trip includes a guided oversand vehicle tour of Cape Poge Lighthouse on Chappaquiddick Island, weather permitting. The trip will end after breakfast on our last day.

Getting There

Most major carriers offer service to Boston’s Logan Airport. You can also fly into T.F. Green Airport in Providence, RI, or directly to Martha’s Vineyard. You can get to the Vineyard from Boston or Providence by car or bus. The last leg of your trip will then be by ferry.

The ferry ride from Woods Hole takes about 45 minutes. If you bring a car, reservations must be made in advance through the Steamship Authority at www.steamshipauthority.com. Expect to pay a round-trip fare of about $192 per car plus $19 per passenger. Otherwise, you can park in the Woods Hole-Falmouth lot for approximately $10 per day. Pickup at the Vineyard Haven ferry will be provided for those without cars. The Vineyard Transit Authority provides island-wide bus service at low cost, which can get you around the island and also to the Hoft Farm. A fast ferry may still be operating from Rhode Island, with shuttle service provided to the airport. www.vineyardfastferry.com/index.htm

Please do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until notified to do so by the trip leader.

Accommodations and Food

Our base of operations will be the scenic and rural 90-acre Hoft Farm. Purchased by The Nature Conservancy in 1997, the farm encompasses woodlands, meadows, ponds, and wetlands with no neighbors in sight! The renovated farmhouse is used to house the Conservancy's interns and field research teams. We will stay in the farmhouse in spacious rooms containing three or four twin beds and one materially larger room with six beds. This means you can expect to have two or more roommates, depending on the group composition. Camping is not allowed at Hoft Farm.

We will have many fresh foods and a varied menu, offering both vegetarian and non-vegetarian selections. Please be aware that we prepare meals for a group and cannot accommodate all individual preferences nor extremely restrictive diets. We ask that you discuss any dietary restrictions with the leaders in advance. Each person will help cook and clean up at least one day of the trip. The Hoft farm has a fully equipped kitchen, and all meals (except for packed lunches and 1-2 meals out) will be served at the farm. Our last evening meal together on Friday will be dinner at a local restaurant.

Trip Difficulty

Work projects will vary from light-duty to strenuous. Each participant will work at his or her own pace and endurance level. We expect to work one or two full six-hour days and two or three partial days.

Equipment and Clothing

The weather is usually comfortable in early May, but it can be blustery. Come prepared for a range of temperatures, from warm to quite chilly. Bring clothing you can layer on or off when the temperature or exercise level changes. Rain gear is essential, as we will work in light-to-moderate rain (but not in storms or high winds). Poison ivy is common, so protective clothing is advisable. Technu will be in ample supply. A detailed equipment list will be provided before the trip.

References

Books:

• Schneider, P., The Enduring Shore: A History of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket.
• Brooks, G., Caleb's Crossing.
• Foster, D. R., A Meeting of Land and Sea: Nature and the Future of Martha’s Vineyard.
• Wessels, T., Reading the Forested Landscape.
• Cronon, W., Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England.
• Newcomb, L., Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide.
• Philbrick, N.. Mayflower.
• Flender, W., Walking Trails of Martha’s Vineyard. (Hard to find.)

Websites:

• Vineyard Travel: http://www.mvy.com/
• Vineyard Gazette Newspaper: http://mvgazette.com/
• The Nature Conservancy: http://www.nature.org/
• The Steamship Authority (passenger and vehicle ferry from Woods Hole to the Island): www.steamshipauthority.com
• The Fast Ferry (connection at Providence Airport to Martha’s Vineyard, passenger ferry): https://www.vineyardfastferry.com/index.htm

Conservation

While visitors strive to experience the island's beauty, in recent years the disappearance of open space and rare species has accelerated alarmingly due to the demand for development, mostly of large luxury homes. We will assist The Nature Conservancy staff with the restoration of rare and endangered coastal sandplain native species and habitats. TNC staff will provide talks about the purpose and methodologies of their conservation projects.

While working on TNC projects and staying on Martha’s Vineyard, we will follow Leave No Trace protocols.

Since its founding in 1892, The Sierra Club has worked to preserve and restore the natural environment we all share on this planet. Thousands of grassroots-level volunteers spearhead our efforts to conserve and sustain resources, both in our own backyards and on a global scale. Through direct experience in the outdoors, Sierra Club outings enable participants to better understand, advocate, and participate in the environmental conservation goals of the Club.

Service outings, in particular, stand out as one of the Sierra Club’s most important “boots on the ground” conservation efforts. The work done by service trip participants in our nation’s public lands is a way of practicing conservation in the most direct way possible, whether it’s improving access while preserving wilderness values, restoring wildlife habitat, or repairing human-caused damage to a natural area. Service trips are a great way to pitch in and do something tangible to make the world a better place; they’re a way to go beyond just talking about conservation; a way to get out there and experience conservation with your whole being.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal-opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.