Saving Sweet's Hill

MacKenzie Scott, we need your help! This property is part of 1000s of acres of a continuous forest from Maine to the Carolina's. The Burrillville Land Trust embarks on a campaign to the Save Sweet’s Hill - the 150 acre property located on Route 107 (East Avenue) in the Town of Burrillville. The $2.2 million dollar campaign is for purchasing and for stewarding the property.

Why Save Sweet's Hill? $1,000,000 will get you naming rights. $100,000 will get you the right to name the nature viewing platform. The 150 acre property abuts other property protected properties. The more conserved land we have the more they help protect our health and the health of the planet. Why Save Sweet's Hill? Hiking for our young and for an aging population. A place to relax and reconnect. This place typifies New England bucolic character. Because its the right thing to do in a time where climate change is an existential threat. That's why. 

“I remember when I first came to Burrillville and drove along East Avenue, the property was iconic for me. The rolling hills, wetlands, forest edge, fireflies like fireworks sparkled during hot August nights - if first impressions are lasting ones, this one told me everything I needed to know about the place I was about to call home.” So says, Paul A. Roselli - president of the Burrillville Land Trust.

The Burrillville Land Trust is a non-profit all volunteer private land trust in the Town of Burrillville. In its twenty-one year history, the land trust owns just over 229 acres of land in the Town. “Over the nearly 38 years that I have been in Burrillville, the property has been slated for one type of development or another. But now, with the coronavirus, we know that a healthy society needs a healthy environment. Without clean air and water, healthy soil and forest, the virus becomes a greater threat. We need all the open space and forests we can get. We can’t let our environment be bulldozed,” Roselli stated. 

Sweet’s Hill or Indian Acres as many long time residents of the area know, use to be one of the largest farms in Burrillvile at over 1000 acres. 

In a video produced for the fundraising effort, land trust board members talk about the many reasons for saving the 150 acre parcel: they include cultural, historical and environmental. The video includes historical farm photos provided by Pamela Cardin. Betty Mencucci, a land trust board member talks about the hay, corn, milk and more that was grown and produced on the farm. Carlo Mencucci, a land trust board member, recalls that the farm use to produce boat keels from chestnut trees grown on the property. Don Waterman, also a land trust board member, hopes to re-establish a grove of white birch if the land trust is successful in raising the funds. Doris Alberg, secretary for the land trust, states that if the property were developed into house lots, it would take 100 years to replace the loss of trees and biodiversity.

“Our goal is simple: we want to save this iconic property. Its important for the land trust, for the Town and for our region. We fought a power plant and the destruction of an ecosystem for the past five years. Now we are gearing up to help save our Town to maintain its rural character,” Roselli states. 

The land trust president says time is critical for purchasing the property.  “We are looking for one donor or many donors. As soon as we reach our target, we purchase the property. Its that simple. While our focus is on our Town, this one is for the greater good,” Roselli stated.