The Harvard Conservation Trust (HCT) is a private, charitable, non-profit organization, dedicated to the preservation of Harvard's unique character and valuable resources.
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We actively seek to preserve:
- Harvard's rural and agricultural character;
- Open lands for outdoor education, recreation, and enjoyment;
- Areas of historical significance or natural beauty;
- Harvard's water resources, marshland, swamps, wetlands, and wildlife; and
- Buildings (including affordable housing), monuments, and sites of historical, educational, and environmental significance.
At the core of Harvard's natural beauty is, of course, its land. Accordingly, our top priority is to protect the land of Harvard from unwanted development. So that open spaces can be protected for future generations, we seek to acquire lands through gifts or purchases. We then hold the land in trust, or, in turn, sell or give the land to the Town. The Trust is chartered under the laws of Massachusetts, empowering us to buy, sell, or hold property.
We invite you to lend your talents to this effort. Join us, and enjoy the company of conservation-minded people like yourself. What could be better than being outdoors, in good company, and helping protect treasures for future generations?
Our work compliments that of the Town of Harvard's Conservation Commission. While the Commission is a seven-member Town board, appointed by the Board of Selectmen and tasked with regulatory functions and the maintenance of Town-owned conservation land, we are an independent, non-governmental organization. As such, we remain nimble and can devote our time to creatively pursuing potential acquisitions -- especially where the Town might be hampered form acting directly by statutory restrictions, financial circumstances, or timing.
For additional details about how HCT works, please read our background document. Please join us in one of our activities, and help support HCT's work by becoming a member. If you have specific questions, please contact us by e-mail or leave a message at (978) 456-9292 and we'll get back to you.
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