Adventures in Stewardship, Part 2

Rice Fellow Amy Bashant and “tree house”

Although many owners of land subject to conservation restrictions find tree houses to be a benign and harmless amenity for their children, BNRC’s stewardship staff generally feels a gnawing worry about these high-profile “improvements.” At one BNRC property in Central Berkshire where a tree house was left unchallenged, it grew like Topsy. With stellar detective work (they followed several hundred feet of heavy-duty orange extension cord back to home base) BNRC monitors traced the structure’s occupants, youthful enthusiasts who had long since left for greener pastures, leaving behind mute ruins: A plywood palace and hundreds of empty beer cans. In the summer of 2006, a crew of volunteers joined BNRC staff and Rice Fellows to dismantle and remove the masterpiece. One of the more energetic helpers that day had a special connection to the property: “My kids had a lot of fun out there,” he said as he lugged a sheet of plywood toward the roll-away dumpster.

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