What’s Your RLT Story?

The Rehoboth Land Trust is turning 35 this year! Yes, back when Bobby Brown topped the music charts and kids were begging for the first ever Gameboy, a small group of Rehoboth residents founded the Rehoboth Land Trust to protect our town’s rural character and natural resources. The result is more than 700 acres preserved – and growing!

But enough about us! We want to hear about YOU! Celebrate this incredible milestone with us by sharing your RLT story. Maybe you had a close encounter with some wildlife at one of our properties or were inspired by a speaker at an event. Maybe you just want to share why RLT and land conservation are important to you. Whatever you think of when you think of Rehoboth Land Trust, your community would love to hear it!

Share your RLT story, including any related photos, directly on our Facebook page, or submit it on our website (see QR code below). You can also email us at info@rehobothlandtrust.net.   Some of the stories we collect will be featured in our newsletter or printed in the Reporter.

To start us off, let’s hear from our own Carol Entin, president of the Rehoboth Land Trust:

“Given my childhood, it’s no surprise that I would gravitate towards the Rehoboth Land Trust. Spending hours a day outside after school with the freedom to roam the woods and fields, follow streams and collect handsome rocks, sinuous grapevine tendrils, or a shed snake skin made each day a unique adventure. Learning the lesson of scarcity by making mudpies with hard-to-find ingredients developed my understanding of habitats, micro-ecosystems and nature’s timelines for blossoms and fruits. My first geology lessons were built upon the knowledge that the best soils for “butterscotch pudding” were from the end of Cindy Nexon’s driveway, but “chocolate pudding” had to be made with the mud from the pond by the school. My mother taught me how to care about and for injured wildlife. My father built insect rearing cages that I still use today. In short, I grew up knowing the outdoors was the place where I would see something new every time I went exploring and I would NEVER be bored!

“Fast forward to 1986 when I started living in Rehoboth and by 1987, my husband Dan and I bought a fixer-upper for a house. Why Rehoboth? The natural beauty, the farmland, and the plethora of wetlands appealed to me. I was excited about exploring the outdoor areas in my neighborhood, and happily the Hollinshead girls found me and were excited to go out to look for spotted salamanders during breeding season. Meeting Carol Williams at an Open Space workshop in 2000 started my connection with the Rehoboth Land Trust. Before long, I was helping with a Silent Auction, the passing of the Community Preservation Act, and eventually became an RLT Trustee, all the while learning more about land protection strategies.

“As I close in on 2 times 35 in age, and have assumed the presidential role for the RLT, I see the changes to Rehoboth’s land and I know that we need to step up our efforts to do whatever we can to set aside land for current and future generations so we can spend time outdoors, have our own adventures, witness nature’s small dramas around an ant hill, or discover a lichen’s combination of colors that inspires a sweater design. This can only be accomplished with the collaboration of many volunteers with a passion for land protection and willingness to work for it. Please consider sharing your skills and time to make the next 35 years ones that see more property set aside for outdoor experiences and for the flora and fauna that depend on it! Complete the talent survey on our website - it will take you about 3.5 minutes to do so! Your grandchildren will thank you!!”

Use this QR code to share your RLT story: