IIT Spring Newsletter 2026 - On The Trails: Spring Work

Written by Jack Taylor

Mud season is back in all its glory. The wood frogs and spring peepers are active in the pools across our preserves and the ducks are loving all of the melt ponds.

The big news on the trails this issue is that there has been a reroute to Elaine’s trail at Hutchins Marsh where the trail meets with the salt grass near on the north side of the sandbar. A huge complex of blow-downs has required moving the trail parallel to where it used to run for a length of about 30 yards.

While you are getting back out into the nice weather also look for our updated trail maps at the kiosks! They have updated trail paths, and a new colorful look. Unfortunately, the thaw also means the ticks are waking up again, I found my first one of the year last week and its time again to keep checking yourself and your pets.

There’s work to be done at all of our preserves gearing up for the summer, but especially at the Blueberry Hill Preserve with its diversity of ecology and projects. I’m looking to knock back more Japanese Barberry in our fields and put in additional plank bridging on the extra wet spots on our Blueberry Hill trail. We will be looking to move the full-sized apple saplings out into the main orchard, and we will be welcoming four new pear trees: two Cabot Vermonts and two Giffards, which should eventually bear us some amazing fruit. We are also preparing to sow a chaos garden in IIT’s Learning Garden on the 17th of May with Pam Larson and Michael Hutcherson of Growing Things, and hopefully, you! For more information go to our events calendar.