Building trails to community wellness – Sippican Lands Trust is embarking on an exciting new project to raise $450,000 for the design and construction of an 1,800 foot accessible trail at our Osprey Marsh property. This project builds on the generous donation by members of the Smoyer/Howland family of a 22-acre property of forest and marshland on Planting Island Cove.
The Osprey Marsh Boardwalk Project expands our mission by enhancing accessibility to all community residents, including infants and toddlers in strollers, older adults and other community residents with constraints on mobility. This will be the first lands trust project in the region that meets the Federal Trail Standards.
Sippican Lands Trust is grateful for funding from the Marion Community Preservation Committee to cover the initial planning, design and permitting costs associated with the accessible boardwalk project at Osprey Marsh.
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The trail will consist of an 1,800-foot way that combines hard-surface segments with a wooden boardwalk. It will extend from the existing parking area on Point Road at Osprey Marsh, through the forest and wetlands, to a viewing platform on the cove. Bump outs along the walkway will provide places to rest and spaces for strollers and wheelchairs to pass. [see map]
The Osprey Marsh Boardwalk Project will be a significant community asset that will promote health and wellness for Marion residents through accessible contact with nature and the beauty of the forest and marshlands.
View of Planting Island Cove from future platform
Construction has begun on the Osprey Marsh Accessible Boardwalk
W.S. Bradford Company of Marion, MA started construction of Sippican Lands Trust’s Osprey Marsh Accessible Boardwalk (see photos of construction progress) in early July of 2019. The construction project is expected to take six months and the new boardwalk be about a 1/3 of a mile in length and go from Point Road to a viewing platform overlooking Planting Island Cove.
Sippican Lands Trust continues to seek donations for this universally accessible boardwalk project, and if you want to donate to this important project click here.
Construction photos from the first phase of the Osprey Marsh Accessible Boardwalk taken July of 2019. Photos courtesy of Stan Bradford, W.S. Bradford Company.