PVPC staff will meet with the Belchertown Conservation Commission at Town Hall (2 Jabish St). The subject of discussion will be ways that the Lampson Brook Farm area of the former Belchertown Belchertown State School (BSS) farm may contribute to the local goals for land conservation and recreation, as well as the agricultural economy and local food security. A map of the site is seen above.

The site is currently leased and managed by the New England Small Farm Institute (NESFI), Lampson Brook Farm comprises some 400 acres of state owned land, located adjacent to and just north of the former BSS campus and the Town’s newly developed Lake Wallace conservation area, now used for nature studies by Belchertown schools. The farm‘s extensive woodlot trails are used by town residents for cross country track practice and competitive events, and for informal, passive recreation such as horseback riding, hiking and birding. Lampson Brook is also the site of the Belchertown Community Garden. Adjacent active farmland is managed under sub-lease agreements with several local farmers.