Makepeace Neighborhood Fund supports The Rochester Land Trust conservation efforts

A few years ago, Lincoln Rounseville and his family gave us a great opportunity to preserve over 400 acres of Rochester forest, over a mile of Mattapoisett River edge and the former sawmill site. The first phase was completed in 2002/03 with a conservation restriction on 240 acres. The second phase required us to commit to raising over $850,000 in public and private funds. Over $400,000 in public funds was eventually secured, but that left a lot of private money to be raised. The most the Rochester Land Trust had ever raised before was $40,000 but, working with the Coalition for Buzzards Bay, we dug in and asked everyone we knew and some people we didn’t know to support the project.

Our combined efforts raised over $400,000. To complete the project in April 2005, the Rochester Land Trust borrowed $15,000 from the Coalition for Buzzards Bay revolving loan fund.

Enter the AD Makepeace Company. In 2004, this well-known local company, with substantial land holdings in Rochester, Carver, Wareham and Plymouth, established the Makepeace Neighborhood Fund as a means of focusing the company’s already substantial charitable giving efforts. The Fund, which distributed some $235,000 last spring, targets local organizations needing support for education, historic preservation, housing, or environmental preservation projects. The fund managers saw an opportunity to help protect open space, water quality, and unusual habitat in Rochester, one of Massachusetts’ three fastest-growing communities. Their generous grant of $7500 is a big step toward reducing our debt – and allowing us to move on to preserve other properties. We are proud and grateful to be among the first recipients of the Makepeace Neighborhood Fund.

For information: contact Susan Peterson, Clerk of RLT, 508-763-2390

Rounseville Sawmill site

Christopher Makepeace, Joanna Bennett, Zelinda Douhan, Richard Canning from the Makepeace Neighborhood Fund. Erin Bryant and Susan Adams from the Rochester Land Trust.