Burley Farms
The Mathey Center for People and Nature
Building a Vision
The Mathey Center for People and Nature
When SELT acquired the 237-acre Burley Farms and circa 1790 John Prescott Chase Farmhouse in 2015, we envisioned it as our future home: a place to inspire the public about conservation and a chance to revitalize a working farm.
After five years of careful deliberation, study, and planning, SELT is proud to share its vision for The Mathey Center for People and Nature at Burley Farms. Located in Epping at the center of SELT’s service area, the Mathey Center for People and Nature will serve as SELT's permanent headquarters, featuring a super-efficient building design as well as on-site solar energy production.
This plan establishes Burley Farms and the Lamprey River Greenway as SELT’s hub for community-based conservation, with:
• Events led by SELT and other community groups,
• A working farm growing local food, and
• A public trail system sharing nearly 1,000 acres of woods and fields along the Lamprey River.
We know that personal connections to conserved lands – whether through recreation, events, or locally-grown produce – will be critical to inspiring future generations to forever safeguard the lands we’ve worked diligently to protect.
Scroll down to learn more about our vision for the future.
Center of it All
The Mathey Center for People and Nature will retain the existing historic farmhouse with new construction for office and programming space, allowing SELT to increase nature-based engagement, showcase working farms that connect people to local food, and help more people get outside and connect with nature.
Nature-based Engagement
Wild discoveries at your fingertips. Photo: White Pine Programs.
Burley Farms offers SELT both the indoor and outdoor space to expand its nature-based programming to further engage with the region’s current and future residents. With its mix of natural habitats, future working farm, buildings for sheltering students, and close proximity to a major travel corridor, Burley Farms offers an amazing location to help foster a deep connection between people and the land. Combined with the new Center for People and Nature, an outdoor classroom, and improvements to the barn at Burley Farms, SELT is poised to offer a wide array of programming, from field trips to youth programs, workshops, and presentations in collaboration with partners.
Recognizing that we are not experts in education, SELT is collaborating with those who are. One collaboration we’ve established is with White Pine Programs of Maine. Founded in 1999 and serving nearly 2,000 people of all ages each year, WPP specializes in bringing nature back into people’s lives through repeated immersion in nature with mindful, skilled mentors. White Pine Programs will launch at Burley Farms in the fall of 2019 for youth (ages 7–14).
In collaboration with SELT, White Pine Programs begin at Burley Farms in 2019. Photo: White Pine Programs
SELT looks forward to additional partnerships to provide a wide array of effective nature-based programming, helping to raise the next generation of land stewards and conservation-minded citizens.
The Farm
Burley Farms once served as a thriving dairy farm and a small apple orchard, two of New Hampshire’s traditional agricultural mainstays. Later iterations included haying and a community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm, though the fields have since fallen fallow.
SELT’s vision is to reestablish the property as an active farm where agricultural practices are in view and available for both farm production and education. We envision a thriving farm, where visitors come to purchase farm products, participate in agricultural workshops and reconnect with farms as the source of human food. SELT does not wish to own or run the farm directly but intends to partner with a farmer who is aligned with SELT’s vision.
As with our approach to nature-based education, SELT will explore possible partnerships with agricultural and farmer organizations to help teach community members about farming and agriculture.
The Farmhouse
John Prescott Chase Farmhouse. Photo: SELT Archives
Due to its historic significance, SELT’s Board of Directors has decided to retain the existing circa 1790s John Prescott Chase Farmhouse as a separate stand-alone building. Initial planning suggests adaption and renovation to provide two residential units, with one leased to the eventual farmer, and the second available for another residential tenant. Importantly, SELT’s feedback from working farmers resoundingly surfaced the necessity of the farmer living on site.
For the near term, the existing circa 1970 barn will be repaired with minimum necessary improvements for safety and aesthetics. Currently housing the Nature Groupie Tool Library, the barn also serves as storage space for SELT’s land management equipment. Some additional space is available to support programming as well as a farmer’s most basic needs.
Looking ahead, SELT dreams of building a barn designed for modern farming and easy interactions with the public.
Getting Outside
Exploring the Beaver Pond at Burley Farms. Photo: Josh Lent
SELT has established a trail network on Burley Farms to provide visitors with a place for short hikes featuring open fields, mature forests, and a stunning 52-acre beaver pond with a heron rookery. Looping trails with varying levels of physical challenges are available, with opportunities to hike to other nearby conserved lands and – someday – a much longer Pawtuckaway to Great Bay Recreational Trail stretching from Pawtuckaway State Park in Nottingham to the shores of Great Bay.
Burley Farms’ trails will allow for a wide array of recreational uses beyond hiking, including crosscountry skiing, bird watching, and hunting. In addition to connecting people to a forever-protected landscape, Burley Farms’ beauty will inspire SELT’s members, volunteers, and the public to a deeper commitment to conservation and the land.
A Day in the Life of Burley Farms
Scroll down to discover how SELT imagines this vision will come to life at Burley Farms.
#1
It’s a late September, Friday morning at the farm. The sun is just peeking over the horizon; morning fog is slowly burning off. Sitting on the farmhouse porch, the farmer smiles at the fruits of her labor. She’s thinking about what to pick, preparing for the busy farmer’s market and her weekly CSA pick-up later this afternoon.
#2
As she walks out to her fields, a hunter ablaze in orange steps from the edge of the woods. He’s weary from dragging the bounty of his dawn hunt, an eight-point white-tailed deer. He hunts to feed his family, a tradition passed down by generations.
The farmer waves in appreciation, seeing the connection. She knows his hunt will help her crops survive and thrive.
#3
The sun reflects off the solar panels on the roof of the Mathey Center, providing 100% of the SELT’s annual power needs. The traffic on Route 125 is a quiet murmur as the sun rises, and the first of the SELT staff arrive for the day.
#4
By 9:00 am the offices are humming with many guests coming for many reasons. A seasoned landowner considering conservation options for her family’s land arrives for a late morning meeting. The staff holds the meeting in the conference room overlooking the fields, hoping to inspire her with the view of successfully conserved land. By the end of the meeting, she leaves resolved in her decision to protect her family’s land and legacy forever.
#5
A committee of Seacoast Eat Local meets next, planning for the coming season of winter farmer’s markets, and discussing a potential permanent market. They are just one of many community organizations who use the Center for meetings, offices, and events.
#6
At noon, a bus chortles in the parking lot, kids emptying from its yellow hull. The quiet whisper of the farm is replaced with the giggles, shouts, and chatter of 50 children from a local school. Can you see them, full of life and energy as they gather in the field? After a program and lunch, they hike to the beaver pond and search for frogs and turtles with leaders from the White Pine Programs, SELT’s partner in nature engagement.
#7
Back in the fields, the farmer and her small crew pack up red peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, and carrots, loading a pick-up truck that rambles back to the barn. They wash and pack up the produce, just in time for the first of 20 CSA families arriving for a weekly pick-up.
#8
Cars from CSA customers begin arriving. Doors slam shut, with young kids trailing moms and dads into the barn. One child squeals at a hornworm that hitchhiked on a tomato in their share.
#9
Late in the day, the sound of clanging metal can be heard, as a sledge hammer drives a metal stake into the ground, holding up the stays on a taut white tent. The tent is for SELT’s TrailFest, now in its 5th year and drawing more than 1,000 people for trail running and time together.
#10
Another car pulls into the trailhead and a middle-aged man steps out. His clothing suggests a long trail run and off he goes. As he runs the trails, the week’s worries disappear from his face. The furrows on his forehead soften. Beads of sweat form, and a smile slowly arrives as his heart races in the beauty of the trails.
The Big Picture
For more than 20 years, SELT has been working to protect land in the immediate vicinity of Burley Farms. The area’s proximity to the federally designated Wild and Scenic Lamprey River, presence of numerous threatened and endangered species, wealth of superb agricultural soils, and exceptional recreational opportunities ensure remarkable land conservation value, making it a priority for protection.
SELT has made excellent progress protecting these lands, with 800 acres conserved and established as the Lamprey River Greenway surrounding Burley Farms. Further, the Lamprey River Greenway is but one protected landscape within the much larger Pawtuckaway to Great Bay Greenway, an emerald ribbon connecting ten strategically important landscapes from Pawtuckaway State Park in Nottingham to the shores of Great Bay in the Seacoast region. SELT dreams of someday establishing a recreational trail along the Pawtuckaway to Great Bay Greenway, where families can take an extended hike across protected lands, without having to travel to the White Mountain National Forest – or even out of state – for multi-day recreational opportunities.
Bring SELT Home
Just as we have grown and thrived during our first 40 years, SELT’s future rests in the continued support of our members and donors. This investment is beyond brick and mortar; rather, it is an investment in a vision, a vision rooted in a special place – Burley Farms – that encompasses the core mission of SELT. The Center for People and Nature will allow SELT to reach and connect with a broader segment of our community, deepen their connection to the lands you love, and create the next generation of environmental stewards.
SELT aims to be transparent and a good steward of donor dollars and that has guided the plans for the Center for People and Nature. The design process focused on reducing operating costs by choosing construction options that will minimize energy use and maintenance needs. For example, using aggressive insulation will allow the building to be heated and cooled using only air-based heat pumps powered by on-site solar energy.
To support long-term capital costs and repairs, SELT will create a building reserve fund with a target goal of $350,000. As needed, the fund will provide disbursements to support repair and capital replacement needs. Because this is new construction, SELT anticipates this fund will grow over its first 7–10 years.
How to Give
Gifts of any size are welcome and appreciated! You can make a gift online or by mailing a check to SELT at PO Box 675, Exeter, NH 03833. Please include "Center for People and Nature" in the memo line of your check.
For gifts of appreciated securities, IRA distributions, or bequests, please call Brian Hart, Executive Director, or Beverly Shadley, Deputy Director at 603-778-6088.
The Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire is located at 6 Center St, Exeter, NH 03833. Learn more about SELT at seltnh.org or call 603-778-6088.
