Antonelli Pond

30 years of fishing, boating, dog walking, bird watching, and just enjoying this splash of nature

This article originally appeared in our newsletter, Landmarks, Summer 2012

Those who know Antonelli Pond love it. They’re the people who go there for a stroll around the 14-acre property. Some of them walk their dogs, a lot of them listen to and look for birds. Many days you’ll see someone fishing and someone in a kayak. And several times a week you’ll see someone working to keep Antonelli beautiful.

It hasn’t always been that way. In 1982 the Antonelli family donated the seven-acre pond to the Land Trust (we added another seven acres of wetlands in 1989). For many years the Land Trust didn’t have the resources to do much more than make some rudimentary trails and pick up the trash, of which there was plenty. The property’s proximity to railroad tracks and town made it a popular place for the homeless to set up camp. Many people felt it was unsafe to use and didn’t use it.

All that began to change dramatically six years ago when the Land Trust started building its stewardship staff – thanks to the growing support of its members. Over the past few years our stewardship staff has turned Antonelli Pond into the kind of place more and more people enjoy. Stewardship Manager Lynn Overtree enlisted the help of the students at Natural Bridges High School and the enthusiastic volunteers of Save the Frogs in clean up and monitoring efforts. Eagle Scout Alec Bobbit, an Antonelli grandson, built a kiosk and we have other Scout projects in the works – including a fishing dock!

This spring we added a fourth stewardship person, Land Steward Tanya Baxter. Tanya will be caring for Antonelli Pond, the Morgan Sandhills Preserve, and Glenwood Open Space Preserve.

We’re planning on still more improvements at the pond – to encourage even more public use. This winter and spring our Board has been developing a Strategic Plan for the next three years. One of our major goals will be to increase our engagement of the community – and one place where we can best do that is Antonelli Pond.

In 2001 Joni Janecki developed a beautiful plan for the pond (see right). It has graced our office wall since then. It includes picnic areas, a fishing dock, and walkways through the wetlands. It is more than we can afford right now, but it is an inspiration and a starting point as we look forward to the next 30 years.

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