Volunteer Opportunities

Trail Maintenance and Construction

Call the Conservation Department at 413-259-3045 to adopt a trail or otherwise help with trail construction and maintenance. We ask that trail adopters check their trail once a month, carry out light trail clearing by removing limbs and debris from the trail, and report to the Department on a postcard form available from our office.
 

Serve on a Town committee

For the Conservation Commission, Farm Committee, Public Shade Tree Advisory Committee, Energy Conservation Task Force, Cherry Hill Advisory Committee, or other committee, please complete a Citizen Activity Form available at the Select Board/Town Manager’s office on the Mezzanine floor of Town Hall.  

Listed below are additional opportunities for volunteer work.  If you are interested in volunteering, please click here to fill out a volunteer form.

Agricultural Commission

The Agricultural Commission’s supports commercial agriculture and other farming activities in the Town of Amherst. 

 

Community Gardens

Community gardens provide access to fresh produce and plants as well as access to satisfying labor, neighborhood improvement, sense of community and connection to the environment. Some gardeners choose to solely grow flowers, while other gardeners grow vegetables for their own personal use.

 

Conservation Commission

The Amherst Conservation Commission is responsible for numerous matters related to conservation planning and land management.  The Commission helps update the five-year Open Space and Recreation Plan, administers State and Town Wetland Protection statutes, and helps with the acquisition of land.

Land Conservation

Preserved land is managed by the Conservation Department to maintain Amherst‘s natural resources, and may provide for passive recreation and outdoor activities such as hiking and fishing without being dedicated solely to playing fields or formal recreational facilities. Preserved land may include woodlands, pastures, trails or highly managed areas.

Public Shade Tree Committee

The Public Shade Tree Committee advises and makes recommendations to the Tree Warden and the Select Board on matters involving public shade trees, including, but not limited to:

• The replacement of specific dead or dying trees
• The species recommended for such replacements
• The planting of additional trees at specific locations and the species recommended

Watershed Protection

The town’s watershed lands, whether in-town or in neighboring communities, are managed to maintain water quality through selective forestry and timber harvesting, with the additional benefits of providing wildlife habitat and informal areas to recreate.  
   

Water Supply Protection Committee

The Water Supply Protection Committee works with town staff, appropriate consulting and engineering firms, and other town boards and committees to ensure the protection of the Town of Amherst's aquifer.  

 

Wetlands Protection

Wetlands are important to the environment and society for a variety of reasons.  They regulate the flow of water by retaining storm flows for short periods, thus reducing flood peaks; They protect lake shores by providing a buffer for the erosive action of waves and other storm effects; They improve water quality by retaining or transforming excess nutrients, and trapping sediment and heavy metals; and they provide many wildlife species critical habitat for breeding and nesting.