FolkAdam R Sweet
North Quabbin Hills

“North Quabbin Hills” is my folk ballad celebrating the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s recent acquisition of 380 acres across Orange, Wendell, and Royalston for permanent protection. From Chestnut Hill’s watershed guardianship to Wendell’s old granite quarry trails, to Royalston’s wildflower meadows and deep forest shade, these lands are now safe for wildlife, clean water, and future generations. As someone preserving 7 acres of former farmland in Granby, I wrote this song in solidarity with the effort, following my earlier tribute to Westhampton’s “Spruce Hill.”

In the North Quabbin hills so green and wide,
DCR came callin', turnin' tide.
Three hundred eighty acres, now conserved,
For water pure and wildlife undisturbed.

(Chorus)
Oh, sing for the land, the forests tall,
Orange, Wendell, Royalston call.
From quarry stones to orchid bloom,
Protected now from fate and doom.

Chestnut Hill in Orange, one-oh-five,
Guards the Quabbin, keeps the watershed alive.
For Boston's thirst and creatures' roam,
A ridgeline home, forever our own.

Wendell woods from lumber mill's hand,
One-thirteen acres join the state forest band.
Old granite quarry, echoes of the past,
Now trails for walkin', memories that last.

Royalston's gift, one-sixty-two more,
Rose pogonia blooms on the forest floor.
Moose and bear in unbroken shade,
Busby's pride in the deal they made.

(Chorus)
Oh, sing for the land, the forests tall,
Orange, Wendell, Royalston call.
Clean air and paths for you and me,
For kids and kin, wild and free.

Yohan's tree farm, fifty years strong,
Memorial camp where his son's spirit songs.
LaChapelle cheers for climate's fight,
Open spaces glowin' in the light.

(Final Chorus)
Oh, sing for the land, the forests tall,
North Quabbin's heart, preservin' all.
From dawn to dusk, in harmony,
Conservation's sweet victory.