After working together in early July on a woodland clearing project, the Wakefield Interns and HP Youth Conservation Corp spent a day climbing Great Blue Hill. Don McCasland, Program Director for the Blue Hill Observatory, led the hike, sharing the history of GBH and its legacy and development by earlier conservation workers from the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp, a Works Progress Administration initiative) and the […]

Last week, the Wakefield Interns and Staff welcomed Channsotha (Chan) Suom, the Entomologist for the Norfolk County Mosquito Control Project. Chan talked about how he got into the field and the research he is involved with. He answered a wide array of questions from the students and shared interesting anectodes such as how Hollywood has “borrowed” real creatures from the insect and spider realm to create some […]

The 2010 Summer Archaeology Institute concluded on Friday, July 16th with an exciting find! The students discovered a projectile point roughly three inches long – a beautiful specimen of Native American tool making. Boston University’s archeologists have hoped and expected to find pre-colonial artifacts on site because it is well known that the area surrounding Great Blue Hill was an important meeting […]

Session two of our Summer Archaeology Institute began on July 5th with students from Milton, Boston and Canton participating. Their excavations have unearthed lots of artifacts, focusing on the history of land use around the farmhouse. This week, they took a field trip to the Boston City Archaeology Lab, where they washed objects recently dug up at the Paul Revere house! Sam […]

As the school year winds down, the Wakefield Estate is taking stock of the year’s accomplishments, many of which relate to our educational programs. This year, the estate saw a vast increase in elementary school field experiences, thanks to funding from the GOAL network (Get Out And Learn). In the 2009-2010 school year, over 1000 Boston Public School students had […]

This week, we kicked off the 2010 Summer Archaeology Institute with students from Boston and Norfolk. The students are working side by side with graduate archaeology students from Boston University and receiving instruction on archaeological methods through a hands-on dig experience. The goal of the project is to deepen our understanding of the site’s history and its occupants through the […]

In May, we concluded out Backyard Homesteading workshop series with classes on installing a high density compact fruit orchard and one on the basics of backyard beekeeping. Thanks to all who participated in this hands-on workshop series! Below are photos of the finished product of our new high-density apple orchard, and re-populating our beehive.

During May, Megan Percy began her collections management internship under the guidance of Valarie Kinkade and Mary Lentz of Museum and Collector Resource. Megan will inventory and catalogue objects from the attic of the Isaac Davenport Mansion with an emphasis on historic textiles. Her first “discovery” was a doll collection from the early 20th century, seen in these photos. Meghan […]

Last week, Thacher Montessori hosted a gathering of American Montessori educators. After lunch, participants from as far away as Hawaii and Korea joined Wakefield staff for a tour of the estate. The tour emphasized the educational programs the estate offers to school children and adults, including the Thacher adolescents’ micro-business selling the Wakefield hens’ eggs on a weekly basis.

This spring, two Earth Science students at University of Massachusetts/Boston began the daunting task of cataloguing the Wakefield Estate’s vast mineral collection. Working under the guidance by UMB faculty, Alicia Morrison and Katie Wagenknecht are creating a searchable database of the collection that will be available on-line when it is completed.   Alicia and Katie presented the project at a national […]