A Land Steward’s Day: A Rare Moment Inside
Pictured above: UVLT Land Steward Alexander van Engelen adjusts a game camera.
A Land Steward’s Day: A Rare Moment Inside
UVLT Land Stewards are more accustomed to being out in the field than sitting behind a desk. Their days are filled with hands-on work—whether it’s managing trails, restoring habitats, or monitoring wildlife. But every once in a while, you’ll find a Land Steward in the rarest of places: inside, at a computer. It’s a bit of an oxymoron, but sometimes the work requires it.
In this post, UVLT Land Steward Kevin Brooker takes us through a day in the field, sharing a glimpse of what it’s like to manage and care for the land that’s so central to our mission. So, while they may not always be in front of screens, Kevin’s trip report gives you a closer look at what keeps us connected to the land, even when we’re temporarily indoors.
A trip report from UVLT Land Steward Kevin Brooker:
“Checking the calendar confirmed it really was March 25th, 2025. Last week’s warm temperatures and sunshine combined with a less than horrific mud season (so far) gave the immanent feeling summer was upon the Upper Valley.
Maybe it came too quickly and sped right by. Maybe I really overslept. Maybe its just New England in the springtime. As the sun illuminated the back yard of my Thetford home, what I saw was late November; gray woods and grass sticking up through the mostly solid covering of snow. Green daffodil leaves were the only spots of color and an indication of not experiencing a true to life Rip Van Winkle transformation.
Today was supposed to be relatively simple. Meet Alexander, my fellow land steward, and monitor three UVLT owned properties; Robert Areson Conservation Area, Norwich Gateway (both located in Norwich, VT) before heading north and across the river to the Lyme Hill property.
Driving a white Subaru with a black interior did nothing to dispel the idea we had been deposited into 1950’s style television or an original Chaplin film. Color was not easy to spot.
Burton Woods Road is transforming into some form of watercourse. The upside to this is seeing the rusted iron rich bedrock and sparkles of mica flecks. The offtrail bushwhack brought us through the tan leaves yet to release from the Beech trees. There were dark maroons of Reishi shelf mushrooms on the sides of old hemlock trees. Occasional spits of yellow and orange jelly fungi brough a bit of hope as they broke the monotone of this now mostly colorless day.
Temperatures climbed with no sun. The defined crystal edges of the snowpack rounded and refused to release the meltwater leaving the ground covered in an endless slush competent enough to remain atop the leaves. Moving uphill was more akin to climbing sand dunes. Each step the foot slid backwards until the grains locked up enough to support the lifting force of raising our body’s mass. Downhill slopes traversed with a bit of caution wishing for more snow enabling my boot soles to slide. The intermittent traction was a bit unnerving; boot-sole skiing is fun and exhilarating.
Off piste exploration found glacial erratics covered in green moss and lichen were the next addition of color. Seeing color made it easy to see more color. The bleak start of the day was fading. Signs of the approaching spring season refused to be set back by an inch of snow.
Norwich Gateway is a 2.65 acre piece of land bisected with a footpath. Off trail excursions are not encouraged as the dense undergrowth is quite difficult to move through. We remained on the trail saving our energy for hand to branch combat for another day.
Alexander has had great luck finding wildlife with the game cameras on the Lyme Hill property. This trip was intended to be the retrieval of a memory card and relocation of the camera.
Overall the day was transforming. The snow despised a few hours ago became an ally highlighting animal trails and tracks. This new information made camera placement less random. Alexander followed a set of unknown tracks. Suddenly he froze and put his finger to his mouth indicating I should be quiet. He motioned my path to move towards him and mouthed “Porcupine” pointing at the ground. Sure enough the tail of the critter was seen inside a split of the van sized boulder.
Most of the snow had melted by the time we hung the second game camera. We bushwhacked through the moss and fern covered rocks. Many silver birch with eroded roots looked to be running away. We left the morning world made up of choppy black and white film to the intricately detailed backdrop of Middle Earth. Only the absence of computer animated orcs, goblins, and trolls grounded us to the woods of New Hampshire.
We ended the day walking out through Lyme Hill’s story walk trail. The pages were lively and colorful; a great reminder what the upcoming day of springtime will bring to the Upper Valley.”
