Hawley Bog & Campus Field Reserves

Field reserves for teaching and research, as well as for habitat protection, are maintained variously by the consortium (Five Colleges, Incorporated) and the five associated institutions.  A brief statement about each of these reserves is given here with a link to the primary webpage with detailed information and contact information.

Five Colleges

Hawley Bog, Hawley, MA 
Hawley Bog, a 65-acre preserve located near the Hawley Massachusetts Old Town Common, is a spectacular example of a high-altitude New England bog. It’s both a living classroom and research laboratory for the Five Colleges’ campuses and a popular hiking destination. See below for details

Wetland Forest, Hatfield, MA
On the land Five Colleges, Incorporated purchased in Hatfield, MA adjacent to Exit 22 on I-91 for the construction of its new Library Annex, the southernmost part is a forested wetland near the Mill River.  After the Annex construction is completed, Five Colleges will invite investigations of this wetland area for teaching and research uses.  Inquiries should be directed to Sarah Pfaittecher at spfatteicher@fivecolleges.edu. 

Lily Pond, Goshen, MA
Five Colleges once owned Lily Pond, a level bog site that was used for ecological research. We donated Lily to the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Amherst College

Wildlife Sanctuary, Amherst, MA 
The Amherst College Wildlife Sanctuary includes approximately 500 acres in a diverse collection of open fields (both actively maintained and unmanaged), wetlands, flood plain woods, river, upland woods, plantation pines, and ponds—and is an important place for both recreation and research.

Mount Holyoke College

Campus Ecology and Curricular Trails, South Hadley, MA 
The Mount Holyoke campus is an ideal setting for environmental learning and exploration. Students work with senior research associate  Dr. Leszek A. Bledzki to monitor weather, water flow, water quality, forest composition, and invasive species.

Stream Restoration, South Hadley, MA   
The College's goals are to improve water quality, restore native plant species, and encourage engagement by visitors.

Smith College

MacLeish Field Station, Whately, MA 
The Ada and Archibald MacLeish Field Station is a 240-acre patchwork of forest and farmland located in West Whately, MA that provides opportunities for faculty and students to pursue environmental research, outdoor education, and low-impact recreation.

University of Massachusetts Amherst 

Kinney Center Meadow, Amherst, MA
The 28-acre meadow at the Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies serves as a “living laboratory” for our interdisciplinary research and public-engagement initiative, Renaissance of the Earth. Students, artists, and the public engage with our landscape with questions that open onto pedagogical, experiential, and research opportunities that seek to understand how legacies of the early modern past inform our environmental future.