The following letter from Rick Paradis, Director of the Natural Areas Center, University of Vermont, "speaks volumes" about the possible use of the Hackett Hill property for environmental education.
The University of Vermont
Environmental Program
153 South Prospect Street
Burlington, Vermont 05401
(802) 656-4055
To Whom It May Concern:
While as an undergraduate student in the 1970's at Merrimack Valley College, I had the opportunity to take several biology courses with John Landry. I remember these courses well because the classroom materials were often complemented with lots of time out in the field roaming the woods and waters on Hackett Hill at about the time the first academic building was being constructed there. John's knowledge and love of the natural world was infectious and I fondly recollect the times traipsing through woods and wetlands on the lookout for birds, beasts, and bugs. These experiences were so instrumental in helping me realize my interests in field ecology, that I went on to earn several degrees in the discipline and am now on thefaculty of the Environmental Program at the University of Vermont. In this capacity, I instruct a series of field-based courses which utilize outdoor field sites that are part of our campus here in Burlington.
I cannot stress enough the importance of maintaining intact natural landscapes for the study of natural history, ecology, and a variety of other disciplines that can benefit from these field sites. As director ofthe University's Natural Areas Center, I work with a variety of institutions and groups that seek to protect open spaces for many functions and values. One of the paramount values that often surfaces is how thesenatural landscapes nurture and inspire us in a psychological sense. They are truly to be cherished for the many tangible and intangible functions that they serve.
I have no doubt that the landscapes around the Hackett Hill site played a very important role in igniting an interest in me that continues to burn feverishly as I pursue both professional and personal interests in exploring the natural world and all its secrets and wonder. I heartily thank both John Landry and the college administrators that allowed the Hackett Hill site to stay undeveloped during my tenure there and sincerely hope that this wonderful field site will remain natural so that it will continue to inspire budding field naturalists long into the future.
Sincerely,
Rick Paradis
153 South Prospect Street
Burlington, Vermont 05401
(802) 656-4055
FAX (802) 656-8015
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