As spring makes its highly anticipated return to the SouthCoast, more and more people will be headed outdoors to soak up the nice weather. There are plenty of walking trails to choose from in the area, but when one trail in Mattapoisett became a muddy and unpleasant terrain, members of the Mattapoisett Land Trust decided to do something about it.

Thanks to an extremely generous discount from Lowe’s in Wareham, the Trust has just finished a big project that has transformed a walking trail running east and west of the Buckley Bridge.

One hundred and twenty feet of “bog board” bridging has been added to the MLT’s Old Aucoot District, allowing a much more pleasant experience for trail walkers.

“The trail is always open, but it gets pretty unpleasant,” explained Mike Huguenin, the Land Trust president. “If it’s just muddy, you can slog through it, but when it’s wet, it’s a problem. In this case, there is running water because of the stream nearby.”

He explained on Facebook how this particular trail section usually is underwater during the spring and often features mud in other months. Thanks to the generous gift of a 75 percent discount on nearly $1,000 of building materials, the Mattapoisett Land Trust was able to remedy the situation.

Peter Davies and Arthur Damaskos were the ones to put in the labor for the bog board bridge. Peter used to work at Lowe's in Wareham for several years and is well known in their paint department. When he asked his former manager, Chris Mullins, for help, Mullins replied by offering 75 percent off for the parts.

“I said, Wow! That’s pretty good!” Davies said.

He said it feels really good to help fix the trails,

"We do a lot of work on trails and land trust property," he said. "We are both retired and we both like to do things.”

This project allows Mattapoisett residents to get out and enjoy the environment safely, and that makes Davies happy.

Without the generosity of Lowe’s in Wareham, this project wouldn’t have been possible.

Huguenin feels that many people weren’t utilizing the trail due to the poor walking conditions, and he expects an increase of walkers now that the project is complete.

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