Behind the Scenes of "Northampton's Land Grant"

The city of Northampton has received a $297,330 Local Acquisitions for Natural Diversity (LAND) grant to permanently protect 72 acres of forested land in the southern Mineral Hills, located around 15 minutes from the city’s downtown. “Northampton is thrilled to be one of only five LAND grant recipients statewide,” Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra said in a statement announcing the grant. “We rely on this kind of support to expand, protect and maintain our conservation lands, and I am proud Northampton continues to earn the confidence of state conservation experts.” 

Northampton’s Land Grant joins my continuing Songs for the Land project, shining a light on the places our region chooses to protect. This tune follows the city’s work to safeguard seventy-two acres in the southern Mineral Hills, a pocket of forest that holds both history and hope. The melody leans into that sense of preservation, while the Quabbin Valley Folk add harmony and solo lines that feel rooted in the hills themselves. This is another reminder that caring for the land shapes the way we live, and the way we pass it forward. 

Northampton’s Land Grant is part of my ongoing Songs for the Land project, a series honoring the places our region works hard to protect. This one follows the city’s effort to permanently conserve seventy-two acres in the southern Mineral Hills, a stretch of forest that deserves to stay wild. I hope the song carries some of that feeling forward.

Northampton’s Land Grant joins my Songs for the Land project, inspired by the 72 protected acres in the Mineral Hills. If you enjoy the track, a Bandcamp purchase helps me keep making music.

#SweetSongsRecords #QuabbinValleyFolk #NorthamptonsLandGrant 

 

If you enjoy it, please consider buying the single on my Bandcamp page. Look for the little shopping-cart icon. That simple purchase helps me keep writing, recording, paying musicians, and making more music like this.

https://adamsweet.bandcamp.com/track/northamptons-land-grant

Verse 1

Down by the southern Mineral Hills,

Where the maples lean in the quiet air,

The city moved with a steady hand,

Choosing care instead of wear and tear.

They set aside seventy-two green acres,

A promise held for the years ahead.

Chorus

Northampton's land grant, keeping the hills alive,

Holding the forest steady so the wild can survive.

A little bit of foresight, a little hometown pride,

Northampton's land grant turning the future's tide.

Verse 2

Fifteen minutes out from the busy streets,

There's a stretch of ground where the thrush still calls.

The folks who walk the winding trails

Know what it means to save it all.

This grant becomes another page

In the story the city's writing down.

Chorus

Northampton's land grant, keeping the hills alive,

Holding the forest steady so the wild can survive.

A little bit of foresight, a little hometown pride,

Northampton's land grant turning the future's tide.

Bridge

Years from now when children climb

Those ridgelines brushed with morning light,

They'll thank the ones who chose to guard

What can't be remade overnight.

Final Chorus

Northampton's land grant, keeping the hills alive,

Holding the forest steady so the wild can survive.

A little bit of foresight, a little hometown pride,

Northampton's land grant standing by our side.