They are celebrating the golden anniversary of keeping Dartmouth green.

Since 1971, the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust has preserved more than 5,000 acres of property in town. Some of this acreage was saved for the public to visit and appreciate. Other parcels may not be accessible to visitors but were protected to maintain their natural state as wildlife habitat. 

But all of it serves a purpose at the core of the 50-year-old organization: maintaining open spaces in a town that is growing in population and development. 

“People recognize just how special this area is and have a desire to keep it that way,’’ said Katie White, board member and past president, who has been involved with the land trust since 1977.

In 1971, a group of citizens tried unsuccessfully to protect 150 acres of land at the head of Apponagansett Bay, what is now the Star of the Sea property, from development.

That disappointment inspired them to transform passion for the town’s natural resources into an official organization.

“People in the community saw the value of land conservation and really stepped up,’’ White said. “That was a really useful wake-up call.’’

Founders and the original board of directors were: president, Edith Knowles; treasurer, Barbara Sylvia; secretary Davis Howes; and board of directors: Nancy Coykendall, E. Deane Freitas, Carl Grosswendt, Gordon Johnson, Debra Leeming, J. Greer McBratney and William Pinney. 

As it turned out, the inability to land the Star of the Sea property was the only disappointment the trust would suffer over the next half century. 

In its first two decades, the trust welcomed properties through land donations. Then in 1991, the trust raised $200,000 to purchase Smith Farm.

Conservation efforts grew in the late 90s and early 2000s. At that time, the land trust worked on the Slocum's River Conservation project, which resulted in the protection of four separate properties totaling 1,000 acres.

Today, DNRT properties with public trails include: Allen’s Mill, Destruction Brook Woods, Dike Creek Reserve, Dodge Reserve, Frank Knowles-Little River, Howland Reserve, Knowles Reserve, McBratney Reserve, New Bedford Garden Club, Ocean View Farm Reserve, Parsons Reserve, Paskamansett Woods, Peter’s Creek Reserve, Ridge Hill Reserve, Slocums’ River Reserve, Smith Farm, Star of the Sea, Wernick Farm, Wylde Reserve.

The goal that inspired the group’s founding 50 years ago of keeping natural areas open and improving quality of life  proved especially valuable this last year.

Development and Outreach Specialist Kendra Murray noted that pandemic restrictions inspired people to get out into nature — especially since all properties remained open. 

During April and May 2020, she said properties saw five times as many visitors than usual, adding that membership also increased by 15% in 2020 — bringing the total to more than 1,300.

A factor, Murray said, is that trust supporters were grateful their reserves served as a refuge as people worked through unique challenges.

“Just to connect with nature is so important to the human experience,’’ she said.