Crystal Spring

Preserved in Time

Plainville, Massachusetts

The Crystal Spring Center for Earth Learning rests on 42 acres of former farm and orchard land in the rapidly developing town of Plainville. A small group of Dominican Sisters have cared for the land since 1949, when the Toner family bestowed it upon them for their acts of kindness. Mindful of the Toners' hope that the land be kept intact and used as a place of learning, the Sisters created the Crystal Spring Center for Earth Learning.

The Center was born of the resident Sisters recognizing the relentless diminishment of the natural world, the depletion and destruction of the primary elements that sustain all life, and the need to live in harmony with the natural world. As they saw neighboring farm land and open space converted to house lots, the Sisters sought a future for their land that would uphold their vision.

Working with the Wildlands Trust of Souteastern Mass, the Sisters created a conservation restriction to preserve a large part of the land. This act ensures Crystal Spring will continue to be a vital resource for the neighboring community, to meet the needs of the times and to be a critical part of the recovery of land and spirit in southeastern Massachusetts.

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