Pawtucket Farm Wildlife Sanctuary is a 20-acre productive landscape in Lowell, Massachusetts, that has long provided Christmas trees and produce to the community. Mass Audubon, Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust, and Mill City Grows have partnered to protect Pawtucket Farm. The vision is to establish an urban wildlife sanctuary, farm, and education center for the community of Lowell.
The partnership enlisted Agency and architects at Sorensen Partners to develop a framework plan to articulate this vision with design and translate it into tangible actions. The project included a robust community engagement process, including six in-person Community Listening Sessions in Lowell, and three virtual focus groups with research and technical experts. Understanding that nearly half of Lowell’s community speaks languages other than English, focused Listening Sessions were held in the predominant Lowell languages, including Khmer, Portuguese, and Spanish. These sessions created space for all community members to provide feedback and enriched the design’s approach to accessibility and cultural relevance.
The final Framework Plan included a schematic design based on four main principles: accessibility, growing space, education and recreation, and ecological sanctuary.The project proposes a series of ecologically mindful buildings that preserve and enhance the existing site ecology, reinforcing the site’s critical ecological link between the Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest and the Merrimack River Valley.
The upland of the site is transformed into a healthland and wildlife sanctuary with extensive trails, while the lowlands become the agricultural hub with both community gardens and commercial growing space. The farm and sanctuary act as one entity, creating a seamless experience between agriculture, ecology, and passive outdoor recreation through the outdoor classroom, growing space, community gardens, a food forest, nature-oriented play areas and an extensive All Persons Trail network. The site offers extensive indoor/outdoor programming and learning opportunities for the Lowell community with an emphasis on inclusivity and accessibility.
Following the Framework Plan, Agency is working with architecture partner Hisel Flynn Architects to design and develop construction documents for the site including extensive trails, growing space, and parking; as well as buildings to support site uses including an education center, outdoor classroom, and a farm support building. The first phase of construction – the first segments of trails – opened in early 2025 with additional phases slated for construction over the coming years.
For information on visiting Pawtucket Farm, click here.
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