Author: The Hippo Press

Conservation, education, recreation

Dave Anderson is the Senior Director of Education at the Concord-based Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. To learn more about their work, to get involved, or just to find a cool spot to hike, visit forestsociety.org.

What kind of trailwork project is going on at Mt. Major? [Work started May 13.]

At Mount Major there are three prominent trails that go from the parking lot on Route 11 in Alton to the summit. They are the Boulder Loop, which is blazed in orange; the Main Trail, which is the fastest, most direct route, which is blazed in blue; and then there’s a yellow trail, which is called the Brook Trail. And we’re closing about a tenth-of-a-mile section of the blue trail, the main trail, and building a bypass that goes around it. Even while the construction is happening, there is the ability to get to the summit using the orange trail and even the blue trail…. When the trail reopens it will be a more sustainable trail both for preventing erosion and also just for hiker experience on the mountain…. During that time the main parking lot will be closed because it is a staging area for heavy equipment that will be working on the relocation. There’s parking along Route 11 … This is expected to be … till sometime in July. Depending on the weather it could be early July … or if we encounter difficulties it will be late. … By doing this kind of work we can reinforce and harden one of the most popular hiking trails in New Hampshire…. 80,000 people is the estimate of the number of people who climb Mount Major [every year].

What’s going on at the Morrill Dairy Farm?

The Forest Society is working to purchase a conservation easement of a portion of the Morrill Family Land here in Concord along the Merrimack River with direct frontage on the Merrimack River…. There are 124 acres of farm fields with spectacular views of Kearsarge which we protected in 2021, and now we’re working to protect the home farm of the Morrill Dairy Farm — they call it the home farm because they live nearby. It’s just north of Sewalls Falls and it’s on the Concord and Pentacook border, and this is part of Rob Morrill’s grandfather’s farm that was established in 1925, where they raised Red and Black Holstein cows. This particular property … includes 1.2 miles along the main stem of the Merrimack River and then an additional 1.3 miles of frontage on what’s known as Oxbow Pond. So it’s a little section of the Merrimack River just north of downtown Concord that’s easily accessed from the public boat launches, and people who paddle the Merrimack River upstream are familiar with where the dairy farms are, and the total is 208 acres which will be under conservation easement, which means it cannot be subdivided and developed…. more than 700,000 people get their drinking water from the Merrimack River in New Hampshire, so we’re working to protect the lands right on the water.

Why do you think it’s important to educate the public about the environment they live in?

Well, think about what we take for granted in New Hampshire. We’re the second most forested state in the nation by land area. We depend on forests for clean air but also for clean water. Then also, recreation tourism in New Hampshire is a huge industry, so all of those things we associate with forest and mountains and trails and also our rivers and clean lakes are benefiting from forest cover and the headwater streams. So we’re not just thinking about the forest; we’re thinking about the New Hampshire advantage, which is open space and conserved open space that’s never going to be developed, contributes to our state’s economy and human health and even our spiritual wellness….

What are some success stories you’d like to share?

The Forest Society goes way back. We are New Hampshire’s oldest, largest statewide nonprofit conservation organization. At our founding in 1901 to 1911 we lobbied Congress to pass the Weeks Act, which created the White Mountain National Forest, which is now 804,000 acres, and that was the beginning of a legacy of land conservation in New Hampshire that continues to this day. Today the Forest Society is the fourth-largest landowner in New Hampshire…. New Hampshire’s land area is about 5.8 million acres, and 34 percent of that land in New Hampshire has been permanently protected through the work of the Forest Society and other land trusts like us.

— Zachary Lewis

Featured image: Mt. Major. Photo courtesy of Jerry Monkman.

Owner of Dragon’s Den Candles in Nashua

Explain your job and what it entails.

I own and operate Dragon’s Den Candles [DragonsDenCandles.com]. I make fantasy, tabletop gaming themed candles that are all designed with a certain sense in mind to give ambiance when you’re playing a game, or reading a book, watching a movie, that kind of thing.

How long have you had this job?

It’s what I’ve been doing for the last couple years now, about 2 1/2 years now.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

I worked in retail for 20 years and I finally got myself out of that…. Trying to come up with something new on a random Sunday my wife and I started making candles just for fun and we both really enjoyed it and it just kind of snowballed from there. I’m a big nerd so I took it in the nerdy direction with the candles I make.

What kind of education or training did you need?

I was mostly all self-taught. Did a lot of research online. We got some candle-making starter kits that had like the basic instructions and just looked up all the different ways people do them and figured out from there, as we narrowed it down and honed our method.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Just my usual casual everyday wear. We do all this right out of our house so … just khakis and a T-shirt.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

We have two different candle lines we mainly sell at conventions and craft fairs and ren faires…. We’re constantly traveling up and all over New England selling at different places. It’s a lot of maintaining the proper amount of stock…

What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your career?

Any kind of knowledge into all these different kinds of shows and events that we sell at would have helped tremendously, and just the general knowledge of how much of my house doing this was going to absorb.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

Probably the amount of time that goes into it. It is a long process making all the candles that we make.

What was your first job?

My very first job ever, I worked at when I was 16 years old, Whalom park down in … Mass. It was a little amusement park. It’s no longer there. I did puppet shows, marionette shows and [was one of] the big costume guys that walked around the park.

What is the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

At the start of anything you do, it’s always going to look messy. You just need to keep pushing through. It will eventually get to what it needs to be. —Zachary Lewis

Explain your job and what it entails.

I own and operate Dragon’s Den Candles [DragonsDenCandles.com]. I make fantasy, tabletop gaming themed candles that are all designed with a certain sense in mind to give ambiance when you’re playing a game, or reading a book, watching a movie, that kind of thing.

How long have you had this job?

It’s what I’ve been doing for the last couple years now, about 2 1/2 years now.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

I worked in retail for 20 years and I finally got myself out of that…. Trying to come up with something new on a random Sunday my wife and I started making candles just for fun and we both really enjoyed it and it just kind of snowballed from there. I’m a big nerd so I took it in the nerdy direction with the candles I make.

What kind of education or training did you need?

I was mostly all self-taught. Did a lot of research online. We got some candle-making starter kits that had like the basic instructions and just looked up all the different ways people do them and figured out from there, as we narrowed it down and honed our method.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Just my usual casual everyday wear. We do all this right out of our house so … just khakis and a T-shirt.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

We have two different candle lines we mainly sell at conventions and craft fairs and ren faires…. We’re constantly traveling up and all over New England selling at different places. It’s a lot of maintaining the proper amount of stock…

What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your career?

Any kind of knowledge into all these different kinds of shows and events that we sell at would have helped tremendously, and just the general knowledge of how much of my house doing this was going to absorb.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

Probably the amount of time that goes into it. It is a long process making all the candles that we make.

What was your first job?

My very first job ever, I worked at when I was 16 years old, Whalom park down in … Mass. It was a little amusement park. It’s no longer there. I did puppet shows, marionette shows and [was one of] the big costume guys that walked around the park.

What is the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

At the start of anything you do, it’s always going to look messy. You just need to keep pushing through. It will eventually get to what it needs to be. —Zachary Lewis

Five favorites
Favorite book: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Favorite movie: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Favorite music: lo-fi ambient music that I can have going on while I’m doing other stuff
Favorite food: pizza with bacon on top
Favorite thing about NH: I like the environment. It’s hilly, there’s trees, there’s rivers, I like that general atmosphere, that kind of outdoorsy air that it has here.

Featured photo: Corey McNabb. Courtesy photo.