About Distant Hill


“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”  Thich Nhat Hanh


Cultivating Our Connection to the Natural World

A photo of Michael and Kathy Nerrie, the builders & stewards of Distant Hill Gardens and Nature Trail,
Builders & stewards of Distant Hill, Michael and Kathy Nerrie
At Distant Hill Gardens and Nature Trail, we believe that humans can have a positive effect on Nature and our surroundings, but only if we proceed in a thoughtful and respectful manner. Our goal at Distant Hill is to encourage visitors to consider the impact they have on the environment in their daily lives and to teach them ways to make that impact a positive one.
 
By introducing guests to the diverse natural and man-made features of Distant Hill, we hope to motivate old and young alike to develop a more intimate connection to the Natural world and make them better stewards of the land. 

 

We trust that everyone will find something at Distant Hill that inspires them to look more closely at how humans and nature can work together toward a more sustainable future.

 

We look forward to your visit!

 

Michael and Kathy Nerrie 


Distant Hill is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization

In October, 2019, a group of 35 volunteers began the process of establishing an IRS tax-exempt non-profit 'Friends of Distant Hill'. It was a long and complicated process, with dozens of pages of documents to prepare, numerous applications to fill out, and form after form to file. We sent the application to the IRS in late December, 2019, and heard back from the IRS in late January that we were approved as an official tax-deductible 501(c)(3) nonprofit as of November 19, 2019.
 Doing business as 'Distant Hill Gardens and Nature Trail', Friends of Distant Hill is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. 

All Donations Go Directly to Improving Distant Hill

A group from the Savings Bank of Walpole along with other volunteers helped make the upper loop of the geology trail wheelchair and stroller accessible!
In the summer of 2022, a group from the Savings Bank of Walpole along with other volunteers helped make the upper loop of the geology trail wheelchair and stroller accessible!

Distant Hill has no paid staff. All work is done by volunteers. Somehow we have been able to host dozens of workshops and educational events over the past decade, build and maintain over a mile of wheelchair and stroller accessible trails and three miles of hiking trails, develop and keep expanding White Rock Woods nature play area, and so much more, with very little overhead.

 

But our overhead has been steadily increasing year by year. Liability insurance is quite expensive and keeps going up, as does the cost of the wheelchair accessible portable restroom we have available year round. And contracting with an outside company to update and maintain our website is another expense that we need to soon add to our growing overhead.    

 

And we foresee a need, in the not-too-distant future, to begin the transition to paid staff. We have grown too large to think that we can continue to rely on unpaid volunteers to do all the work necessary to continue offering a quality experience to the visitors to Distant Hill.

 

This is not to say that we will not be relying on volunteers to help us do what need to be done. Volunteers have been, and will continue to be, an important part of the success of Distant Hill as a important and vital community resource. 

 

That said, if you are interested in volunteering in any capacity at Distant Hill, please Contact Us!