By Lisa Romano  

“Now I have a purpose,” Jay Brumberg said recently about the benefits he's getting from his land. Though he’s always loved wildlife and the outdoors, caring for his property took on a new meaning for Jay when he became sick several years ago. “By almost dying I’ve learned about living, and now I want to give something back,” he explains. “I’ve always wanted to bring back this habitat for the animals.”

Diagnosed a number of years ago  with a rare form of chronic pneumonia, Jay is no longer able to work professionally. After a few decades of working with youth as a therapist, Jay now focuses on finding therapeutic activities to fill his own days, and this is where his 12.5 acres in Cummington have become invaluable to him.

Jay and his wife, Peg Parker, live in a modest passive solar house on land that’s part wooded, part field, and which abuts conservation land and other wooded areas. Jay is passionate about all wildlife and speaks excitedly about the birds and mammals he’s hosted on his property. “I get all kinds of neat sparrows here," he says, "and ovenbirds [a species of warbler that requires large tracts of habitat], which I think is a testament to the lack of development around here.” Signs of bears can be found in the bent shepherd’s hooks on which Jay hangs his bird feeders and, though he’s seen fishers a few times on his property, he’s never lost a cat to one, “I’m probably the only person in the area who hasn’t,” he says.  

Jay says he rediscovered his childhood years back in Costa Rica, where he traveled several times for work. Stepping into the jungle made him feel like a 12 year old; he was thrilled by the ants, snakes, monkeys he found. “I was down there for work and supposed to be supervising kids age 14 to 18 and here I am 12 years old!” What came back from the jungle with Jay was a renewed interest in the wildlife to be found at home, and the itch to make his 12.5 acres as good a home for them as possible.

In order to keep himself active and busy, Jay has had an ongoing series of projects for his property, most of which have a goal of enhancing wildlife habitat. He keeps about 7 acres of his land in early successional, old field habitat, an important habitat type that’s been in decline in Massachusetts, where the forests all tend to be the same age. He struggles to keep the trees out that try their best to colonize the open space in order to maintain a habitat ideal for certain bird species and small mammals. “I really want to bring back rabbits,” says Jay. “I do pretty good on the rabittat [rabbit habitat], but I don’t have any occupants! I’ve been doing a lot of research so I’m hoping I can get the rabbits to come back.” Jay has also been doing a lot of research on native plants that are attractive to wildlife and has plans to add more blueberries (“that I can share equally with the bears!”), among others.

Part of the fun of working on his land is the education he’s getting. Jay loves to learn and he’s been learning by doing as he plans his projects and gets them underway. He’s gotten maps of his property off MassAcorn (http://massacorn.net/index.php/see-your-land), which have helped in the planning process. Like everyone, Jay has learned from his mistakes. He acknowledges an early mistake he made on his property when he planted Autumn Olive, a shrub that’s highly desirable to birds (his reason for planting it), but is also highly invasive (which he’s learned since). One of the major tasks on Jay’s to-do list is to replace the olives before they take over his fields with a native shrub.

Despite his health problems, Jay manages to do all the work on his land by himself. “I’ve got 100% of the time,” he says, “but can only work at about 25% of my old capacity. Progress is slower than I’m used to but it’s getting there. My tractor,” he continues, “is a big help.” He remains upbeat, noting “I’ve got all the time in the world now.” When he’s not planting, tending his garden, or mowing, Jay is out enjoying his land. He has several trails he’s built around his property where he walks his dogs a couple times a day. It’s out on his walks that he gains inspiration to continue working on the land.  “In a way I’m blessed. I get to be out here watching nature play itself out, while you working stiffs are busy at your jobs,” he kids good-naturedly.

Truly dedicated to continuing the stewardship of his land, Jay envisions projects that will keep him busy until he’s no longer able to work on the property. He is excited about additional work that can be done to make his woods healthy and fields desirable for what species may wander through, and hopefully take up residence. When all is said and done, Jay and his wife plan to permanently protect their land. “I’ve put so much work into the land here, there’s no way I’ll let it be developed, even after I’m gone.”