A Vision in Focus
 Over the years, Tin Mountain has held fast to its founding mission of promoting an appreciation of the environment in children, adults, and families through hands-on programs. Looking toward the future, Tin Mountain soon will be able to reach even deeper into the communities served by enhancing environmental education for school groups and at summer camps, inviting greater public involvement, and by using its land to educate by example.
The vision is a much-needed and long-awaited nature learning center in a central location, offering a public gathering place for people and programs that support natural science education and a higher level of community involvement. The learning center on Bald Hill in Albany will include a classroom/lab, staff work spaces, a library, community meeting space, gardens, and an historic barn-all located on a beautiful and archetypal New England woodland replete with trails, a pond, and bogs that are teeming with diverse species. Situated in one of the area's most unique natural landscapes and among numerous rare plants, the 98 acres of extraordinary natural habitat offer terrific opportunities to explore and study the natural environment - the perfect place for Tin Mountain's new home.
Capital Campaign Committee Formed
 A business plan has been prepared that outlines the additional programming that will be offered by Tin Mountain at its new home and nature center in Albany. The move will require an additional teacher naturalist to develop and deliver new on-site programs and organize the library, schedule facility use programs, among many other things. The first two years will operate slightly above costs; however, by year three, programming will provide significant revenue to the organization to help offset school and camp programs that are heavily subsidized through fundraising by the Board and staff.
Land at Last!
Last year, Tin Mountain purchased 98 acres of spectacular forest and fields in Albany. The land, which will eventually be the permanent home for Tin Mountain, boasts a rich diversity of forest and vegetation types, a seven-acre pond with active beaver lodges, numerous streams, wetlands, and vernal pools, pasture land, and the oldest barn in town (ca. 1820). As one of the oldest settlements in Albany, the land contains many reminders of the past including an old granite quarry, cellar holes, stonewalls, and a nearby cemetery.
The Board of Trustees searched for three years before settling on the old farmstead property on Bald Hill. Besides the diverse natural landscape, the physical landscape offers vistas from numerous rock outcrops, variable topography, and enormous glacial erratics. Key to the Board's decision to purchase the land was the undeveloped landscape of the area including an adjacent White Mountain National Forest tract that is home to several rare and endangered plant species.
The purchase of the property was made possible by member contributions and a matching grant from the New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Program (LCHIP). Besides purchasing the property, the initial project phase is restoring the barn for seasonal program space and pursuing conservation easements on ~150 acres of nearby lands. Tin Mountain was awarded the $158,000 grant from LCHIP on its third attempt.
Future plans for the site will include a modest nature center with a classroom/lab, a natural science library, exhibit space, a large presentation room, and staff offices. Trail work has already been started to make the property more accessible and offer the public an opportunity to learn on their own.
The property and nature center will be a public gathering place where people can attend programs, but also a drop by to study nature, use the reference library, or simply sit and chat. It will be a great opportunity for people to become more involved, in a tangible way, with an organization that the community has supported so strongly over the years. 
Saving the Old Barn in Albany
With a grant from New Hampshire's Land and Community Heritage Program (LCHIP), Tin Mountain is restoring a ca.1820 barn on its land in Albany. David Shedd, David Condoulis, and Nate Beaulieu have undertaken the restoration.
Much of the work involves replacing or shoring up the foundation and floor supports. The timber for the project was cut on nearby land owned by the Thomas', our Albany neighbor at Chase Farm. The barn restoration will follow the strict historical standards of the U.S. Interior Department and NH Division of Historic Places, so the integrity of the barn will remain intact. For example, the old wooden roof shingles over which the current metal roof has resided for the past 70 years will remain under the new metal roof. All new construction associated with the restoration will be dated in a permanent fashion. The restored barn will eventually be used for seasonal program space and storage. The project will be completed this spring. Stop by and see it. It's a fascinating undertaking!
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