News release from the Friends of the Blue Hills

Friends of the Blue Hills was founded in 1979 with a mission to preserve and protect the Blue Hills Reservation. Thirty-five years later, the organization is still a conservation group working to ensure future generations can enjoy all the Blue Hills has to offer, but they are equally committed to encouraging the community to enjoy the Reservation today.

To celebrate their 35th year, the Friends of the Blue Hills will be sponsoring a number of fun activities throughout the year, and the first one is the “Strive for 35 Challenge.” Participants will explore the Reservation by seeing and doing 35 specific things in the Blue Hills during 2014 and photographing themselves at each one. Participants will post their photos on the FBH Facebook page or on Twitter with the hashtag #BlueHills35. Both individuals and teams are encouraged to visit www.FriendsoftheBlueHills.org/challenge to learn more about the challenge and to register. All who register will be entered into a raffle to win FBH apparel including a special 35th year t-shirt. Those who complete the challenge will be eligible to win the grand prize.

The Blue Hills Reservation has 22 hilltops and spans more than 7,000 acres in six towns: Braintree, Canton, Dedham, Milton, Quincy, and Randolph. Thanks to the generosity and efforts of members and volunteers, the Friends of the Blue Hills maintains over 100 miles of trails for tens of thousands of visitors each year, protects the forests by removing invasive weeds, works with legislators and local officials to prevent unwise development in the Blue Hills, and sponsors free opportunities to explore the Blue Hills in all four seasons. For more information, visit www.FriendsoftheBlueHills.org.