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9 TheSouthShoreMagazine.com But for each problem, there's a solution in the making. The Trustees implemented a new plan to enlarge the property's parking lot, improve traffic flow, and better accommodate visitors. Volunteers help maintain the carriage roads to improve drainage. And Fran Blanchard, The Trustees' General Manager for the South Shore, says a five-year restoration of the fields has already fostered a proliferation of butterflies—49 species in all, with potential for another 28. "World's End is the most bio-diverse spot in the Harbor Islands, and we make an effort to conserve rare species and their habitat so they have a better ability to survive," Blanchard says. These are boom times, in particular, for the pipeline swallowtail, hickory hairstreak, and juniper hairstreak butterflies, the latter of which has seen documented sightings increase from two to 400 in six years. Half a century after Hingham and its neighbors rallied around a coastal landscape with an uncertain future, Blanchard says many of the folks who helped The Trustees purchase World's End remain an active part of the reservation—a testament to its staying power. "People have really personal relationships with World's End," says Blanchard. "Allowing them the space to have those experiences and making sure it stays available to them is an important part of what The Trustees does." Talk to longtime visitors and you'll hear similar sentiments: that World's End lifts their spirits as soon as they check in at the gatehouse, and that they feel alone wandering the carriage paths no matter how many or how few have made the same trip to the same place. That it's also a piece of the natural world shaped by man might even foster deeper connections than a purely wild landscape. "Because you've had all this human influence on the property, it feels more accessible," Marotta says. "People who aren't willing to put on a backpack and get lost in the White Mountains can still get an outdoor experience while feeling safe and content. They feel adventurous. They're willing to wander down paths they've never been down before." No matter where they wind up, a new side of World's End will always be waiting. Jeff Harder is a freelance writer and editor who lives in New England. Photo by KateGlass Photo by Jonathan Beller