Hello, again, from your friendly neighborhood Stewardship Gal, Em! We’ve had a busy spring and are powering through the summer, too, here’s what we have been up to! If you or your organization are interested in volunteering or being contacted when trail work days are scheduled, reach out to me at emerlino@northcountylandtrust.org to be added to our trail volunteer mailing list.
Brush burn at Longview – At long last, the pile of brush and plants from the invasive removal day at Longview with Chris Picone and students from Fitchburg State and Mount Wachusett Community College has been burned. Spring intern, Jordan, and summer stewardship crew member, Jackie, and I had some fun roasting marshmallows too!
Cushing Academy Fisher Day of Service at Dwelly – Students from Cushing Academy joined us for their Fisher Day of Service to remove cut glossy buckthorn from the fields to allow for new growth and better accessibility to remove additional invasive buckthorn seedlings. Another important step in our invasive management program! They also helped to channelize an overflowing stream and to pick up trash along the roadside. Thank you, Cushing students!
New Trail at Dwelly – Volunteers from Bemis joined us for their Clean and Green service day and cut a new trail at Dwelly. This trail travels to a part of the property not previously accessible and is called Trillium Trail, aptly named after the red trillium seen there in early spring. The trail will be blazed and a sign installed this summer, check it out when you visit Dwelly! Thank you, Bemis!
Earth Day Cleanup at Keyes – Each year we gather to clean up one of our properties to celebrate Earth Day and care for our planet. This year we cleaned up at Ebenezer Keyes Conservation Area for the second year in a row. This year we had great participation from community members in Gardner as well as from Garden Remedies Inc. for a successful cleanup day!
Native Plantings at Dwelly – We have continued working hard to bolster native plants and habitat at Dwelly Farm Conservation Area. This spring we purchased bare root plants from the Worcester County Conservation District Sale and had seedlings grown by our board member Carrie. They established in pots at Carrie’s house for a month before being planted out on the property by great volunteers! We will continue to add new plants and seed next year, if you are interested in native plants please reach out to help!
Glossy Buckthorn management at Dwelly – We have also continued our invasive plant management activities at Dwelly Farm Conservation Area to remove glossy buckthorn from the property. This years-long process requires vigilance from staff and volunteers to continue to pull glossy buckthorn in collaboration with Land Stewardship Inc.’s yearly chemical treatment. We will continue to host volunteer days throughout the summer to pull glossy buckthorn seedlings and hope you will bring your helping hands to the battle against this pervasive invasive!
Quarry Lane Pocket Park Design – Now that the community garden has been established and gardeners and Busy Bees preschool are in full swing watching their garden grow, the Quarry Lane property is in its next phase of planning. Angela, an NCLT board member and landscape architect, has worked with our team to come up with a natural design for a pocket park to welcome neighbors into the property and create a peaceful place to sit and interact with nature. We are excited to see this previously vacant and overgrown lot turn into a community space for Busy Bees students and neighbors alike. If you are interested in becoming a community gardener or steward of this property, please reach out!
