Belmont’s Beech Trees are Dying

 January 2024, Newsletter, Plants  Comments Off on Belmont’s Beech Trees are Dying
Jan 052024
 
Belmont’s Beech Trees are Dying

By Phil Perron The majestic beech tree is under attack in Massachusetts. The culprit is a microscopic nematode (Litylenchus crenatae ssp. mccannii). Beech leaf disease (BLD) has taken the state by storm, causing, in the best cases, leaf distortion and, in the worst cases, total tree mortality. All beech tree varieties are at risk, including the stately copper beech. Unfortunately, many questions about this disease have yet to be answered as the industry works to find solutions to manage this pest before it is too late. BLD was first discovered in Ohio in 2012. Eight years later, it had made [READ MORE]

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Lone Tree Hill Saw Improvements in 2023

 Environment, January 2024, Lone Tree Hill, McLean, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants  Comments Off on Lone Tree Hill Saw Improvements in 2023
Jan 052024
 
Lone Tree Hill Saw Improvements in 2023

By Radha Iyengar Belmont’s Lone Tree Hill Conservation area benefited from another year of conservation, restoration, and stewardship, thanks mainly to the efforts of the Land Management Committee for Lone Tree Hill (LMC). Many Belmontonians and visitors enjoy this 119-acre conservation property for walking, biking, viewing wildlife, and being out in nature. The LMC was created through a memorandum of agreement between the town and McLean Hospital in 1999. The agreement  outlined the development restrictions for the McLean Hospital campus. It also reserved approximately 119 acres of the campus as publicly accessible open space, including a new municipal cemetery, and [READ MORE]

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Residents Restore Royal Road Woods Ecosystem

 Environment, Newsletter, November/December 2023, Plants  Comments Off on Residents Restore Royal Road Woods Ecosystem
Nov 012023
 
Residents Restore Royal Road Woods Ecosystem

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. and Pamela Andrews Belmont Conservation Volunteers (BCV) formed earlier this year to work on “restoring our natural spaces for everyone to enjoy.” Volunteer efforts have focused on reining in the extensive and expanding invasive species displacing native plants which support local insects, birds, and mammals.  The BCV emerged from pioneering volunteer work by Leonard Katz on Lone Tree Hill. (See “Spare a Thought for Lone Tree Hill”, BCF Newsletter, September 2022.)  To expand that work to town-owned land, Katz and Sustainable Belmont leader Dean Hickman obtained permission from both the Select Board and, because many of [READ MORE]

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Stewards Keep Ogilby Farm Traditions

 Environment, Historic Preservation, History, Newsletter, Plants, September/October 2023  Comments Off on Stewards Keep Ogilby Farm Traditions
Sep 012023
 
Stewards Keep Ogilby Farm Traditions

By Judith Feinleib Henry Ogilby thinks of himself, his siblings, and Mike and Hermik Chase as stewards of the last remaining farmland in Belmont, part of the Richardson Farm Historical District. They are stewards in the classical sense of the term—people whose code of ethics requires them to engage in responsible planning and management of resources.  In this case, these resources are the land and houses that have been in the Ogilby family since the 17th century. For the last 11 years, the Chases have cultivated the land of Belmont Acres Farm where they grow and sell vegetables and keep [READ MORE]

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Lone Tree Hill Goes Native with Plantings

 Environment, Lone Tree Hill, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants, September/October 2023  Comments Off on Lone Tree Hill Goes Native with Plantings
Sep 012023
 
Lone Tree Hill Goes Native with Plantings

By Jeffrey North  On Earth Day 2023 (April 22), the Belmont Citizens Forum (BCF), in conjunction with the Judy Record Conservation Fund, held its ninth annual Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day. (See “Volunteers Plant, Clean Up Lone Tree Hill,” BCF Newsletter, May/June 2023, for more information).  Several dozen volunteers rolled up their sleeves, and gardening trowels in hand, planted 350 plugs of young native plants in the Great Meadow and reclaimed meadow areas of Belmont’s Lone Tree Hill Conservation Land in addition to planting 40 white pine saplings to replace the mature pines gradually lost to age and weather. The [READ MORE]

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BH Students Create Native Plant Garden

 July/August 2023, Newsletter, Plants  Comments Off on BH Students Create Native Plant Garden
Jun 302023
 
BH Students Create Native Plant Garden

By Audrey Brenhouse On Saturday, May 13, the Belmont High School Climate Action Club, with the help of adult and student volunteers, planted our long-anticipated native garden in front of the school. Our  goal is to grow plants native to this area to promote and support native wildlife, helping to restore the land’s natural biodiversity. In the spring of 2022, we held a student-led concert where many families kindly donated to this process. After years of approvals and fundraising, we are proud and grateful to be able to display the result of your generosity.  Over the next few years, these [READ MORE]

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How to Get Your Garden Through Summer Heat

 Environment, July/August 2023, Newsletter, Plants  Comments Off on How to Get Your Garden Through Summer Heat
Jun 302023
 
How to Get Your Garden Through Summer Heat

By Sarah Wang, Kim DeAndrade, and Jean Devine  By this point in the summer, your water barrels may be dry and you may be devoting inordinate amounts of time (and money) to watering. No matter how much you water, it cannot compare to real rain. Here are some tips to help with drought: Mulch!  Besides retaining moisture, mulch will feed the soil and keep down the weeds. Avoid dyed mulch. It is unregulated and may contain shredded construction wood waste and pressure-treated wood. And, it won’t do much to feed the soil.   If you buy mulch, consider compost and [READ MORE]

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Belmont Will Phase Out Gas Leaf Blowers

 Air Quality, Environment, July/August 2023, Newsletter, Plants  Comments Off on Belmont Will Phase Out Gas Leaf Blowers
Jun 302023
 
Belmont Will Phase Out Gas Leaf Blowers

By Marina (Goreau) Atlas and Karen Cady-Pereira In recent years, Belmont residents have become acutely aware of the roar, fumes, and particulate dust emitted from two-stroke gas-powered leaf blowers. A new town policy will soon change the use of gas-powered leaf blowers that emit cancer-causing particulates, send out winds that can exceed Category 5 hurricanes, and stir up everything from road dust to pollen to particles left behind from Muffin and Fido’s morning walk. This policy is an important step to improve our relationship with lawns and encourage healthy landscapes that enhance our quality of life. From May 15 to [READ MORE]

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Let Your Hidden Native Plant Garden Emerge

 Environment, May/June 2023, Plants  Comments Off on Let Your Hidden Native Plant Garden Emerge
Apr 262023
 
Let Your Hidden Native Plant Garden Emerge

By Heather Pruiksma Spring has sprung, and gardeners everywhere are itching to get their hands into the soil and among the roots. At Grow Native Massachusetts, we encourage including more native plants in your gardens, which can be less work than it might seem — if you’re willing to be a little patient. Native plants are plants that have been growing in a particular habitat and region, typically for thousands of years or much longer. Also called indigenous, they are well adapted to the climate, light, and soil conditions that characterize their ecosystem. Within this system, they have evolved important relationships [READ MORE]

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Invasive Plants Can Harm Local Birds

 Environment, May/June 2023, Newsletter, Plants  Comments Off on Invasive Plants Can Harm Local Birds
Apr 262023
 
Invasive Plants Can Harm Local Birds

By Meg Muckenhoupt May is the peak of spring migration season in Massachusetts, and thousands of birds are landing in Belmont. (You can even get radar reports on which birds are arriving overnight on birdcast.info.) But what will these birds do when they get here? Will they find the resources they need to survive, raise young, and embark on fall migrations next September? The answer may depend on what’s growing around Belmont—and a lot of what’s growing around Belmont is invasive plants. Plants change birds’ lives North American birds evolved with native plants. Most bird-lovers know that different types of [READ MORE]

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