Environment – Page 5 – Belmont Citizens Forum

Lone Tree Hill Volunteers Clean, Weed, Plant

Environment, Lone Tree Hill, May/June 2022, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants Comments Off

May 052022

Lone Tree Hill Volunteers Clean, Weed, Plant

By Radha Iyengar On Saturday, April 30, a sunny but cool day, BCF, in conjunction with the Judy Record Conservation Fund, held its eighth annual Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day. At the Pine Allee, volunteers planted 46 white pine saplings of which 40 saplings were store bought and 6 were transplants from Lone Tree Hill. The new plants replaced some of the Allee’s missing trees as well as some of the dead saplings from the 2017-2019 volunteer day plantings. At the other end of the property, the volunteers collected 11 bags of trash, one box of recyclables and six bags [READ MORE]

Letter to the Editor: January 2022

Environment, March/April 2022, Newsletter, Plants Comments Off

Mar 042022

To the editor, With increased mowing in Rock Meadow, does that mean that all that lovely milkweed which grew so wild, lovely, and plentiful will be lost to the mowers? We need that milkweed for the butterflies! That would be so sad. Where is the mowing to take place? Carlee Blamphin Dear Carlee, Mowing at Rock Meadow has not increased, except for the trails. Meadow mowing occurred just once, on October 21. This was intentionally late in the growing season so as to leave the milkweed intact for the monarch butterfly migration, which is mid-August through late September and early [READ MORE]

State Considers New Strategy for Invasives

Environment, March/April 2022, Newsletter, Plants Comments Off

Mar 042022

State Considers New Strategy for Invasives

By Bruce Aguilar Invasive species are organisms that severely damage local ecosystems. One example is the gypsy moth caterpillar, introduced in 1869 by one Professor E. L. Trouvelot in an attempt to breed a hardy silkworm. Some insects escaped and were soon established in a vacant lot next to his home in Medford, Mass. These caterpillars have defoliated millions of acres of northeast woodlands. Another is the Asian bittersweet vine, introduced as an ornamental plant in 1879. It smothers the understory of forests and climbs mature trees to outcompete them for light, eventually strangling them or becoming heavy enough to [READ MORE]

Belmont Was a Town of Market Gardens

Environment, History, March/April 2022, Newsletter Comments Off

Mar 032022

By Jane Sherwin For about a century, areas around Boston that are now suburban housing were in many cases devoted to market gardening. Arlington, Lexington, Belmont, Watertown, Brighton—all grew produce very profitably. A market garden, sometimes known as a truck farm, produces on a small scale a variety of fruits and vegetables for local markets. Around Boston, this intensive form of farming was supported by heated greenhouses. The market gardens were so close to Boston that they had no need to pay railroad charges, using their own trucks and wagons instead. The gardens were profitable, and families could afford the [READ MORE]

Mystic Collaborative Plans For Climate Change

Climate Change, Environment, March/April 2022, Newsletter, Open Space, Stormwater, Water Quality Comments Off

Mar 032022

Mystic Collaborative Plans For Climate Change

By Julie Wormser Once upon a time, images of climate change featured skinny polar bears on melting ice floes, and hot, dusty desertscapes. Tragic for sure, but also very far away in time and space. Not any more. Last summer’s alarming weather—from 120 temperatures in the Pacific Northwest to record flooding rains here in the Northeast—has brought the immediate effects of climate change into sharper focus and more local concern. In Greater Boston, the most likely risks we need to prepare for are: flooding from intense rainfall and coastal storms/sea level rise, hotter, drier summers, less predictable winter weather, and [READ MORE]

A Tribute to a Conservationist

Environment, Lone Tree Hill, March/April 2022, Newsletter, Open Space, Town Committee Meetings Comments Off

Mar 032022

By Anne Paulsen, Martha Moore, and Heli Tomford with contributions from neighbors Nanny Almquist, Jacquie Dow, and other Belmont friends and committee colleagues who knew and worked with Joan Campbell. When Joan Louise Campbell died on December 15, 2016, Belmont lost a citizen whose life exemplified devotion to her community, especially its open spaces. Joan moved to Belmont with her parents in the late 1930s, and except for some years working as a librarian in Seattle, she lived in the same Prospect Street home for most of her 92 years. We are honoring Joan Campbell because of her involvement in [READ MORE]

Healthy Lawns Works to Limit Leaf Blowers

Air Quality, Environment, March/April 2022, Newsletter Comments Off

Mar 032022

Healthy Lawns Works to Limit Leaf Blowers

By Barry Kaye, Dean Hickman, Ruth Smullin, and Thomas Nehrkorn Gasoline-powered leaf blowers are not only a nuisance to anyone trying to enjoy a peaceful time in their backyard or a neighborhood walk, but they also present real risks to human health, most significantly to the operators. These are detailed in previous BCF articles published on this subject (See “Leaf Blowers Damage Belmont’s Environment,” Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter, September/October 2021.) The town is trying to address this issue. Healthy Lawns Initiative Sustainable Belmont recently started hosting a Healthy Lawns Initiative to promote more environmentally sustainable lawn care practices. Currently, we [READ MORE]

CPC Recommends Funds for Seven Projects

Construction and Housing, Environment, Historic Preservation, March/April 2022, Newsletter, Open Space Comments Off

Mar 032022

By Juliet Jenkins The Belmont Community Preservation Committee (CPC) voted to recommend funding seven projects totaling $2,058,554 for FY 2023, to be voted on at the annual Town Meeting, through the Community Preservation Act (CPA) current funding round. Following the CPC’s public hearing and vote on December 8, 2021, the proposed projects were filed with the Belmont Town Clerk and set for voting by Town Meeting in May 2022. Projects supported with CPA funding must create or preserve affordable housing, historic resources, open space, or recreational facilities. All CPA proposals are developed and created by Belmontonians, and each project directly [READ MORE]

What is the Future of the Royal Road Woods?

Environment, March/April 2022, Newsletter, Open Space Comments Off

Mar 032022

What is the Future of the Royal Road Woods?

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. Skip to Bonus Material In 1844, when the Fitchburg Line was built, the Clark family owned a triangular lot bounded by the new train line, Common Street, and Clark Street. Wellington Brook ran along the north side of the triangle, just south of the Fitchburg Line. Royal Road and Dunbarton Street did not exist. After more than a century of Clark descendents the land was sold in 1931 to the Glendower Trust, a vehicle of real estate developers John Hubbard and Donald Kenyon. Hubbard and Kenyon laid out plans for Dunbarton Street and Glendower Road (shortly [READ MORE]

Rock Meadow Receives Funding for Mowing and Maintenance

Environment, January 2022, Newsletter, Open Space Comments Off

Jan 042022

Rock Meadow Receives Funding for Mowing and Maintenance

Acting on intelligence provided by the Belmont Citizens Forum, Town Administrator Patrice Garvin and Conservation Agent Mary Trudeau collaborated in October to apply for state funds for mowing and maintenance at Belmont’s Rock Meadow conservation area. Belmont was able to secure a budget earmark, facilitated by State Representative Dave Rogers, for the Rock Meadow conservation area in the FY2022 budget for an amount of $60,000. The funds will be distributed to the town through the Department of Conservation and Recreation. In working with Garvin to identify funding needs for the town, Commonwealth officials noted that use of this important community [READ MORE]

Whither the Royal Road Woods?

Bicycles and bike paths, Environment, January 2022, Newsletter, Open Space Comments Off

Jan 042022

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. Last spring, as playgrounds were being closed statewide to contain the emerging COVID-19 outbreak, a new Belmont pocket park came into existence where COVID restrictions didn’t apply. Conceived and built by a group of Belmont boys, the park is hidden from casual passersby by its topography and tree canopy. However, it is well publicized among its users, who have documented their exploits on Instagram, Facebook, and other social media (search for “Belmont Dirt Jumps”). Created for bicycle jumping, a sport that emerged from BMX bike racing, the park initially consisted of a network of crisscrossing paths [READ MORE]

Belmont’s Invasive Species: Glossy Buckthorn

Environment, January 2022, Lone Tree Hill, Newsletter, Plants Comments Off

Jan 042022

Belmont's Invasive Species: Glossy Buckthorn

By Joe Hibbard Take a walk on the north side of the Great Meadow at the Lone Tree Hill Conservation Land and you might notice some recent changes in the landscape. A broad area along both sides of the Pitch Pine Trail, which was until recently an impenetrable thicket of invasive plants, is being cleared and on its way to a healthier forest/meadow edge landscape. The clearing is part of a long-term project to restore ecological balance to degraded landscapes that are part of the Lone Tree Hill Conservation Land. The project is led by the Land Management Committee for [READ MORE]

Lone Tree Hill Restoration Shows Strong Start

Environment, January 2022, Lone Tree Hill, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants Comments Off

Jan 042022

Lone Tree Hill Restoration Shows Strong Start

By Jeffrey North Late last year, field technicians engaged by the Land Management Committee for Lone Tree Hill (LMC) and the Judy Record Conservation Fund began a multiyear campaign to restore select parcels of the Lone Tree Hill conservation land. These stewardship projects focused first on invasive plant removal at Area A1. Restoration specialists from Parterre Ecological Services hand-cut the bittersweet vines that were smothering the trees there and deployed a forestry mower to obliterate (if only temporarily) the buckthorn and multiflora rose. The forestry mowing radically altered the appearance of that portion of the property, prompting the few visitors to ask if [READ MORE]

How Can Belmont Reduce Single-Use Plastics?

Environment, January 2022, Newsletter, Recycling Comments Off

Jan 042022

How Can Belmont Reduce Single-Use Plastics?

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. The United States generates more plastic waste than any other country in the world: 42 million tons, or 286 pounds per person, in 2016. That includes plastic waste the US exports to other countries with weak recycling systems (see links at end of article for details). Plastic waste lasts a long time and has many noxious effects (See “Think Twice About Single-Use Plastics,” Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter, November 2021). The Massachusetts legislature, a recycling leader in 1981 when it passed the “bottle bill” over Governor Ed King’s veto, has become a laggard. (See “Time To Pass [READ MORE]

Time To Pass An Updated Bottle Bill

Environment, January 2022, Newsletter, Recycling Comments Off

Jan 032022

By Janet Domenitz and Julia Blatt We need to stop kicking the can down the road. Since its passage nearly 40 years ago, the bottle bill has created a successful recycling program in Massachusetts. But time is catching up to the law, and it needs updating to deliver the best results. A lot has changed in Massachusetts since the original bottle bill was established in 1983. First, our waste problem has worsened. According to the new Trash in America report released by MASSPIRG and other regional public interest groups, the average American throws out nearly 1,800 pounds of trash each [READ MORE]

Belmont Awarded Climate Change Grant

Environment, January 2022, Newsletter, Stormwater Comments Off

Jan 032022

By Jeffrey North Belmont has received a $195,000 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant from the Massachusetts Climate MVP Program to identify Belmont’s current and future stormwater flooding risks from climate change. The project, known as the Stormwater Flood Reduction and Climate Resilience Capital Improvement Plan, will include the development of a 2-D stormwater model to assist in locating flood risk areas and evaluating how to make those areas more resilient. The primary goals of this project are to understand the town’s vulnerability to flooding and climate change on a street-by-street basis using an enhanced town-wide 2-D drainage hydraulic model, and [READ MORE]

Watershed Modeling Enhances Flood Resilience

Climate Change, Environment, January 2022, Newsletter, Stormwater, Water Quality Comments Off

Jan 032022

Watershed Modeling Enhances Flood Resilience

By Julia Hopkins and Julie Wood Climate change isn’t coming—it’s here. Sea-level rise, drought, blistering heat; the tangible effects of global warming are already happening in Massachusetts, and our highly urbanized watershed and those who call it home are increasingly vulnerable to its impacts. It also means extreme weather and severe inland flooding are some of the greatest threats to our watershed and our lives. In the northeastern United States, precipitation during heavy rain events increased by more than 70% according to the Fourth National Climate Assessment released in 2018. This trend is expected to continue as our climate warms. Today’s [READ MORE]

Fifty Million Gallons of Sewage Released

Climate Change, Environment, January 2022, Newsletter, Sewers, Stormwater, Water Quality Comments Off

Jan 032022

Fifty Million Gallons of Sewage Released

Discharges to Alewife Brook Have Persisted for Two Decades By Kristin Anderson and David White Fifty million gallons of sewage-contaminated stormwater have been discharged into the Alewife Brook from the cities of Cambridge and Somerville in 2021, according to websites for those two cities and the Metropolitan Water Resources Authority (MWRA) for the Alewife/Upper Mystic Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO). There has been as much sewage-contaminated water discharged into the Alewife Brook in 2021 as there was in 1997 before the implementation of a $200 million plan to modernize the area’s antique combined sewer systems. Pollution persists in the Alewife sub-watershed [READ MORE]

Urban Trees Improve Everyones’ Lives

Environment, Newsletter, November-December 2021, Plants Comments Off

Nov 022021

By David Meshoulam When I first tell people that I work in the field of “urban forestry” they look at me funny. “Urban areas have forests?” they ask. “I thought forests were out in the country.” But urban forestry is a real thing. Over the past several years, its importance has become increasingly recognized as a critical component of a city’s infrastructure, and rightfully so! Trees create more livable and healthy communities by cleaning and cooling our air, mitigating against flooding, and improving the mental and physical health of residents. In an era of climate change, with hotter summers leading [READ MORE]

Think Twice About Single-Use Plastics

Environment, Newsletter, November-December 2021, Recycling, Water Quality Comments Off

Nov 012021

By Lindsay Levine and Dean Hickman Envision the life-cycle of a single-use plastic item. Oil or natural gas is extracted from the ground, transported, chemically transformed into plastic which is then manufactured, transported to the point of sale, briefly used, and then tossed into the garbage. But it does not end there. Because of their durability, plastics last for hundreds of years and do not degrade meaningfully over your entire lifetime, except perhaps break into smaller pieces. Now imagine that same process repeated for many of the items we use daily. Have you ever counted the number of single-use plastic [READ MORE]

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