March/April 2022 – Belmont Citizens Forum

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]

Lone Tree Hill Cleanup Saturday, April 30

BCF Events, Lone Tree Hill, March/April 2022, Newsletter, Open Space Comments Off

Mar 032022

Lone Tree Hill Cleanup Saturday, April 30 Join us in stewarding Lone Tree Hill! After a two-year hiatus, the Belmont Citizens Forum, in conjunction with the Judy Record Conservation Fund, is holding its eighth annual tree planting, cleanup, and trail maintenance day on Saturday, April 30, from 9 AM to noon. For more information, email bcfprogramdirector@gmail.com. Help complete the planting of saplings along the Pine Allee, cleaning up at the Mill Street parking lot and the Coal Road area, and removing invasive species on the property. Students can earn community service credits. Bounded by Concord Avenue, Pleasant Street, and Mill [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]

Historic Clock Project Seeks Donations

donations, Historic Preservation, History, March/April 2022, Newsletter Comments Off

Mar 032022

By Michael Flamang The First Church in Belmont Unitarian Universalist is seeking funds and a qualified contractor to restore the historic clock in the church’s tower on the town green to functioning condition. In December, the Community Preservation Committee approved a grant application for the repair funds and included it in the projects to be considered by Town Meeting. (See “CPC Recommends Funds for Seven Projects,” in this issue.) There is a great deal of precedent in our area for cities and towns successfully using Commonwealth-designated Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds to implement this type of project in religious buildings. [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]

Select Board Candidates Answer BCF Questions

Board of Selectmen, March/April 2022, Newsletter Comments Off

Mar 032022

Select Board Candidates Answer BCF Questions

Each year, the Belmont Citizens Forum asks Select Board candidates questions about issues facing our town. This year, Roy Epstein and Jeffrey Lasseter provided answers. They were limited to 1,000 words. What do you consider the top three concerns for the town after the challenges of the past two years? Epstein: The operating budget, including funding of essential capital projects, remains my chief concern. The changes last month that allow Belmont to make use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds do not address our structural deficit. We cannot ignore the fiscal cliff that will be there when the ARPA [READ MORE]

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