Fernald Site Contains Rare Specimen Trees

 Environment, July-August 2021, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants  Comments Off on Fernald Site Contains Rare Specimen Trees
Jun 252021
 
Fernald Site Contains Rare Specimen Trees

By Eric Olson It is vanishingly rare that a town within ten miles of Boston can, with a single purchase, add nearly 200 acres to its portfolio of open space. That is exactly what Waltham did in the fall of 2014 when its mayor and city council agreed to buy the former Fernald Development Center from the state. I bet most Belmont residents are at least passingly familiar with this property, tucked up in Waltham’s northeast corner between Trapelo and Waverley Oaks roads, less than a quarter-mile from the Belmont line. As a resident of Newton, I had never heard [READ MORE]

Share

Belmont’s Invasive Plants: Garlic Mustard

 Climate Change, Environment, Lone Tree Hill, March/April 2021, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants  Comments Off on Belmont’s Invasive Plants: Garlic Mustard
Mar 012021
 
Belmont's Invasive Plants: Garlic Mustard

By Jeffrey North Invasive plant species are disrupting ecosystems globally and here in Belmont. Biological invasions are a leading cause of biodiversity loss and even species extinction, and invasive plants are permanently altering the ecology of our forests, fields, and gardens. This article is the first in a series on invasive plant species found in Belmont and the implications of their presence, spread, and ecological damage potential, as well as hopes for their removal and remediation. Garlic mustard (Alliara petiolata) is changing the character of the woodlands in the Northeast. It can outcompete native herbaceous species, depriving the natives of [READ MORE]

Share

2021 Select Board Candidate Answers BCF Questions

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Board of Selectmen, Climate Change, Environment, March/April 2021, Newsletter, Open Space, Select Board, Sewers, Stormwater, Traffic, Transit, Water Quality  Comments Off on 2021 Select Board Candidate Answers BCF Questions
Mar 012021
 
2021 Select Board Candidate Answers BCF Questions

Each year, the Belmont Citizens Forum asks Select Board candidates questions about issues facing our town. This year, Mark Paolillo, who is running unopposed, provided answers. He was limited to 1,200 words. Describe your vision for preserving and enhancing Belmont’s quality of living, learning, working, and connecting. Preserving and enhancing Belmont’s quality of life must begin with making town finances stable and sustainable. This will require a more in-depth approach to long-term structural reform.  Belmont should consider the use of performance management budgeting which measures resource input against the resulting output of services for each department. That will help us [READ MORE]

Share

Committee Battles Invasives at Lone Tree Hill

 January 2021, McLean, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants  Comments Off on Committee Battles Invasives at Lone Tree Hill
Dec 302020
 
Committee Battles Invasives at Lone Tree Hill

By Jeffrey North On November 3, field technicians engaged by the Land Management Committee for Lone Tree Hill (LMC) and the Judy Record Conservation Fund began a multi-year campaign to restore select parcels of the Lone Tree Hill conservation land. This initial project focused on invasive plant removal at Area A1, where horticulturalists from Parterre Ecological Services began restoration of the shrub layer by hand-cutting the bittersweet vines that were smothering the largest trees and employing a forestry mower to cut down the buckthorn and multiflora rose. Lone Tree Hill—like public, private, and protected lands elsewhere—is gradually being overrun by [READ MORE]

Share

Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day Postponed

 Environment, Lone Tree Hill, May/June 2020, Newsletter, Open Space  Comments Off on Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day Postponed
May 032020
 
Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day Postponed

Belmont Citizens Forum’s Eighth Annual Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day in conjunction with the Judy Record Conservation Fund scheduled for April 24, 2020, at the Lone Tree Hill parcel has been postponed to the fall due to the current Coronavirus shelter in place order. A big shout out to the good Samaritans who picked up the trash at the bottom of Coal Road, along Pleasant Street and at the Mill Street parking lot. Later this year we plan to complete the planting of trees along the Pine Allee. THANK YOU TO OUR CORPORATE SPONSORS Gold Level Sponsors Anne Mahon Realty [READ MORE]

Share
 Newer Entries