Friends of Arlington's Great Meadows

Friends of Arlington's Great Meadows - FoAGM

First Signs of Spring Color Come to AGM - 4/17/08

Coming Events

Saturday, April 19; 9:30am to Noon: “Signs of Spring at AGM”
Come join us as we look for signs of spring in Arlington’s Great Meadows. We’ll look especially at plants and what they are doing to get ready for their favorite time of the year. We’ll see lots of buds that are opening and identify many species of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. We’ll learn what twigs have to tell us, if we know how to “read” them.

Saturday, May 17; 9:30am to Noon: “Signs of Spring, Part Two”
Join us to see how our plants have changed by the middle of May. Most leaves will have emerged from their buds and be soaking up the sun, so we’ll identify many plants by their leaves, and some by their flowers. We’ll look at dry upland areas and lower wetland areas.

For both Spring events, Don Miller of FoAGM will be the leader, and he hopes some other nature enthusiasts will come and share their knowledge, too. Adults and teens are welcome, as are children accompanied by their parents.

Location: Both events will meet in the parking lot of the Golden LivingCenter-Lexington. From Maple Street, turn onto Emerson Gardens Road and follow it to the end. Enter the facility’s driveway (slowly, please) and continue around to the right, keeping the building on your left. Proceed to the far end of the parking lot. For information contact donaldbmiller@comcast.net

Fire at AGM on April 23
Read the Lexington Minuteman article: http://www.wickedlocal.com/lexington/news/x1041578027

Photographs of Arlington’s Great Meadows by Harvey Coté.
Arlington Town Hall, 730 Massachusetts Avenue, second floor gallery.
April 7 through June 30, 2008. Hours: MW 8am – 4pm, Th 8am – 7pm, F 8am – noon.

Wednesday, May 14, 7:30 pm - Steering Committee Meeting
In East Lexington at the Waldorf School. Planning for our upcoming activities. Anyone interested in helping is welcome. Contact David White at dwhite@gilbertwhite.com or 781-641-2879 for more information.

New England Wildflower Society Walk - May 21
Leader: Roland "Boot" Boutwell. Contact NEWFS to register.
http://www.newfs.org/learn/catalog/fdt1087

FoAGM Annual Report for 2007
A lot of things happened at AGM in 2007. Read all about them in the FoAGM Annual Report - version options: PDF

Spring, Summer & Fall - Japanese Knotweed Control Project
Friends of Arlington's Great Meadows are continuing efforts to control the invasive Japanese Knotweed along the bikeway to provide a more diverse habitat and re-open the view of the meadows. For information on how to help out contact Don Miller at donaldbmiller@comcast.net See the Knotweed Project page for more news and info.

For further information on all walks, contact Andrea Golden at (781-646-3941).

Also visit the Citizens for Lexington Conservation website for other walks in the Lexington/Arlington/Winchester area.

Join our email list to receive up to the minute announcements.

Mission Statement

The Friends of Arlington's Great Meadows are committed to the protection and stewardship of this valuable natural landscape with the participation of members and town officials of the communities of Arlington, Lexington and the surrounding region.

Plans and Goals: Education, Resources, Legal.

Recent Activities

Friday, March 21, 7 to 8 pm - Woodcocks at the Meadows
Join the Friends of Arlington Great Meadows for a woodcock walk. Nearly invisible for most of the year, this wonderful bird and its courtship dance are one of the joys of spring. Spring peepers, other frogs, toads and snipe might also be heard. Binoculars, scopes, a flashlight and a portable beach chair would be useful. Dress warmly and be prepared for wet ground.
Meet promptly in the south (right side) parking lot behind the Golden Living Center, off Bryant Street. Andrea Golden leader. Rain Date - Friday March 28.

Photographic Essay of the October 20, 2007 Nature Walk
Even if you weren't there you can catch some of the highlights of this walk in our graphic report.

Events of Previous Years

FoAGM Contact Information:

Visit our discussion group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FoAGM/
To join, send an email to FoAGM-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Mike Tabaczynski at mjt1@rcn.com (Lexington).

Andrea Golden at andgold@comcast.net or 781-646-3941 (Arlington).

Webmanager at dwhite@gilbertwhite.com

The Boston Globe ran an article about our planned activities in December 2002.

The Arlington Advocate ran an article about the kickoff meeting.

We also have a FoAGM Info Sheet suitable for printing and photocopying.

About Arlington's Great Meadows

Arlington's Great Meadows is a 183-acre parcel of land located in east Lexington. It is the largest piece of undeveloped land in the Arlington/Lexington area. It is part of the Mystic River watershed. Once a glacial lake, it is now a wet meadow surrounded by uplands created by glacial outwash. Great Meadows was purchased by Arlington in 1871 to serve as a supplementary water storage area, but was only briefly used for that purpose. However, it remains a valuable buffer against flooding in the area.

Arlington's Great Meadows has long served as public open space and is a popular recreational spot, particularly since the opening of the Minuteman Bikeway on its southern border. It also provides a home for local wildlife. To date, 56 species of birds have been found nesting in Great Meadows, 12 species of amphibians and reptiles live there, and 251 species of plants grow in the wet meadow and uplands. Last summer's Biodiversity Days survey of the area recorded nearly 400 species of plants and animals in the Great Meadows area.

Because it is situated between two schools, the Waldorf School of Lexington and Lexington Christian Academy, Arlington's Great Meadows is a valuable resource for teaching children about nature and the environment. The Citizens for Lexington Conservation organizes annual bird watching and geology walks in the Meadows.

For more information about Arlington's Great Meadows

A Natural Resource Inventory and Stewardship Plan commissioned by Arlington's Conservation Commission, was completed in 2001 by Frances Clark of Carex Associates. Copies are available at the Arlington and Lexington Public libraries. It is available online at: www.FoAGM.org\AGM_Inventory\concomGM1001.htm

A bird survey of the Great Meadows written by John Andrews and published in 1991. It is available as a 2 MB PDF file - 1991 Bird Survey

Several Citizens for Lexington Conservation publications on the Great Meadows are available in PDF format. The primary one is Guide to The Great Meadows: A Walking Tour, it is a 10 page illustrated guide including a map and historical background of the area. Also available is a Checklist of the Birds of Great Meadows and a Reptiles and Amphibians Report. These and other publications are also available online at the CLC website: http://www.lexingtonma.org/clc/pdfFiles.htm