Friends of Arlington's Great Meadows

Friends of Arlington's Great Meadows - FoAGM

Little Blue Heron at Infinity Pond - 5/28/12

Current Events

Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea A rare nester in Massachusetts, the Little Blue Heron's numbers generally reach a peak in coastal marshes in late summer when birds from farther south augment the population. Its breeding sites in Massachusetts are very restricted.

Meadow Volunteers Wanted
Do you love Arlington’s Great Meadows and do you have at least a few hours to help it thrive? FoAGM is looking for people who could volunteer 2 hours a month on the upland meadow restoration project from now until November. You can work on your own after a brief training or we could make some dates to work together. The task will include pulling staghorn sumac, cutting grey birch sprouts, and pulling or cutting honeysuckle. This should keep some of the most prolific shrubs and invasive plants at bay and give the native seeds that we have planted a chance to grow. Contact Sandra Ruggiero 617 365-2034

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.

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.

Recent Activities

Winter Nature Walk - Saturday February 25 at 10 am.
On Sat. Feb. 25 at 10 a.m. Fran Ludwig and Sandra Ruggiero will lead a walk in Arlington’s Great Meadows to explore nature in winter. We will look for animal tracks and sign down by the stream and the vernal pools, examine some twigs to try to identify trees in winter, and explore what will soon emerge from the buds.
Please meet us in the back parking lot of the Golden Living Center on Emerson Gardens. Dress appropriately for the weather. Children are welcome with adults. Questions contact Sandra at 781 863-5385 or Sandra.ruggiero@comcast.net

Events of Previous Years

Upland Meadow Restoration
     A proposal to restore upland meadow areas in Arlington’s Great Meadows was presented at a public meeting on the evening of July 14th of 2009.
        The Mass Audubon report is entitled “Recommendations for Restoration of Meadows Habitat at Arlington’s Great Meadows, Final Report, May 14, 2009”. Copies can be found here on the website.

Fire at AGM on Friday April 17, 2009
There was an extensive fire in AGM on the afternoon of April 17. Although the fire was mostly confined to the lower wetland areas, some upland areas especially in the northeast near Shelia Road were also damaged. Approximately 100 acres of a total of 183 acres were affected. Regrowth in the wetland areas is likely to be very rapid. Here is a map (2MB PDF) showing the general extent of the fire, although the burned areas were somewhat patchy even the the central meadow area, perhaps related to water levels. The fire was almost certainly of human origin, but there is no information about whether it was accidental or intentional. We also have a photo page of some after fire pictures. We welcome any photos of the fire that you might have to share. The wetland area is recovering quite rapidly after the fire although the situation is more mixed in the upland areas. More photos to come soon.

Fire at AGM on April 23 in 2008
Nine acres of upland forest near the nursing home were scorched by a fire on April 23. Read the Lexington Minuteman article: http://www.wickedlocal.com/lexington/news/x1041578027

FoAGM Contact Information:

To join the FoAGM email list, all you need to do is click on this link to send an email to FoAGM-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. You will then receive news and updates about our events, including weather-related cancellations and reschedulings. This is a very low volume moderated list, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
You can also visit our internet discussion group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FoAGM/

Email Contacts:
Mike Tabaczynski at mjt1@rcn.com (Lexington).
Donald Miller at donaldbmiller@comcast.net .
Webmanager at info@FoAGM.org

General Resource Information

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 here on this web site.

About Arlington's Great Meadows (AGM)

About the Friends of AGM

Annual Reports (since 2003)

FoAGM By-Laws (8/30/12)