Friends of Arlington's Great Meadows

Friends of Arlington's Great Meadows - FoAGM

Waldorf School Seventh Graders and Friends - 9/19/11

Current Events

Trail Clearing at Arlington's Great Meadows - Friday Nov 11
It turned out to be a beautiful day Friday, November 11, 2011 and nine of us met at Arlington Great Meadows from 10am to noon. We cut, sawed and hauled brush to clear and widen paths. A huge thank you to everyone who helped out. Look at all the smiles! We hope to see you again at other FoAGM events.

Nature Walk Saturday October 15
     On Saturday, October 15th, there was a nature walk at Arlington's Great Meadows led by Don Miller of the Friends of AGM.
      Many trees and other plants were be in their beautiful fall colors. The view of the wetland from Lily Pond Boardwalk will be worth the whole walk. And we'll see the newly-restored upland meadow known as "Entry Meadow", a major project of the past year.
     We’ll see how plants are getting ready for winter, and how woody plants have gotten a head start on what they need to do next spring. And we'll talk about tree bark -- what it does for trees and how it can help us to identify tree species when there are no leaves to guide us.
     A few “late bloomers” will be still in flower, but most plants have gone to seed by now. We’ll learn how plants have evolved at least four strategies to spread their seeds far and wide.
     As always, we will keep our eyes and ears open for birds, insects, animals and any other aspects of nature we encounter. If you have binoculars or a hand lens, do bring them.
     There is no charge for this event, which is sponsored by the Friends of Arlington’s Great Meadows. We suggest long pants, a hat for the sun, and a bottle of water. We’ll have insect repellant with deet if you’d like some.

Trail Clearing September 19
     The Waldorf School seventh graders assisted by our steering committee members Sandra Ruggiero and Don Miller cleared the trail along the Lily Pond boardwalk on Monday 9/19. Thanks to all who helped out.

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 6 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.
Training dates are: Tuesday, July 12 at 6:30 pm and Saturday, July 16 at 9 am
Contact Sandra Ruggiero 617 365-2034

Firewood Benefit for Arlington's Great Meadows
Have you benefited from Arlington’s Great Meadows? Walked the paths and boardwalks? Enjoyed the fresh air, woodlands and open meadows? Now enjoy an additional benefit that will also help benefit this great space. Since our meadow restoration work in October 2009, we have been diligently cleaning up the cleared trees and brush. In January of 2010 the slash was burned.
As part of the cleanup, we have salvaged and cut a considerable amount of good, useable firewood. We are now offering this firewood to users and other friends of the Meadows to help benefit the Meadows and our continuing work. For a tax-deductible contribution to FoAGM of just $25, we invite you to take home a trunk load of firewood. The wood is primarily cherry, aspen, white birch and grey birch and medium in size. For further details and to arrange pickup, contact John Bartenstein by email at jcblex@verizon.net .

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.

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Recent Activities

Walk at Arlington's Great Meadow - Saturday, June 11
Discover the wonderful tract of land, owned by Arlington but located in Lexington. Trails may be wet in places but waterproof boots are not required. Co-sponsored with Citizens for Lexington Conservation. Meet at the parking lot of the Waldorf School. 8:00-10:30AM. Chris Floyd.

Meadow Area Reseeding - May 4
As part of the upland meadow restoration efforts, a portion of the area that was a honeysuckle thicket was raked out and reseeded. The working group lead by John Bartenstein and Sarah Carrier met at 9:00 this morning with Sandra Ruggiero and twelve or so of her Waldorf High School students. After a short orientation, they spent about an hour and a half raking up sticks and leaves and digging out as much of the honeysuckle stumps, roots and other woody vegetation as feasible. They then raked up the soil with garden rakes to loosen it and a crew of students simultaneously spread the charcoal from the burned area. The students then sowed the seed mixes (mixed with light sand) as directed by Sarah, and finally we raked in the seed lightly.
The restoration area has been staked and circled with twine. A sign has been installed explaining what was done and asking people (and their dogs) to keep off.

Brush Burn at Arlington's Great Meadows - Saturday April 2
     On Saturday, April 2, ten to fifteen sturdy volunteers turned out to burn the piles of slash that remained from our meadow-clearing workday in October. We had hoped to do this burn earlier in the year but were unable to do so because of the deep snow. The day was organized into two shifts, one from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the second from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
     We began the day with an inch or two of fresh snow on the ground, but with a warm breeze most of the snow had melted by day’s end. Thanks to the hard work of the morning crew, as well as that of three or four “walk-ons” who also pitched in, we had most of the dozen or so piles of slash burned by the time the afternoon crew arrived. The afternoon crew made short work of the remaining piles, and we then tended down the fire for several hours until it finally had to be doused.
     Thanks to all the volunteers, particularly the two or three who stayed until well past 5 p.m. carrying many buckets of water to make sure the fire was thoroughly extinguished.

Woodcocks at Arlington's Great Meadow - Wednesday, April 6
The Menotomy Bird Club (http://www.mrines.com/menotomy/Trips.htm) is sponsoring a woodcock walk (or sit and listen) at Arlington's Great Meadow. Hard to find or see most of the year, this strange-looking bird and its courtship dance is one of the joys of spring. Moist forests and meadows are the usual habitat of the woodcock. Spring peepers, wood frogs, and even winnowing snipe may also be heard. The ground can be damp and cold, so dress warmly with appropriate footwear. Bring a flashlight, something to sit on, and your binoculars. Meet at the Sheila Road entrance to the Great Meadow. 7:00pm Cedar Stanistreet.

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 (6/1/11)