TheProject

During this past year the volunteers in the Fresh Pond Woodland Habitats continued to build on the successes we have accumulated over more than a decade of effort and observation. In my 2012 annual report I wrote that our goal in the newly created and named Woodland Habitat Restoration Project was, “…to create a healthy native woodland ecosystem that could sustain a variety of wildlife ranging from insects to birds and small mammals.” After twelve years of work, we have had a very visible impact. As is standard practice for any habitat restoration effort, we began the project by removing invasive and other non-native plants, mostly buckthorns, garlic mustard and mugwort that had displaced the natives. To our surprise, goldenrods, violets and asters quickly repopulated the newly available open spaces. We soon started planting, beginning with trees, then shrubs and, finally, perennials, observing which species did well and cultivating more of them. By the end of 2023 we had added thousands of new plants to the area. Our records indicate that we increased the number of native plant species from about 42 to about 180. [See table below.] During the growing season this year, the woods did, indeed, have the look of a healthy native woodland ecosystem.

We are also succeeding in attracting wildlife to the Habitat: Every year in spring we find American toads that have apparently traveled from the Lusitania wet meadow to find food in the leaf litter. During the growing season, rabbits get plenty to eat among the abundant plants such as violets that are resilient enough to not need protection. There are likely many small nocturnal animals that we never will see, including owls, flying squirrels, and small rodents. Birds are there: we see them flitting among the trees and foraging on the ground. But the trees and shrubs we planted, (including oaks, birches, maples, hickories and blueberries) are not yet big enough to support the hundreds of species of insect larvae that will eventually become high protein food for both adult and baby birds. The trees will someday also produce acorns, nuts and seeds that will sustain wildlife year-round. This is a project that will come to full fruition long after we are gone – if it continues to be managed and protected.

The summer of 2023 was unusually rainy, a welcome recovery from the previous year’s drought. Thus our team of volunteers were able to focus on planting, transplanting, mulching, and caging vulnerable plants rather than on watering.

For several years we have focused our plantings on ferns, especially marginal wood ferns (Dryopteris marginalis) which do well in these woods and are relatively unappetizing to hungry rabbits. A glade of wood ferns is a sign of a healthy New England woodland understory and can be strikingly beautiful. We plant all of our ferns with a generous application of the excellent leaf mulch that the Water Department workers collect for us every year in the fall. The ferns eventually will become well rooted enough that they no longer need watering even during droughts.

Herbivores (rabbits, deer, and, perhaps, voles and mice) remain a constant threat to many of our perennials, shrubs, and smaller trees. When green food is unavailable in winter, hungry rabbits will eat the bark at the base of woody plants, sometimes girdling and killing them. Most of our planted canopy trees have developed thick enough bark that they are safe from herbivory, but younger trees and almost all shrubs will remain vulnerable and in need of protection as long as rabbits and deer continue to be over-populated. As one volunteer wryly noted, “They will eat something!” This year, in addition to adding more and bigger cages where needed, we increased the application of biological animal repellents on plants we know to be especially at risk. The Water Department purchased a sprayer and liquid repellent which a staff member sprayed around the project area once a month. In addition, we used a hand sprayer to spread an even stronger repellent on individual plants that have been seriously damaged in the past, including Christmas ferns and mountain laurels. Spring will reveal whether this spraying experiment has been successful.

We are curious to learn more about “green mulch,” which recently has been praised as an improvement over human-applied bark or leaf mulch. Green mulch is really just a new name for living groundcovers. These low-growing plants provide all of the benefits of non-living mulch (moisture retention, temperature regulation, nutrient cycling) while sustaining themselves and improving soil structure. We looked over groundcovers that are already established in the woods and found wild strawberries, northern dewberries, common cinquefoil, wild yellow and blue violets and wild ginger to be good candidates for the job. Several of our volunteers made a project of dividing and transplanting these species into areas where the ground had been bare. We then used our trusted leaf mold as a soil amendment to help the plants get established. Spring will also reveal whether this experiment has been successful.

On Tuesday, December 11, after working in the Habitat for several hours in the morning, we gathered in our simple tree-stump circle to share Dunkin’ Munchkins and hot chocolate and celebrate the end of another successful year of stewardship, friendship, and appreciation of this unique place.

Elizabeth Wylde

January 11, 2024