Revegetation Project
Town of Arlington Conservation Commission
Friends of Spy Pond Park
2020-2024
The current round of work at Spy Pond Park started in 2021 with two primary goals. One goal is to secure the shoreline of Spy Pond to guard against erosion. As a start, a roll of coir fascine (organic matter wrapped in twine) was placed at the edge of the shore in 2019. It is to hold the shoreline in place. The coir fascine has a life of ten or so years and will disintegrate over time.
The other goal for the FSPP volunteers has been to work on clearing out invasive plants and replacing them with native plants. Invasive plants add very little to the local environment. They take over quickly and vie for nutrients that all plants need. They supply minimally nutritious seeds that wildlife depends on. Many of the native plants have been planted next to the coir fascine. We hope that their root systems will eventually extend into the coir fascine and secure the shoreline on their own.
By contrast to non-native plants, native plants support wildlife native to this area. It has taken native plants and animals millions of years to evolve to a system of mutual support — otherwise known as an ecosystem. Since 2021, the volunteers have planted fragrant sumac, winterberry red sprite, buttonbush, yarrow, viburnum dentatum (arrowwood), red-twig dogwood, bearberry, asters, chokeberry, and rosa virginiana.
Since 2021, we have planted 53 plants: 35 shrubs and 18 flowering plants. Not all have made it, but most have. We have learned that the flowering plants do not seem to have as much stamina to stand up to the elements as do the shrubs. Shrubs have woody stems that will make it through the winter and grow larger each year. Last year, we planted four rosa virginiana shrubs that are blooming now.
All plants, native and invasive, have grown precipitously this year because of heavy rains in April and May. On April 19, the Boston Globe reported "Over the last 30 days, Boston, Providence, and parts of coastal Maine have had 200% of the normal precipitation. This means that the amount of rainfall in those areas over the past 30 days is about double the average."
Spy Pond Park Shoreline Plantings 2021-2024
To those of you who are interested, we can always use help: contact us at fsppvolunteer@gmail.com.
Adrienne Landry
Friends of Spy Pond Park
Stewardship Team
July 2024