Belmont Citizens Forum

What is a CISMA, and Why Do We Need One?

Environment, July-August 2022, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants Comments Off

Jun 202022

What is a CISMA, and Why Do We Need One?

By Jeffrey North New York state has eight very large ones. Oregon has 10. Michigan has more than 20 (required by law for every county). The number of Comprehensive Invasive Species Management Associations (CISMAs) across the country is approaching 400. Massachusetts has one. But that number is likely to increase. With the likely passage of the invasive species bill (H4595), financial and administrative resources will be available for CISMAs and a host of other programs, plans, and projects for controlling invasive plants. The bill would establish an invasive species trust fund. A statewide invasive species coordinator would be appointed, along [READ MORE]

Belmont’s Invasive Species: Black Swallowwort

Environment, July-August 2022, Newsletter, Plants Comments Off

Jun 202022

Belmont’s Invasive Species: Black Swallowwort

By Jeffrey North Black swallowwort is a killer. Monarch butterflies mistake the plant for native common milkweed, and lay their eggs in the non-native invader, where the larvae die. Besides threatening the population of migrating monarch butterflies, it is toxic to mammals, and by crowding out food for wildlife, worsens wildlife habitat. Vincetoxicum nigrum, also known as Louise’s swallowwort or black dog-strangling vine, is a species of plant native to Europe and found primarily in Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain. Black swallowwort was probably introduced to North America as an ornamental plant in the 1800s. The first sighting of Vincetoxicum [READ MORE]

Restoration Resumes on Lone Tree Hill

Environment, July-August 2022, Lone Tree Hill, Newsletter, Open Space Comments Off

Jun 202022

By Jeffrey North A crew of field horticulture technicians returned to the Lone Tree Hill conservation area for their first visit in 2022 on May 20. Begun in late 2020, the work to enhance the ecological integrity of Belmont’s 80-acre conservation land site addresses the most egregious infestations of biodiversity-erasing invasive plant species. (See Restoration Projects Approved for Lone Tree Hill, BCF Newsletter, May 2021) The mission this time was to cut or pull and spray garlic mustard in bloom. As garlic mustard is one of the first plants to start actively growing in late March, leaves can be sprayed [READ MORE]

Mass Central Rail Trail Continues Expansion

Newsletter Comments Off

Jun 202022

Mass Central Rail Trail Continues Expansion

By John Dieckmann Progress continues on the Wayside section of the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) from I-495 to Boston. Two paved segments were recently completed: five miles, from the Waltham-Weston town line to Route 20 in Wayland at Russell’s Garden Center, and approximately three miles from Brighton Street in Belmont to Lowell Street in Somerville. In addition, two major segments are under construction. The Somerville-Cambridge section being constructed along with the Green Line Extension will open in late summer and will complete the MCRT from Brighton Street to Boston in the vicinity of the TD Garden. Construction has [READ MORE]

Could the Community Path Host a Solar Array?

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, July-August 2022, Newsletter, Parking, Solar Power Comments Off

Jun 202022

Could the Community Path Host a Solar Array?

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. Additional material—including calculations of how much energy could be generated—is available in the full version . Below is the version which appeared in the print newsletter. – Ed. The imminent arrival of the Belmont Community Path prompts the question: what other productive uses might be devised for the Fitchburg Line corridor? One possibility is siting a south-facing solar photovoltaic (PV) array along the tracks. Conditions for a PV array Aspects of path layout relevant to design of a PV array include length, orientation to the sun, and the presence of a substrate to which PV panels can [READ MORE]

Do We Need a New High School Parking Lot?

July-August 2022, Newsletter, Parking Comments Off

Jun 202022

Do We Need a New High School Parking Lot?

By Anne Paulsen Belmont is a small town and space is limited. Land use planning is key to maintaining a town that is walkable and bikeable with shopping, services, recreation, educational opportunities, and open space close at hand. The key is how to make the best use of this limited space. The town is now planning the completion of the high and middle schools, and plans are underway for a new skating rink and library. Parking is a big part of the plans. For the last 50 years, off-street surface parking in the area west of Harris Field has been [READ MORE]

Belmont Hill School Plans To Pave Woodlands

Construction and Housing, Environment, July-August 2022 Comments Off

Jun 202022

Belmont Hill School Plans To Pave Woodlands

By Justin Roe Belmont Hill School has always held itself out to be a good neighbor and a responsible member of our community. The Belmont Hill School Sustainability Club is proud to be “Mindful of the rising importance of promoting environmentally sustainable practices and environmental stewardship in our world today and in the future . . . to reduce our school’s impact on the environment and educate faculty and students alike about environmental issues in areas such as energy consumption, waste disposal, and climate change.” These are inspiring words. Nevertheless, Belmont Hill School has recently revealed plans to pave over [READ MORE]

July/August 2022 Newsletter

July-August 2022, Newsletter Comments Off

Jun 202022

Read the July/August 2022 BCF Newsletter In this issue: Belmont Hill School Plans To Pave Woodlands Belmont Hill School has recently revealed plans to pave over a large section of existing woodland to build a new campus site across Prospect Street from their current campus. Read more. Do We Need a New High School Parking Lot? The town is now planning the completion of the high and middle schools, and plans are underway for a new skating rink and library. For the last 50 years, off-street surface parking in the area west of Harris Field has been limited, but the [READ MORE]

Belmont Path Solar Array – Full Version

July-August 2022, Newsletter, Solar Power Comments Off

Jun 202022

Electrifying Belmont: Could the Community Path Anchor a PV Solar Array? By Vincent Stanton, Jr. A condensed version of this article appeared in the July//August 2022 BCF Newsletter – Ed. The settlement of Belmont was shaped by the opening of the Fitchburg Railroad in 1843. Today, 179 years later, the Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line, now owned by the MBTA, would be recognizable to a Belmont resident of 1843. Though the 19th-century stations are gone, and at-grade crossings in Belmont Center and Waverley Square were replaced in 1907 and 1952 by a bridge and a trench, respectively, the basic infrastructure (steel [READ MORE]

Belmont Farmers’ Market Opens June 2

May/June 2022, Newsletter Comments Off

May 082022

The Belmont Farmers’ Market 17th season opens on Thursday, June 2, and will be operating on Thursdays from 2 to 6:30 PM in the Belmont Center municipal parking lot. Opening day will feature information about food assistance programs available statewide and through programs offered in Belmont and at the market. Find out about SNAP (formerly food stamps), HIP (free produce for SNAP recipients), and the Farmers Market Nutrition Program (free produce for seniors and WIC families). The market doubles SNAP funds; note that the number of SNAP households in Belmont increased by almost 50% between 2019 and 2021. You can [READ MORE]

How Can We Control Urban Rats?

Environment, May/June 2022 Comments Off

May 082022

By Fred Bouchard Plague-ridden Saxony hired the legendary Pied Piper to toot rats out of Hamelin. Other age-old tactics—trapping, shooting, pan-banging—raise fresh collateral issues in densely populated areas, in addition to mess and noise. Chicago in recent years resorted to sniper stealth by siccing 1,000 neutered feral cats on its record rat population. Passive approaches to rat control yield slow results, as city-centric man confronts Rattus norvegicus, the world’s most populous and prolific urban mammal. Rat fertility is gaining ground as shorter, warmer winters encourage them to squeeze out an extra litter or three a year. Exterminators concur that the [READ MORE]

Miyawaki Forest Boosts Biodiversity, Resilience

Climate Change, Environment, May/June 2022, Newsletter, Plants Comments Off

May 082022

Miyawaki Forest Boosts Biodiversity, Resilience

By Maya Dutta The first Miyawaki forest in the northeast United States was planted in Cambridge’s Danehy Park last September. Miyawaki forests are dense, biodiverse pocket forests that aim to recreate the symbiotic relationships between diverse life forms that make a natural forest so resilient. By densely planting a diverse array of native species, Miyawaki forests encourage nutrient exchange between the plants and with fungal and microbial life in the soil, resulting in fast-growing forests with high survival rates. Benefits of Miyawaki forests The Miyawaki method offers a vision of not just planting trees to raise their sheer number, but [READ MORE]

Virginia “Ginny” Jordan

May/June 2022, Newsletter, Volunteer Comments Off

May 082022

Virginia “Ginny” Sara Jordan died on March 28, 2022. Ginny was a woman of many accomplishments. She was a Phi Beta Kappa Radcliffe graduate with a master’s in applied math, and a programmer and tech expert who held instrumental roles at EG&G, NEC, and Polaroid. She was a long-time Belmont Town Meeting member, and she rallied her neighbors to found the nonprofit Friends of the Benton Library, which now operates the facility and is supported entirely by donations. But here at the Belmont Citizens Forum, we remember Ginny because she served on the BCF Newsletter Committee. Ginny was a painstaking, [READ MORE]

Belmont Community Path Costs Explained

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, May/June 2022, Newsletter Comments Off

May 082022

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. The Belmont Community Path is approaching an important milestone—a potential construction funding decision by the Boston region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). Although municipalities, including Belmont, are responsible for funding path design and for securing the path right of way, state and federal governments fully fund path construction via the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Construction costs are generally about 85% of total project costs. TIP funds are allocated to cities and towns in the greater Boston area via a competitive process administered by the Boston MPO, which receives about 80% of its budget from the federal highway [READ MORE]

New Director Discusses Habitat’s Future

Climate Change, Environment, May/June 2022, Newsletter, Open Space Comments Off

May 052022

By Jeffrey North This interview has been edited for length and clarity. BCF Congratulations on your December appointment to the role of regional director for Metro West. We understand you will have oversight of the Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary in Belmont, as well as the wildlife sanctuaries Broadmoor in Natick, Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, and Waseeka in Hopkinton. You’ve been in nonprofit management and some notable education roles. Your background includes teaching, starting a 6–12 grade school, leading a graduate school, strategy and organization design consulting with nonprofit organizations, and studying communities’ shared sense of direction. Can you [READ MORE]

Belmont Moves on Decarbonization Roadmap

Climate Change, May/June 2022, Newsletter, Solar Power, Transit Comments Off

May 052022

Belmont Moves on Decarbonization Roadmap

By Marty Bitner and James Booth In 2009, Belmont’s Town Meeting committed to reducing Belmont’s emissions of the greenhouse gasses that drive dangerous climate change. In 2019, the Belmont Energy Committee put forward the Belmont Climate Action Roadmap for achieving our town’s greenhouse gas reduction goal. The general framework laid out a two-part strategy that was strongly endorsed by a vote of Town Meeting in May 2019: Electrify everything! (adopt electric vehicles and transition to heating with electric heat pumps) Move Belmont’s electricity supply to renewable sources How are we doing with moving forward on this strategy? Vehicles We analyzed [READ MORE]

Belmont’s Watersheds Cross Many Boundaries

Environment, May/June 2022, Newsletter, Sewers, Water Quality Comments Off

May 052022

Belmont’s Watersheds Cross Many Boundaries

By Anne-Marie Lambert Here in Belmont, we live on the edge of two large watersheds—the Mystic River watershed and the Charles River watershed. Understanding our role in these watersheds is more important than ever as storms in the Northeast grow more intense and more frequent, and as the rise in Atlantic Ocean sea levels starts to affect the underground water table. The lack of alignment between our political maps and the topography of our watersheds can make it tricky to understand Belmont’s role. In the flat low-lying areas of town where there isn’t much gradient, waters flow in directions that [READ MORE]

Lone Tree Hill Volunteers Clean, Weed, Plant

Environment, Lone Tree Hill, May/June 2022, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants Comments Off

May 052022

Lone Tree Hill Volunteers Clean, Weed, Plant

By Radha Iyengar On Saturday, April 30, a sunny but cool day, BCF, in conjunction with the Judy Record Conservation Fund, held its eighth annual Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day. At the Pine Allee, volunteers planted 46 white pine saplings of which 40 saplings were store bought and 6 were transplants from Lone Tree Hill. The new plants replaced some of the Allee’s missing trees as well as some of the dead saplings from the 2017-2019 volunteer day plantings. At the other end of the property, the volunteers collected 11 bags of trash, one box of recyclables and six bags [READ MORE]

Belmont Needs More Affordable Housing

Construction and Housing, May/June 2022, Newsletter Comments Off

May 052022

By Tomi Olson and Rachel Heller Belmont has great schools, restaurants, and local businesses and is located near job centers in Boston, Cambridge, and the MetroWest area. The Boston area’s burgeoning life sciences industry alone is projected to create up to 40,000 new jobs by 2024, but our region’s economic engine is hampered by a lack of housing near jobs—and Belmont’s limited housing supply is part of that problem. Population growth, together with housing production that hasn’t kept pace, has made housing shortages in appealing parts of the country like ours front-page news. Our region builds much less housing every [READ MORE]

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