Environment – Page 2 – Belmont Citizens Forum

Waltham Field Station Update

Environment, Newsletter, November/December 2023 Comments Off

Nov 012023

Waltham Field Station Update By John Dieckmann The Waltham Fields Community Farm (WFCF) has been attempting to negotiate a lease for the continued use of the acreage at the former U Mass Field Station on Beaver Street. The Waltham City Council approved the lease on June 26. However, the conditions in the lease would have left the WCFC in a financially unsustainable condition, so WFCF is attempting to negotiate better terms. Unfortunately, there has been no movement from the city in response, leaving matters in limbo. Meanwhile, WFCF has been operating its programs at a reduced scale. Stacey Daley, the [READ MORE]

Residents Restore Royal Road Woods Ecosystem

Environment, Newsletter, November/December 2023, Plants Comments Off

Nov 012023

Residents Restore Royal Road Woods Ecosystem

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. and Pamela Andrews Belmont Conservation Volunteers (BCV) formed earlier this year to work on “restoring our natural spaces for everyone to enjoy.” Volunteer efforts have focused on reining in the extensive and expanding invasive species displacing native plants which support local insects, birds, and mammals. The BCV emerged from pioneering volunteer work by Leonard Katz on Lone Tree Hill. (See “Spare a Thought for Lone Tree Hill”, BCF Newsletter, September 2022.) To expand that work to town-owned land, Katz and Sustainable Belmont leader Dean Hickman obtained permission from both the Select Board and, because many of [READ MORE]

Stewards Keep Ogilby Farm Traditions

Environment, Historic Preservation, History, Newsletter, Plants, September/October 2023 Comments Off

Sep 012023

By Judith Feinleib Henry Ogilby thinks of himself, his siblings, and Mike and Hermik Chase as stewards of the last remaining farmland in Belmont, part of the Richardson Farm Historical District. They are stewards in the classical sense of the term—people whose code of ethics requires them to engage in responsible planning and management of resources. In this case, these resources are the land and houses that have been in the Ogilby family since the 17th century. For the last 11 years, the Chases have cultivated the land of Belmont Acres Farm where they grow and sell vegetables and keep [READ MORE]

Lone Tree Hill Goes Native with Plantings

Environment, Lone Tree Hill, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants, September/October 2023 Comments Off

Sep 012023

Lone Tree Hill Goes Native with Plantings

By Jeffrey North On Earth Day 2023 (April 22), the Belmont Citizens Forum (BCF), in conjunction with the Judy Record Conservation Fund, held its ninth annual Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day. (See “Volunteers Plant, Clean Up Lone Tree Hill,” BCF Newsletter, May/June 2023, for more information). Several dozen volunteers rolled up their sleeves, and gardening trowels in hand, planted 350 plugs of young native plants in the Great Meadow and reclaimed meadow areas of Belmont’s Lone Tree Hill Conservation Land in addition to planting 40 white pine saplings to replace the mature pines gradually lost to age and weather. The [READ MORE]

Letter to the Editor: Airplane Noise

Environment, July/August 2023, Newsletter Comments Off

Jun 302023

To the Editor, Regarding your feature piece in the May/June issue [“Why is There So Much Plane Noise Over Belmont?” BCF Newsletter, May/June 2023], it is good to see attention to the issue. However, the author decided to use valuable print largely to explain simply what is, and not the effects, other than “disturbing” or “too much” noise. Imagine if all that ink was used for describing epidemiological evidence that points to negative health outcomes, instead of rote retelling of recent events and history, easily conveyed with a link or two. People end up in hospitals more often as a [READ MORE]

Local Activists Testify to Limit Rat Poisons

Environment, July/August 2023, Newsletter Comments Off

Jun 302023

Local Activists Testify to Limit Rat Poisons

By Allison V. Lenk The morning we arrived to rally in front of the State House, we noticed two hawks circling the Boston Common. People excitedly pointed out when one of the hawks landed on the weathervane atop the Golden Dome of the State House. We optimistically decided it was a sign that the day’s testimony would make a positive difference in the cause to limit the use of second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) which not only kill their intended target, but also sicken or kill birds of prey, other wildlife, pets, and even threaten the health of children. (See [READ MORE]

Do We Underestimate Bees?

Environment, July/August 2023, Newsletter Comments Off

Jun 302023

By Fred Bouchard Sit in your backyard by the flowers and watch the bees go about their busy business. Notice their different sizes, colors, and flight patterns. Chubby, buzzy bumble bees—yellow-striped, black-bottomed—cram into white roses. Slender, darting honeybees—tawny orange, pinstriped—slip in and out of pink weigela. (Smaller, faster bees have eluded my view, for now.) Are these garden denizens simply honey-gathering, pollen-spreading automatons? Not so, says author Stephen Buchmann in What a Bee Knows: “Watch closer: she may be using olfactory tools to give her a 3-D map of her surroundings. She may gather information from the movements of other [READ MORE]

Profiles in Belmont: Dean Hickman

Environment, July/August 2023, Newsletter, Recycling Comments Off

Jun 302023

By Elissa Ely Before he became chair of Sustainable Belmont, before the PhD in pharmacogenetics, before moving to the United States, certainly before any awareness of the environmental needs of a Massachusetts town next to Cambridge, Dean Hickman was picking up litter. “Have been picking up trash anywhere I go since I could walk,” his Instagram says. Growing up in farm country west of London, traveling the footpath systems, Dean took the “Keep Britain Tidy” campaign of the 1960s to heart. Many decades later, on a late rainy afternoon when he could have been enjoying a mug of tea, we [READ MORE]

How to Get Your Garden Through Summer Heat

Environment, July/August 2023, Newsletter, Plants Comments Off

Jun 302023

How to Get Your Garden Through Summer Heat

By Sarah Wang, Kim DeAndrade, and Jean Devine By this point in the summer, your water barrels may be dry and you may be devoting inordinate amounts of time (and money) to watering. No matter how much you water, it cannot compare to real rain. Here are some tips to help with drought: Mulch! Besides retaining moisture, mulch will feed the soil and keep down the weeds. Avoid dyed mulch. It is unregulated and may contain shredded construction wood waste and pressure-treated wood. And, it won’t do much to feed the soil. If you buy mulch, consider compost and [READ MORE]

Belmont Will Phase Out Gas Leaf Blowers

Air Quality, Environment, July/August 2023, Newsletter, Plants Comments Off

Jun 302023

By Marina (Goreau) Atlas and Karen Cady-Pereira In recent years, Belmont residents have become acutely aware of the roar, fumes, and particulate dust emitted from two-stroke gas-powered leaf blowers. A new town policy will soon change the use of gas-powered leaf blowers that emit cancer-causing particulates, send out winds that can exceed Category 5 hurricanes, and stir up everything from road dust to pollen to particles left behind from Muffin and Fido’s morning walk. This policy is an important step to improve our relationship with lawns and encourage healthy landscapes that enhance our quality of life. From May 15 to [READ MORE]

Let Your Hidden Native Plant Garden Emerge

Environment, May/June 2023, Plants Comments Off

Apr 262023

Let Your Hidden Native Plant Garden Emerge

By Heather Pruiksma Spring has sprung, and gardeners everywhere are itching to get their hands into the soil and among the roots. At Grow Native Massachusetts, we encourage including more native plants in your gardens, which can be less work than it might seem — if you’re willing to be a little patient. Native plants are plants that have been growing in a particular habitat and region, typically for thousands of years or much longer. Also called indigenous, they are well adapted to the climate, light, and soil conditions that characterize their ecosystem. Within this system, they have evolved important relationships [READ MORE]

Invasive Plants Can Harm Local Birds

Environment, May/June 2023, Newsletter, Plants Comments Off

Apr 262023

By Meg Muckenhoupt May is the peak of spring migration season in Massachusetts, and thousands of birds are landing in Belmont. (You can even get radar reports on which birds are arriving overnight on birdcast.info.) But what will these birds do when they get here? Will they find the resources they need to survive, raise young, and embark on fall migrations next September? The answer may depend on what’s growing around Belmont—and a lot of what’s growing around Belmont is invasive plants. Plants change birds’ lives North American birds evolved with native plants. Most bird-lovers know that different types of [READ MORE]

EPA Pushes for Alewife Sewage Cleanup

Environment, May/June 2023, Newsletter, Sewers, Stormwater, Water Quality Comments Off

Apr 262023

By Kristin Anderson and David White We are at an important point in the history of the Alewife Brook. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and the cities of Cambridge and Somerville are preparing a new long-term sewage control plan for the Alewife Brook/Upper Mystic River Watershed. Climate change, with its wetter rainy season, more intense storms, and sea level rise, is expected to result in more hazardous Alewife Brook sewage pollution and more flooding in the area. During some storms, the Alewife Brook floods into the houses, parks, and yards of area residents in environmental justice communities. Because of [READ MORE]

Profiles in Belmont: Jean Devine

Environment, March/April 2023, Newsletter Comments Off

Mar 012023

By Elissa Ely There were woods behind Jean Devine’s house growing up in Manchester, New Hampshire. As a child, she liked pressing leaves and hated wearing socks; her mother would send her outside on ‘safaris’ with apple slices, the family dog trailing behind. She was always late to school. Jean was unafraid of bugs and fascinated by Daddy Longlegs. Woods and spiders did not turn her into the environmental educator, native-plant coach, and landscaper she eventually became, but they were her introduction to nature. Her mother belonged to the Garden Club in an era when plots were visually beautiful, organized [READ MORE]

Join New Belmont Group Protecting Raptors

Environment, March/April 2023 Comments Off

Mar 012023

Join New Belmont Group Protecting Raptors

By Jeffrey North Eagles, owls, and hawks are dying. Of the 161 Massachusetts raptors tested at Tufts Wildlife Clinic in a study between 2006 and 2010, 86% had poison residues in their liver tissue. And according to the EPA, more than 10,000 kids are poisoned by toxic chemicals left around residences, restaurants, or public parks to poison rats. Take action Proven tactics to address the problem with minimal or no rodenticide use include Integrated Pest Management plans, engaging housing authorities, affecting retail and construction site practices, and a rat poison bylaw. And please support legislation currently before the House (HD [READ MORE]

BHS Students Create Environmental Club

Environment, January/February 2023, Newsletter Comments Off

Jan 032023

By Claire Hlotyak If you were to ask current high school students what issues they care about, chances are they would say climate change. From science labs to social studies discussions, I have seen that Belmont High School (BHS) students show a real passion and drive to end climate destruction. This keen interest doesn’t just end in the classroom, though. Belmont High has student-run clubs focused on learning, raising awareness, and educating our community and surrounding areas about the impact of climate change. One new BHS club is Project: Environment, run by Jessica Rui and Christina Xi. Rui and Xi [READ MORE]

Could Town Buildings Generate Solar Power?

Climate Change, Environment, January/February 2023, Newsletter, Solar Power Comments Off

Jan 032023

Could Town Buildings Generate Solar Power?

By Aditya Jain and Vincent Stanton, Jr. Imagine a project that would produce a new recurring revenue stream for Belmont without any upfront cost, utilizing only town-owned land and buildings, while lowering electricity costs and helping the town achieve its green energy goals. That could be the payoff for installing photovoltaic (PV) panels on town properties. Suitable town-owned sites include non-historic buildings with large flat rooftops, parking lots, and open ground including the former incinerator site along Concord Avenue. Adding PV arrays on privately owned rooftops and parking lots could significantly expand the network of arrays and improve the economics. [READ MORE]

Lone Tree Hill Restoration Hit 2022 Milestones

Environment, January/February 2023, Lone Tree Hill, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants Comments Off

Jan 032023

Lone Tree Hill Restoration Hit 2022 Milestones

By Jeffrey North In 2020, the Land Management Committee for Lone Tree Hill (LMC) and the Judy Record Conservation Fund began a multi-year campaign to restore native plant communities in prioritized areas of the Lone Tree Hill conservation land. Step one in the restoration was to bring the invasive plant species under control. Planting natives would be a wasted effort and expense if they cannot compete with the pernicious plants that have come to occupy large swaths of our conservation lands and private yards. The work began with a broad brush, property-wide restoration survey conducted by ecological design professionals in [READ MORE]

Preserve Belmont’s Leafy Leviathans

Environment, January/February 2023, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants Comments Off

Jan 032023

By Fred Bouchard Tawny branches reach skyward around its diminished crown like a monk’s tonsure. Strafed by ligneous crows’ feet and tagged with a bowie knife by ”Oliver” (World War veteran?), its trunk is knobbled with rusts and growths. Golden wreaths of lichen encrust its bolus. The copper beech standing sentinel opposite the stone rail trestle in Belmont Center bears silent witness to a century and a half of local history. It was a mere sapling, perhaps part of the project when H. H. Richardson’s firm rebuilt the Unitarian Universalist Church in 1890. Wellington Station marked the adjacent train stop [READ MORE]

School Claims Parking is “Educational Use”

Climate Change, Construction and Housing, Environment, January/February 2023, Open Space, Parking Comments Off

Jan 032023

School Claims Parking is “Educational Use”

By Justin Roe Belmont Hill School submitted their long-awaited plan for the Belmont Hill woodlands area to the planning board in October. The response from Belmont’s residents was instantaneous and overwhelming in opposing the proposal. Within three weeks, Belmont’s Select Committee and Planning Board have received hundreds of letters voicing town opposition to the project. A petition in opposition has attracted over 2,200 signatures, and hundreds of lawn signs and banners are popping up in every district in Belmont. School action groups from Lexington and Waltham are taking an active role. All within a few weeks. The school presented its [READ MORE]

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