If you missed Rick Cuzner’s talk on photographing local wildlife at Conservancy’s Annual Meeting, you’re in luck! A video of his talk has been posted on the Conservancy’s YouTube channel. Search YouTube for @marbleheadconservancy to watch Rick describe his tools and techniques and to see some truly awesome photos of local wildlife. For a direct link to Rick’s video, click here.
Seniors are invited to join Laurie Hark on a stroll through Marblehead’s Steer Swamp Conservation Areas on Friday, October 3rd at 9:30 AM. The tour will cover about a mile and a half of trails through gentle hills and will take about one hour and a half. Laurie, a Marbleheader, who has led tours for Audubon, PEM, and Greenbelt, will be your guide through the natural features of the areas as well as their fascinating history. Laurie led the Conservancy’s very successful senior stroll through Forest River in June. Steer Swamp is the largest of Marblehead’s conservation areas and is home to a variety of wildlife, so bring your binoculars. Sturdy footwear is advised as the trails have roots and rocks. There is no charge for this event, but to register and receive details on the meeting point, please complete the form below.
For a tour such as this, it is important that everyone be able to hear the guide, so registration is limited to 25. We're sorry, but the participant limit of 25 has been reached and we are unable to register additional participants at this time.
Request your free copy of the Guide to Marblehead Natural Open Space
Just fill out this form and Conservancy volunteers will mail your map/brochure. (Valid U.S. addresses only)
Horticulture professionals tell us that, after proper preparation and care, the 3rd season of a newly sown meadow will be when one begins to see many native wildflowers in bloom. Until then, seeds are expected to sprout after normal dormant periods. Wildflower seeds planted at Lead Mills have a variety of dormant periods, some more than two years.
Work on this project began in 2020, when the first 12,000 sq. ft. field to be seeded was scraped of its topsoil and sown with a selection of native wildflower species chosen to be beckoning to native pollinators. Some sprouting was seen in 2022 so, one might hope to see plants blossoming this summer and going to seed in the fall..
The second field to be sown, planted with the same mixture of native wildflower seeds, was prepared differently, undergoing several tillings at the end of 2021. We might expect to see some blossoming here as well, in this its 2ndseason.
But blossoming of native wildflowers doesn’t happen by magic! Despite much time spent by a small group of dedicated volunteers, thus far mostly weeds seem to have proliferated. The amount of time needed for this project was not well understood and we probably underestimated how tough the weeds would be.
Season 2023 was a time for reflection, to re-examine the methods used in preparation, and the various maintenance efforts employed. The reduction of the weed seeds in these two fields was not adequately achieved to allow the sought-after wildflowers to take hold. Weed control is said to be critical in a newly seeded meadow. We suspect we won’t see all the results we hoped for. If that is the case, we will need to consider other methods.
For 2023 we took a different approach, rather than seeding large areas as previously done. We planted wildflower plugs in much smaller plots, where weeds are sure to have been minimized. With fewer weeds to start with, and continued weeding throughout the growing season, we hope for greater success.
– The Wildflower committee
