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Forest River Park Trails

Marblehead Conservancy Inc. > QR Trails > Forest River Park Trails

For more information about Forest River, see the Forest River page in the Explore menu.

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Conservancy Updates

What’s coming next?
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

Events

New England Native Plants
During the Conservancy’s 2023 Annual Meeting, Lifetime Master Gardener Gretel Anspach gave a presentation on New England’s native plants. She explained why native plants are important and provided detailed information about a wide variety of native plants, including many wildflowers. Gretel graciously offered to share her presentation slides and script. To access these documents click the following links: New England Native Flora Presentation New England Native Flora Script Or see our Information and Publications page.
Family Fun for Earth Day 2024!
Saturday, May 4th, 2024 the Conservancy and friends celebrated EarthDay/Arbor Day at the Lead Mills Conservation Area! This year’s Earth Day/Arbor Day celebration continued the Conservancy’s work at Lead Mills with activities that included planting wildflowers and cleaning up the beach. Individuals, families and small groups were invited to meet at the Conservancy’s tent at Lead Mills, just off Lafayette Street near the Forest River bridge. Activities ran from 9 AM to Noon and gloves, seedlings, tools, water, and trash bags were provided. This is an annual community effort to preserve and protect Marblehead’s open spaces and is co-sponsored by Gilbert & Cole, the Conservation Commission, and the Recreation and Parks Department.

© 2024 Marblehead Conservancy Inc.