BCTrust Annual Meeting: Conservation & Stewardship at Mount Auburn Cemetery
BOXBOROUGH: You may have seen marathoner Dave Barnett out running the streets of Boxborough, but now you can find out what else he’s been up to for nearly three decades before recently retiring. Boxborough Conservation Trust is excited to announce that new Board Member, and long-time Boxborough resident, Dave Barnett will be the speaker at BCT’s Annual Meeting on March 21 at 7pm at the Sargent Memorial Library. All are welcome to join this free event, the first of several that will celebrate BCTrust’s 25th Anniversary this year!
As President & CEO Emeritus, Dave Barnett spent 28 years at Mount Auburn leading a transition to more ecologically friendly landscape design and maintenance practices on this 175-acre site in Cambridge/Watertown. A primary focus of Dave’s presentation will be the restoration of a four-acre portion of the cemetery to the New England woodland that was eloquently described at the founding of Mount Auburn in 1831. Phased over 25 years, this project included the removal of Norway maples and other invasive species and the planting of several thousand plants native to New England, comprising 120 species of trees, shrubs and woodland groundcovers. With a vernal pool in the center of this woodland, preserving the habitat for the significant population of Spotted salamanders was a key focus. The project also included the successful re-introduction of American toads, Gray tree frogs and Spring peepers – which had all disappeared from Mount Auburn due to past “cemetery maintenance” practices.
Dave will also share examples of other smaller-scale projects, ranging from a butterfly/pollinator garden to the replacement of turf with native species of groundcovers to the planting of bird-attracting trees and shrubs. Images from Dave’s own property in Boxborough will attempt to reiterate what last year’s annual meeting speaker, Doug Tallamy, told us about how all of us individually can “bring nature home” and make a difference in making the earth more resilient and wildlife friendly.
As President & CEO Emeritus, Dave Barnett spent 28 years at Mount Auburn leading a transition to more ecologically friendly landscape design and maintenance practices on this 175-acre site in Cambridge/Watertown. A primary focus of Dave’s presentation will be the restoration of a four-acre portion of the cemetery to the New England woodland that was eloquently described at the founding of Mount Auburn in 1831. Phased over 25 years, this project included the removal of Norway maples and other invasive species and the planting of several thousand plants native to New England, comprising 120 species of trees, shrubs and woodland groundcovers. With a vernal pool in the center of this woodland, preserving the habitat for the significant population of Spotted salamanders was a key focus. The project also included the successful re-introduction of American toads, Gray tree frogs and Spring peepers – which had all disappeared from Mount Auburn due to past “cemetery maintenance” practices.
Dave will also share examples of other smaller-scale projects, ranging from a butterfly/pollinator garden to the replacement of turf with native species of groundcovers to the planting of bird-attracting trees and shrubs. Images from Dave’s own property in Boxborough will attempt to reiterate what last year’s annual meeting speaker, Doug Tallamy, told us about how all of us individually can “bring nature home” and make a difference in making the earth more resilient and wildlife friendly.