Land Trust Volunteers Needed

The Museum’s Land Trust has miles of nature trails that need to be kept clear and passable. A relatively small group of board members and volunteers tackle this herculean project in all seasons, seeking to maintain the level of clearing we attain collectively during our annual Thanksgiving group effort. Please consider contributing time and labor to this important project. The necessary work and types of activity required to keep our trails in good shape vary with each trail. We’ll help you to find a suitable role on a trail of your choice. You can pick your favorite one that you use most frequently, or perhaps choose the one that needs immediate attention. Similarly, the level of engagement and the amount of time spent is yours to decide. You may be most comfortable using loppers to cut back the bushes and weeds. Or, if you are cleared to use heavier cutting tools, you could help create new observation points at approved locations. Working together, everyone’s combined efforts create a safer, more accessible trail network of benefit to the entire community.

We are also seeking volunteers for another major, on-going work project. The varied ecosystems that our trails pass through are under constant assault from different types of invasive flora. It is a stated goal of our Land Trust to preserve these diverse habitats that support our Island’s wildlife. Volunteers are key participants in the struggle to keep in check the Japanese knotweed, glossy buckthorn, and oriental bittersweet, to name just a few. There are a wide number of opportunities available to any and all who wish to contribute time and effort to this tough battle. A list of locations with recommended instructions will be available at the Museum

Jack Schneider is the Museum contact person for volunteer trail clearing, invasive remediation, and associated projects. Jack will coordinate these efforts and handle scheduling, partnering, tools and instruction, as needed. He can be reached through e-mail: [email protected] or at the Museum: 631-788-7239. We look forward to working with you!

Summer Stewardship Projects • Volunteer Opportunities

Museum Sanctuary and Pond area:

• Remove thickets of greenbrier encroaching on the pond
• Identify and mark desirable plants to protect and remove competing vegetation
• Eliminate specific invasives like porcelain-berry

Middle Farms Area:

• Collect golf balls that bounced into Sanctuary beyond driving range limit
• Identify, mark and control porcelain-berry and exotic grasses
• Remove invasive vines from trees along the edges of the grassland

Chocomount Trail Area:

• Assist with the continuing removal and control of glossy buckthorn
• Assist with reestablishment of beach plum along the shore

Clay Pit Trail Area:

• Assist with knotweed & porcelain-berry removal

Stony Beach:

• Cut back honeysuckle at end of spit
• Collect plastic debris Retrieve & store bird-nesting signs

Land Trust Areas bordering the Recreation Path (such as the Brickyard trail area):

• Cut honeysuckle, vines, etc. impacting the shrubs and trees
• Cut back encroaching greenbrier and blackberry
• Remove nascent invasives like glossy buckthorn and porcelain berry

Clay Point Road:

• Investigate and, if necessary, pull ground honeysuckle and greenbrier that is impacting the ground bird populations.

Wetland Areas:

• Visit properties identified as having wetlands and document size, condition, and inhabitants

Improve online information:

• Create trail and property descriptions using Esri Story Maps
• Create trail maps for inclusion in All Trails app

Natural History Reporting:

• Assessment of plants and animals at locations identified in the Tucker & Horning Report (1993)
• Identification and verification of birds that nest throughout the Land Trust properties

Eelgrass Project: (coordinate with Emily Bodell, see page 5)

• Water quality monitoring
• Human activity monitoring

If you wish to volunteer, please contact Jack Schneider prior to going into the field. [email protected]