Park News: Fall / Winter 2005

Playground Repair

The severe late September windstorm felled an old oak near the Playground, resulting in major damage to the structure. The Town and the Friends will be working together to have the necessary repairs made – hopefully before winter sets in.

Capital Improvements in the Park

This past spring, the Arlington Parks and Recreation Commission hired Landscape Architect Andrew Leonard to project cost estimates for the site improvements requested by the Friends of Menotomy Rocks Park, based on a survey of our members. Mr. Leonard’s estimates indicate that the needed improvements will cost over $500,000 – considerably more than the $120,000 approved by last spring’s Town Meeting. The Friends will continue to work with the Town and grant-dispensing organizations to help raise the money needed to improve the Park paths and fields.

Trash Cans

Once again this year, in mid-November, trash cans will be removed from the field and pond areas of the park to lessen damage to paths and grassy areas caused by trucks. Winter trash barrel locations are at the entrances to the Park on Jason St., Churchill Ave., Ottawa/High Haith and Spring St. The Town DPW will return the additional trash barrels in early April.

Volunteer Thanks

Heartfelt thanks to the Park volunteers who rolled up their sleeves on our Sunday, October 16th workday  to Melissa Carr, Carmenza & Clif Fonstad and Clarissa Rowe who installed the “menotomy rock and cobblestone” edging along the Jason Street fence perennial garden to Mary Cummings, David Bean & Ellen Reed for repairing the Jason St. bulletin board  and to Jane Auger, David Bean, Dilys Burke, Colin Campbell, Madeleine Drucker, Paul Fontaine, MaryAnna Foskett, Jane Howard, Carol Kalauskas, Barbara Kleeman and Elizabeth Rehfeld who did battle with Japanese Knotweed, Common Buckthorn, Norway Maple saplings, Japanese Barberry, Burning Bush and Oriental Bittersweet – all invasive woodland thugs on the USDA’s most un-wanted list. During the summer, volunteers Melissa Carr, MaryAnna Foskett and Ted Siegan worked to cut back invasive purple loosestrife in the pond stilling basin.

Good Samaritan

Our thanks to the Good Samaritan who called the Animal Rescue League on August 20th to come to the aid of a mallard who had gotten entangled in fishing line and had a fishhook through her wing. Two competent ARL staffers with two rescue vehicles, a kayak, a net, and lots of TLC soon had the unfortunate duck on her way to treatment at an ARL hospital.

Picture Posts

You may have noticed the two “picture posts” installed last spring – one at the Jason St. beach area and one by the South Field fence. Pictures taken at these posts will provide visual documentation of changes in the Park over seasons and years. You can help with this scientific effort by positioning your digital camera as instructed on the post signs and uploading the resulting photos to our website at http://picturepost.smugmug.com/ . You may also view similar documentation taken by our partner park in this venture, Fresh Pond Reservation (FPR). Basic information about how to submit the pictures, including a naming convention, can be found at http://picturepost.smgmug.com/gallery/635128. For more information, please contact John Pickle at jpickle@mos.org.