Spring Clean Up and More
Local students invested some serious sweat equity in May to strengthen the Blackstone Park woodland. Sixty-five kids, ranging from 6th to 12th grade, came to the center section from Lincoln School and the Wheeler School for back-to-back workdays. Their mission: to protect this popular section of the park from overuse and storm water damage.
Supervised by BPC volunteers and school staff , the students used shovels and wheelbarrows to move mountains of chips onto two bare sections of trail, thus encouraging rainwater to sink in where it falls instead of running off downhill. They also installed new timber steps and cleaned out water bars that guide water diagonally off the trails.
Finally, to protect fragile plants, they fixed and installed fences and weeded. Volunteers and visitors alike were struck by both groups’ good cheer and energy as they dedicated a long, productive morning to helping the park become healthier. Although most people know this already, we can’t say often enough that everyone can help sustain the Park by staying on the trails, by not throwing balls through the woods, and by spreading the word that the fences are there to protect young plants and especially fragile areas.
