22Nov 2025 by wp_admin

Northern Lights At The Reservoir

Astronomy, Blog, Northern Lights
Tips for catching the Northern Lights   If you’re in Arlington and love The Res, you’ve got one of the best local spots for a potential northern lights sighting, especially if you walk down near the water with its clear view to the north. Chasing aurora right here in Arlington is a lot of fun, and half the adventure is learning to read space weather like a pro. To see the lights, you need dark nights, clear skies, a strong solar wind, and a little bit of luck! The northern lights are the result of geomagnetic forces in the upper atmosphere. The solar wind helps to create the northern lights. There is a score for how strong the solar wind is, called the KP index. The higher the solar wind…
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14Nov 2024 by wp_admin

Reservoir Bird Walk

Birds, Blog
Reservoir Bird Walk – Saturday November 9, 2024 American Black Duck (Photo by Chris Floyd) About a dozen bird watchers showed up at 8 AM on a cold blustery morning of November 9 to see what could be found at and around the Arlington Reservoir.  The walk was led by local birding expert Chris Floyd. We saw quite a few land and shore birds as well as a hawk.  One find was the American Black Duck who posed on a rock for us.  Full details can be found in the following eBird links. Arlington Reservoir (15 species, 180 individuals):  https://ebird.org/checklist/S201892011 LexFarm (6 species, 13 individuals):  https://ebird.org/checklist/S201892032 After about two hours we finished up as a somewhat smaller group at LexFarm. Chris Floyd points out some birds of interest (Photo by…
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02Oct 2024 by wp_admin

American Community Gardening Association Visits

Blog, Garden
The American Community Gardening Association Visits Res Wildlife Habitat Garden On Saturday, September 28, after our gardening day, seven volunteers from the Reservoir Committee welcomed a busload of visitors from the American Community Gardening Association, who were in Boston for their national conference. The association supports local networks, provides resources, and engages in food security coalitions, school gardening, urban agriculture, and environmental stewardship. We walked through the Arlington Reservoir Habitat Garden, discussing native plants and sharing seeds. The visit continued to the nearby bioswale at Hurd Field before returning to participate in a "grounding" or "earthing" activity, where one stood barefoot on the soil to connect with the Earth's negative electrical charge allowing electrons to flow. Similar to forest bathing, grounding may enhance health through stress reduction and balancing. It…
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22Sep 2024 by wp_admin

Water Chestnut Harvesting

Blog, Water Chestnuts
Water Chestnut Harvesting at the Res This Summer Volunteers on July 17   Our collective efforts have led to a huge success in water chestnut harvesting, thanks to volunteer events and mechanical harvesting. Power of Volunteer Events The Mystic River Watershed Association organized volunteers for our initiative. Here are the impressive outcomes: Events: 13 Volunteers: 282 dedicated individuals Baskets Filled: 1,820 Total Weight: 38,220 lbs (21 lbs per basket) These numbers highlight our volunteers' dedication. Each event strengthened community bonds and worked towards a sustainable future. Impact of Mechanical Harvesting Mechanical harvesting, supported by the Town’s Water Bodies Fund, also played a crucial role. Dates: June 17 – June 28 Harvester Loads: 145 Volume: 36,250 cubic feet Total Weight: 271,875 lbs The harvester allowed us to efficiently collect a significant volume of water chestnuts. Combined Effort Together, volunteer…
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13Jul 2024 by wp_admin

Mechanical Water Chestnut Harvesting at the Res in June

Blog, Water Chestnuts
Beginning on June 17th and ending on June 28 New England Aquatic Services LLC performed 70 hours of mechanical harvesting to remove Water Chestnut from the Arlington Reservoir. During that period a total of 145 harvester loads of material were extracted from the lake. This is the equivalent of approximately 36,250 cubic feet of material weighing approximately 271,875 pounds (136 tons). This is the second year that this company has performed the service. The efforts were focused on the northern section of the reservoir. In total 5.75 acres of area were harvested. The southern portion of the reservoir was not addressed this year but was the main focus during the 2023 effort. This area appears to be much less dense following the first project, and so the priority was placed…
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23Jun 2024 by wp_admin

Garden Workday and Pollination Walk – Saturday June 24

Blog, Garden
After some very hot weather, we had a cool and overcast day for our work. We removed many weeds and invasive plants, up-righted a pussy willow that had fallen in a storm, spread chips on the paths and put in a few new plants. Thanks to Stephan, Cherie, George, Sue, Johanna and David. At 12 we had a very informative walk on pollination led by Jenifer Lopez a postdoc fellow at Harvard.  There are at least eight different ways that plants are pollinated and the shape, size and color of the flowers provide a guide to the approach that they use. Jenifer discusses pollination at a Mulberry tree by the boat ramp. Wind is the primary means of pollination for mulberry trees, as the tree’s small, light flowers are easily…
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03Jun 2024 by wp_admin

Garden Workday June 1 (and 2/4 swans)

Blog, Garden
We had a successful gardening day on a warm Saturday morning.  Dead grasses and weeds were removed, wood chips were spread on the garden paths, Anise Hyssop was replanted, Japanese knotweed was cut back from the path opposite the garden.  New native plants (steeple bush and cardinal flower) were added to replace the invasive plants that were removed previously. We had eight people working this morning:  Alex, Peg, Stephan, Ann, George, Jenifer, Johanna, David There was also a bit of swan drama as the work was getting started.  A pair of swans flew over and landed in the Reservoir.  The resident male was not very happy about the newcomers.  After a bit of back and forth and a few harsh words the new pair flew away.
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19May 2024 by wp_admin

Scouts visit the Gardens – May 10

Blog
Met with Scout Troop 64757 to talk about growing gardens. We looked at the Hurd Rain Garden, a traditional English style garden, the Hurd field Bioswale Garden and finished at the Arlington Reservoir Habitat Gardens. They planted seeds of their choice from Black eyed Susans, Wild Bergamot (both from Pollinator Pathways & Sustainable Arlington) , Anise Hyssop, and Common Milkweed for a home pollinator garden. All essential plants for supporting the bees and butterflies. To further support our ecosystem, we also pulled Garlic Mustard weed and stomped on the Japanese Knotweed to exhaust its growth. Thank you Girls!
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