Water chestnut plant. Credit: ShaSha Kingston
Help remove an invasive plant from Ell Pond in melrose!
From the Melrose Conservation Commission: The Melrose Conservation Commission is pleased to announce two volunteer events, on July 26 and August 2, as part of our continuing efforts to manage invasive species in Ell Pond, specifically water chestnuts.
Over the past three years, the Conservation Commission, thanks to funding from the City of Melrose and a grant from the State of Massachusetts, has harvested a large amount of this non-native species that previously covered a large portion of the pond, greatly impacting its health.
In 2022-2024, the Conservation Commission hired contractors to remove a large amount each summer, which greatly improved the health of the pond. We also supplemented that effort with volunteer events in 2023 and 2024.
The pond still has some water chestnuts that we need to continue to monitor and manage and we’re hosting two volunteer events to tackle those this summer.
We’re looking for volunteers with kayaks, canoes, or standup paddleboards to head out on the water and scoop up the floating plants and dispose of them on land. We also have two kayaks that were donated by Melrose residents that will be available for use. We’ll be working on the mornings of Saturday, July 26 or Saturday, August 2 from 9 am to noon, we’ll meet at the boat launch area near the dog park.
We could use the help of several volunteers to work on the shore to take and pile collected water chestnuts from the volunteers in boats working on the water.
We encourage volunteers bring hats, wear sunscreen, bring a water bottle and a laundry basket or 5 gallon bucket to hold the harvested water chestnuts.
You can sign up for the events here:
July 26: https://www.givepulse.com/event/626587-Water-Chestnut-Pulling-at-Ell-Pond-Melrose
Aug 2: https://www.givepulse.com/event/626589-Water-Chestnut-Pulling-at-Ell-Pond-Melrose
If you have any questions about these volunteer efforts, please contact Charlie McCabe, chasmccabe@gmail.com
