Biodiversity

Arlington Environmental Groups to Know About

• Arlington Garden Club‘s Environment Committee
• Arlington Land Trust
• ArMI (Arlington Mass Invasives) 
• Conservation Commission
• Friends of Menotomy Rocks Park
  • Facebook group
• Friends of Spy Pond Park: A nonprofit organization supporting the preservation, enhancement, and enjoyment of Spy Pond Park and Spy Pond as natural and community resources in Arlington.  Join their work days from May to October to help care for park and its shoreline.
• Friends of Robbins Farm Park: A community organization promoting the beautification, restoration, and improvement of the Robbins Farm Park. They sponsor cultural, educational, recreational and other community activities throughout the year; invite active membership; and seek to represent the Robbins Farm Park community.
• Open Space Committee
• Arlington Tree Committee
  • Article 16 Tree Protection & Preservation Bylaw
  • Tree Construction Guidelines and Sample Plan 
  • See also: http://arlingtontrees.org/ 
• Arlington Reservoir Committee
  • Town page
  • Committee website
  • Reservoir Wildlife Habitat Garden
• Save the Alewife Brook
  • Sign the Email Petition to End Sewage Pollution
• Spy Pond Committee
• Mystic River Watershed Association: Based in Arlington. Founded in 1972 to protect and restore the Mystic River, its tributaries and watershed lands.
• Zero Waste Arlington (was the Recycling Committee): Fosters greater participation in all forms of waste reduction to improve health and restore the environment. Members are appointed.
  • The Town of Arlington Recycling Page contains more information on how, what and when to recycle more materials.

Native Plants & Pollinators (organizations & resources) 

• Massachusetts Pollinator Network, a program of Grow Native Massachusetts
  • Mass Pollinator Network Facebook group
  • Events
    • Habitat Chat, monthly on the first Wednesday, 12–1pm (virtual): Join participants from across the state to learn about topics relevant to our work, share projects, ask questions, and exchange knowledge, ideas, and updates.
    • Monthly Presentations, 4th Tuesday, 7-8 pm: Hear from experts on a wide range of topics related to pollinators and how to save them.
• Grow Native Massachusetts: Excellent resources about native and invasive plants, nurseries and seed sources, valuable programs, including the annual Evenings with Experts series, and an annual native plant sale.
• Northeast Regional Invasive Species & Climate Change (RISCC) Management Network: Aims to reduce the compounding effects of invasive species and climate change by synthesizing relevant science, sharing the needs and knowledge of practitioners, building stronger communities of scientists and practitioners, and conducting priority research. Our network includes invasion scientists, climate scientists, natural resource managers and practitioners, policymakers, and stakeholders from the broader public.
• Xerces Society: The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation’s website has extensive information including:
  • Protecting Pollinators
  • Conserving Endangered Species
  • Reducing Pesticide Use & Impacts
  • Advocating for Change
  • Spreading the Word 
  • Our Services
• ArMI (Arlington Mass Invasives)
• Mystic Charles Pollinator Pathways Facebook Group,  mysticcharles.pollinatorpaths@gmail.com
  • Pathway map
  • Survey link (homeowners)
  • Survey link (public green space)
  • Facebook group
• Native Plant Trust: Conserving and promoting New England’s native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.   Extensive educational programs, a native plant nursery, Garden in the Woods, Framingham.
• Wild Seed Project, native plant seeds grown in our region, educational programs and other resources.

Wildlife and Rodenticides

• Save Arlington Wildlife,  [rodenticides and alternatives; fishing gear waste; forego the feeder campaign; what to do about injured or dead wildlife]
  • FGARs (First Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides) and SGARs (Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides) Learn about them here.
• Save Massachusetts Wildlife: fiscally sponsored nonprofit

Lawn & Garden Practices for a Healthy Ecosystem

• Sustainable Landscape Handbook: Developed with and for the towns of Arlington, Stoneham, and Winchester
• Leave the Leaves/Soft Landings (Heather Holm)
  • 2-page handout
  • Read more on creating soft landings under trees
• Homegrown National Park
• Soil Testing Services, NOFA/Mass: Learn what your soil actually needs and only add those nutrients in the appropriate quantities and at the right time. NOFA/Mass offers affordable technical assistance including soil lab analysis and inputs recommendations, soil health analysis.
• Beyond Pesticides: 40 years of protecting health and the environment with science, policy, and action. Resources include: Biodiversity  /  Center for Community Pesticide and Alternatives Information  /  Children and Schools  /  Invasive Weed Management  /  Rodenticides.
• Ecological Landscape Alliance: Advocating for responsible stewardship. 
  • Events include webinars and conferences.
• Grow Native Massachusetts: “Every garden matters — Every landscape counts”
  • “Evenings With Experts” – don’t miss this annual (free) speakers series
• Lawns into Meadows by Owen Wormser: Landscape designer Owen Wormser explains how to replace the deadscape we call lawn with low-maintenance, eco-friendly meadows. This award-winning, how-to book on growing a meadow is also about sustainability, regeneration, and beauty.
• Lexington Living Landscapes: A Program to Promote Sustainable Landscapes in Lexington, MA. Homeowner resource, speaker series.
• Native Plant Trust:
  • Garden in the Woods, Framingham. Programs and classes for schools and adults.
  • Go Botany – native plant ID tools.
• Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard by Douglas Tallamy, Univ. of Del. professor and naturalist describes what each of us can do to support native pollinators and birds in our own back yards and parks.
• Quiet! Our Loud World is Making Us Sick by Joanne Silberner, Scientific American, April 16, 2024: Experts describe ways to turn down the volume, from earbuds to smartphone apps that detect harmful noise levels
• Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse by Dave Goulson
• Stop Raking Your Leaves! by The Washington Post, October 7, 2016: Leaves are valuable. Use them to amend lawn and garden soil.  Illustrated article.
• Tufts Pollinator Initiative:
  • Who: We are enthusiastic scientists interested in pollinator conservation and community education.
  • What: As a certified Bee Campus USA, we support urban pollinators through habitat creation, community education, and ecological research.
  • Where: Tufts University, on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts (just north of Boston).
• What’s Wrong With Leaf Blowers? by Allison Sloan, Evanston Round Table, March 23, 2020
  • We are in the midst of a worldwide “insect apocalypse” resulting in massive declines of all kinds of insects. Thousands of beneficial species, including many of our native pollinators, are at risk and, without them, we will be at risk, too. What’s wrong with leaf blowers? A critical issue for insects is that leaf blowers blast an extremely powerful stream of air at the ground (185 to 200+ MPH) in the process of stripping away fallen leaves. Leaf blowers act like tornados aimed directly at the ground. Their powerful blast — like a tornado — destroys the structure and micro-organisms in the upper layer of the soil, dries out the soil, and destroys insect habitat and the insects themselves.
  • In a state of nature, those fallen leaves perform valuable services, providing: (1) winter refuge for countless insects, including native pollinators and fireflies; (2) essential habitat required by insects to complete their life cycle; (3) protecting the soil from drying out; (2) nutrients that enrich the soil.  Please Leave the Leaves.
• Wild Seed Project: Returning Native Plants to Local Landscapes: Based in Maine. Applicable to Massachusetts. Excellent information resource.