A template for land stewardshipAlison Saylor is offering a special gift to Carlisle -- or to your community. Because she has "downsized" from a larger property to a small plot of land surrounded by a large tract of public-access conservation land, she feels responsible for all of it -- both the land she owns and the land she looks onto. A recent graduate of the Massachusetts Master Gardeners program, she decided to investigate what it would take to get official permission to extend her stewardship to public access lands in Carlisle -- specifically, the plants in the Malcolm Meadows preserve, where she now lives. Ultimately she was asked to submit a proposal to the Trustees of Reservations, which co-administers the property with the local Conservation Commission. Her proposal centered around Table A, below, the undesirable plants to be removed, and Table B, the verified native plants in Table B that would replace them. In addition, the proposal explained that she would work only with hand tools, and that removed plants would be stored in black plastic bags ("solarized") until no longer viable and then destroyed. Finally, she would provide an annual written report of her work. Alison offers these tables and suggestions as a template for anyone who would like to perform similar work. She is happy to share her experience and ideas with you. You can reach her at 978-359-1809 or at saylorfarm@comcast.net. Table A: Some undesirable plants to removePrimary source: https://www.massaudubon.org/learn/nature-wildlife/invasive-plants
Common Name (and link to illustration), then Latin name(s) in italics
Table B: Some desirable, native plants to replace Table ASources:
Native Trees, Shrubs, & Vines and Growing and Propagating Wildflowers of the United States and Canada, by William Cullina (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000) and https://uswildflowers.com/wfindex.php?State=MA. Common Names in bold, Latin Name in italics, Comments in green. For pictures of the plants in this table, you'll have to Google or look them up in a catalog, until we have a chance to add some links to this long list of plants. (All plants prefer full sun unless noted.) 
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