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Volunteers sought for Laughing Brook clean-up

Date: 4/4/2012

April 4, 2012

By Lori Szepelak

lori@thereminder.com

HAMPDEN — Mass Audubon will sponsor an "All State Volunteer Day" on April 28, and area residents in the Connecticut River Valley are encouraged to assist staff at the Laughing Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, which sustained tremendous damage from the October 2011 snowstorm.

"Laughing Brook was the hardest hit of the Connecticut River Valley sanctuaries," Mary Shanley-Koeber, sanctuary director, said during an interview with Reminder Publications. "At Laughing Brook we have a mature oak forest. Leaves were still on the trees at the time of the snow. The weight of the snow toppled hundreds of mature live trees."

Shanley-Koeber noted that the broken trees and limbs lie where they fell and are blocking the trail and will have to be cleared safely before Thornton Burgess and Neff trails can be reopened.

The "All State Volunteer Day" at Laughing Brook is planned from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Participants should bring a picnic lunch.

Patti Steinman, director of education programs for the Connecticut River Valley Sanctuaries, will lead a natural history walk after lunch. Pre-registration is not required.

Volunteers (ages 14 and older) should wear long pants and a long-sleeve shirt, bring gloves (preferably waterproof), and wear sturdy shoes (closed toe). Some activities may require native landscaping skills, so tools are welcome at the site.

Laughing Brook is 353 acres of woodlands, meadows, and streams along a four-mile trail system, but is probably best known for being the former home of naturalist and children's author Thornton W. Burgess. Laughing Brook is an appropriate place to learn about the world of nature and to continue Burgess' living legacy, according to Shanley-Koeber.

"After a long winter, the trails and areas around the pond need tending, and we need to pick up trash, pull invasive plants, and groom the trails," Shanley-Koeber said. "For heartier volunteers we will continue to clear and repair trails damaged in the October snowstorm, which closed Neff Trail."

Shanley-Koeber is in need of six to 10 volunteers to help develop the children's garden and a nature play area, 25 volunteers are needed to help with removing invasive plants, and 10 volunteers would be helpful for litter pick up and trail work.

"Volunteers can also help install a new children's garden area, clear sod and prepare the soil in the garden, build a compost heap, plan and prepare a games field, cover boards or logs for creatures, and install a row boat," she added.

In May, a Student Conservation Association (SCA) team will arrive for two weeks to do the major work that involves chain saws and removing fallen trees.

Shanley-Koeber is hoping that volunteers will have some time on April 28 to turn out and help bring Laughing Brook back to its pristine setting.

"More than any other sanctuary that I manage, Laughing Brook's visitors tell me stories about precious family moments there," Shanley-Koeber said. "Grandparents tell me about bringing their young children to play in the stream and find critters and tracks and nests. And now they are bringing their grandchildren, too. People care so much about Laughing Brook. I hope that people who care and who are able will give back to the community and to the sanctuary and will come out to help make it even more accessible, clean and beautiful, and to help the native species to flourish."

Volunteers will also meet Laughing Brook's new caretakers, Pete Vancini and Emma Evans, who will be working that day and leading activities. Starting in the fall, Vancini will lead regular volunteer events most Saturdays.

This spring, a host of programs is also scheduled, including: "Vernal Pools," April 21, 10 to 11:30 a.m.; "Spring Wildflowers," May 5, 9 a.m. to noon, and "Turtle Day," May 19, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Some programs have a small fee.

Shanley-Koeber hopes to reopen the Thornton Burgess Trail and the Neff Trail as soon as the SCA has completed their work, around June 2. The Mort and Helen Bates Trail and the Green River Trail are open now.

For more information on the volunteer day, call 584-3009, or visit www.massaudubon.org. Laughing Brook is managed by Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary.



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