Restoring Native Meadows

The GLT's stewardship responsibilities are two-fold.  We regularly inspect and maintain more than 700 acres of land.  During these property inspections, we identify preserves that require ecological restoration or enhancement initiatives to improve or maintain their integrity.   These projects require extra planning, resources, knowledge, and money.  Please support our efforts to enhance the productivity and biodiversity of these unique landscapes.

Starr Wildflower Meadow.

Meadows
At the GLT, land stewardship is conducted by staff, by volunteers and by professionals hired to mow, to prune, and to remove dangerous trees. Our largest ongoing expenses at the GLT are for the care and maintenance of our diverse properties. We work continuously to improve wildlife habitats and to enhance the natural cleansing of our air and water.  

Duck Pond Hill Preserve. Meadow in bloom.		Meadow recently mowed.

Close-Up: Simmons Meadow Restoration
Restoring our meadows through repopulation of native plants such as butterfly weed, blazing star, and little bluestem grass is a major focus of our meadow management.  In 2008, staff and volunteers specially cut our Simmons Meadow and planted little bluestem seed among existing bluestem grasses to increase the spread of this native American plant. Student and adult volunteers planted over 100 native wildflower plants in the same meadow in April 2009.  Watering and weeding out invasives will continue intensely throughout 2009. The meadow will be cut in late fall to spread the wildflower seeds and preclude woody plants from taking hold in the meadow. Our goal is to restore a meadow filled with native plants that attract native birds, butterflies and bees. Additional contributions to our Stewardship Fund will enable us to do similar work in other meadows throughout Greenwich.

Simmons Meadow. Planting native wildflowers.		Mowing to disperse seeds.

Ongoing Meadow Management
Undertaking a successful meadow restoration requires that we first conduct an inventory of existing plants within a meadow to determine which native plants thrive in particular locations based on soil and exposure.  Our meadows range from north Greenwich to Long Island Sound with different exposures and soil types. As a result, bright pink  Joe Pye and orange butterfly weed thrive in some meadows while goldenrod flourishes in others. To ensure success of our plantings, we use native plant experts to identify existing native plants as well as invasives thriving in a particular meadow. This information is then used by our Environmental Director, Dan Barrett, to develop a meadow management plan and begin the process of reseeding and planting.

Meadow management costs the GLT roughly $10,000 per year for just the mowing of over 20 meadows. In addition, purchase of plant and seed supplies add hundreds of dollars to our budget for each meadow that is evaluated and then replanted. Contributions to our Stewardship Fund allow us to eliminate invasive plants and to restore native wildflowers and grasses on our properties.