High Praise for Lathrop

By Barbara Walvorod

First published in the Lathrop Lamp Post of April 13-19, 2019

Lathrop received very high praise at the Easthampton Conservation Commission meeting this past Monday night, April 8.  As Land Conservation Committee chair, I reported our progress removing invasive plants from 50 acres of our forests and Bassett Brook flood plain.  The Commission expressed appreciation for this work, and for our identification and certification of vernal pools on our land. Gerrit Stover, a well-known local conservationist with the Pascommuck Conservation Trust, said in this public meeting that Lathrop was the “best private landowner in the state, bar none,” in terms of land stewardship, for our removal of invasives and nurturing the health of our land.

The central purpose of Lathrop’s meeting with the Commission was for our executive director, Thom Wright, Berkshire Design’s Mark Dornald , and I to speak informally with the Commission about

Illegal Aliens at Lathrop

by Barbara Walvoord

(Originally published in Lathrop Lamp Post, June 10-16, 2017)

I’m not talking about humans.  In fact, Lathrop has recently joined with other Valley residents to help welcome immigrants fleeing danger and oppression in other countries.

But  illegal alien PLANTS are a different story.  Some alien plants, having left behind the enemies and competitors that control them in their native lands, have overtaken woods and fields throughout the U.S., and have shoved out our native plants.  This is bad because these aliens did not co-evolve with our native wildlife, so they do not as fully provide the food and cover that our native birds and other wildlife need. Because these plants threaten our native plants and wildlife, many states, including Massachusetts, have declared certain alien invasive plants illegal to sell or propagate.

For example, Lathrop’s landscaping has many (now illegal) burning bushes, also called winged euonymus (Euonymus alatus). Their seeds are sprouting in our woods on both campuses. This internet photo shows a woods taken over by winged  euonymus.  The second photo shows winged euonymus coming into our Lathrop woods in 2014.  Since then, the Land Conservation Committee, with grants, resident donations, and thousands of hours by resident volunteers and by our

Liberating Lathrop’s Red Osier Dogwood

by Barbara Walvoord

(First published in the Lathrop Lamp Post, Dec. 16, 2016)

Autumn and winter are good times to remove invasive shrubs, so resident volunteers have been out with loppers and pruners.   Among the tangles of invasive multiflora rose, Oriental bittersweet, and shrub honeysuckle, we often find the native red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea), its bright red branches twisting and leaning to find the light or to escape the smothering thicket of invasives.

It’s always a great pleasure to find, and free, this lovely, useful native plant.

Resident Eleanor Herman removing invasive shrubs and vines from the woods behind Cranberry Lane homes. November, 2016

Native Americans used red osier dogwood in many ways, peeling the bark for a tooth brush; eating the berries to treat colds, bleeding, or diarrhea; making tools, bows, arrows, baskets, and red dye; and mixing it with other plants for  smoking.