The meeting began at 7:30 pm at the SEA Education Association Building.
The OPET Board of Directors was introduced.
The members elected 4 new board members
(Susan Gagosian, Jason Hyatt, Peter Valtin, and Martin White).
Barry Norris, Treasurer, read the Financial report.
Pat Kerfoot gave the Zinn Park dedication update. The dedication date was set for September 1, 2001. Ms. Kerfoot said the official bronze plaque had been put into the rock at the site.
Barry Norris gave a Pond Management Jetty Repair update. He said a management plan was
approved by the ConComm and Board of Selectmen to ask for money at Town Meeting for repair of the jetties to allow 2-4 ppt of salt to infiltrate Oyster Pond from the ocean tides.
The Shellfish Warden would adjust the height of the weir accordingly. He said constant monitoring would be needed.
Bob Livingstone talked about education activities. He brought Emily Tietje's Falmouth Academy Science Project pond study poster board to show the members. [See her project on the OPET website under student projects] Mr. Livingstone reminded the audience that OPET encourages student projects on the pond.
Members were told that all The Watersheds issues were online at www.opet.org, and pond sample data would be added this Fall.
Judy Dowling gave an update on Building and Landscaping issues in the Pond watershed.
Barry Norris spoke of finding an Ombudsman for issues relating to Oyster Pond and its watershed. He said the Ombudsman would advocate for the pond and not alienate neighbors on the pond. An Ombudsman would keep watch on regulations. It would allow the Town of Falmouth and Oyster Pond neighbors to have one person to contact.The Ombudsman would go to all meetings involving Oyster Pond.
Keynote speaker: Lindsay Strode of Cape Organics, Harwich, MA
Mr. Strode brought live plants as props to the audiences' applause. He told the audience to go to the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension Service (508-362-2511). He said it was a good place for information on soil conservation, lawns, and landscaping. They also do soil testing.
Strode said it's important to understand what are the resources of the land: upland, transitional, wetland, woodland, density, type, sun exposure, and traffic patterns. He said is is important to put together a plan prior to doing any work. "Decisions made in turmoil will affect outcome," he said. Think about how much maintenance will be required. Communication with the escavator and architect are critical. It will help you hold them accountable for any missteps.
He told the audience to bring a shovel or soil probe and ask how compact is the soil. Look at the slopes of the area. He said the groundcover Vinca is "short insurance to keep soil in place". Look at what other kinds of plants are there, Strode said. Do a soil test as a prescription for what to plant. Analyze organic matter, phosphorous, nitrogen, and potassium. Plant buffer strips as a sediment trap so it doesn't reach surface water in the area. Plant in a timely matter. There is a wrong time to plant horticulturally. He said, for instance, Fall is the best time to plant a new lawn. Annual ryegrass is very vigorous. Never leave soil bare, he said, it will erode. Once exotic invasives get a foothold it is a lot of maintenance to remove.
Compost is a "silver bullet", he said. It holds moisture and water. He said to add a top dressing and work it in with a cultivating fork in the Fall after aeration. It breaks up the hard pan and sandy areas. Soil needs about 10 percent organic matter to keep rootrot out. He said compost has the opposite magnetic charge than nutrients which means they bond together and there is less migration. Organic matter has been shown to inhibit annual weeds. Tests show the weed outgrows itself. These cover crops are beneficial: annual ryegrass, buckwheat, oats, clover, winter rye. He said to remember that what people do affects their environment. Also, there is no safe limit for EPA to chemicals, he warned.
If you want to attract wildlife, especially birds, don't cut down the trees and underbrush. You are limiting diversity of animals. A more natural environment will attract beneficial insects. He gave a list of plants to consider for attracting these beneficial type insects: Daisy, carrot, coneflower, mint, fennel, sage, nasturtium, butterfly weed, butterfly bush, blue mist spirea, oakleaf hydrangea, lavender, beebalm, and marigold, to name only a few. Diversity is critical. With slides Strode warned that many people landscape by cutting down all the cover between trees leaving only the canopy. He said this was very bad land management and created dead zones where no wildlife can live. He said you want to achieve a layering affect that you can see naturally with ground cover, bushes, woody understory, and tree canopy. He said it is best to leave snags, or dead trees and limbs, where they are. "Let them drop to the ground naturally," he said. They provide critical habitat for birds and insects and recycle organic matter into the soil. He also reminded the audience of the importance of planting berry-producing plants and trees such as wild blackberry for migratory songbirds. Many species of songbirds need small hard berries to eat to survive. Some native plants recommended for attracting beneficial birds include: Balsam fir, Spruce Pine, Garden Flowers, Fine, Hemlock, Birch, Various Oak Varieties, Hop Hornbeam, Dogwood, Maple, Wild Cherry, Huckleberry, and Wild Blackberry.
He said to think about what you plant where. Dogwood trees and holly trees prefer shade under other trees. They don't like direct sunlight. He recommended planting Beach Plum and Eastern Red Cedar for natural Cape Cod landscaping.
For erosion control, Strode said a biolog or fiber log laid into a terrace in the hillside will allow silt to build up and stop erosion into nearby surface water like ponds. Eelgrass from the beach makes good compost. He said he had never seen any problem of salt buildup using it on top of soil. Common cover crops he recommended include: Annual Ryegrass, Winter Rye, Buckwheat, Oats, Red Clover, White Clover, Yellow Blossom Clover, and Alfalfa. Use Hairy Vetch as a smother crop with Rye or Buckwheat. For ground cover consider Bearberry, Sweet-fern, Trailing Arbutus, Box Huckleberry, Eastern Tea Berry, Pasture Juniper, Low Bush Blueberry, and Sheep Laurel. Woody Understory Plants include: Black Alder, Red Chokeberry, Sweet Pepper Bush, Grey Dogwood, Inkberry, Bayberry, Swamp Azalea, Highbush Blueberry, and Sweet Gale.
In conclusion, he said:
For more information see the UMASS Soil Testing Lab Website.