Friends of Fresh Pond Programs June 4-12

Purple Loosestrife Biocontrol Monitoring Friday, June 4, 1-3 p.m. Water Purification Facility front door, 250 Fresh Pond Parkway You can participate in Fresh Pond’s Purple Loosestrife Biocontrol Project by helping collect plant data from the wetland where we have released Galerucella beetles for the fourth year. No experience is necessary: we will explain the project and give you a training session.

Biodiversity Bird Walk, Saturday, June 5, 7:30-10:30 a.m.
Neville Place driveway, 650 Concord Ave.

We will walk all of the way around the pond, collecting information on bird species, numbers and nests for our annual biodiversity database.  Beginners are welcome on this easy 2¼-mile walk. We have binoculars to lend and will show you how to use them.

Bringing Nature Home: A lecture by author Douglas Tallamy
Thursday, June 10, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway

Doug Tallamy, Chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, has done groundbreaking work on the role of insects as intermediaries in the food web, discovering the extent to which exotic plants, even if they are not invasive, host relatively few insects. His work reveals how important it is to restore native plant communities if we are to reverse the declines in migrating songbirds, butterfly populations and biodiversity as a whole. Tallamy makes an urgent plea about the importance of native plants to our landscapes, and indeed, to our survival. And he embraces the importance of land stewardship throughout urban and suburban America as critical components of this effort. Co-sponsored with Grow Native Cambridge.

Plant Photography Workshop, Saturday, June 12, 1-4 p.m.
Maynard Ecology Center, 650 Concord Ave., Cambridge

There's more to good photography than meets the eye.  Knowing how to operate your camera is important, but just as important are the ability to use light creatively and the understanding of artistic and aesthetic principles.  Join us as we learn how to photograph plants from professional botanical photographer, Arieh Tal.  An indoor presentation will be followed by a stroll about the Reservation in search of interesting botanical subjects.  Bring your digital or film camera and a tripod if you have one. There may be an opportunity to post your pictures on the Friends of Fresh Pond Reservation website.

Please register to receive important information on parking. E-mail Elizabeth Wylde at friendsoffreshpond@yahoo.com or call 617-349-6489 and leave your name and phone
number.   These programs are brought to you by Friends of Fresh Pond Reservation.