West River Memorial Park

2017 Greenspace Report

West River Memorial was designated an important bird area by the Audubon Society in 2016, and for good reason. With Ospreys, Tree Swallows, Orioles, Sparrows, and many other birds readily visible around the Oasis, West River is a great place to work. Dennis Riordan is a dedicated birder who almost single handedly has served as steward to the greenspace. This year focused on maintenance, with no major tree plantings and only a few perennial plantings. We worked to clear out the aggressive mugwort growing in the Oasis, and the slowly encroaching phragmites coming through the fence. The Common Ground High School Workers did an excellent job clearing out the Oasis almost entirely of weeds, nd opening up a huge swath of bare soil on which we planted wildflowers, sweet gale, and relocated some cattails to compete with the persistent phragmites. The high school workers did almost all of the heavy lifting throughout the month of july, and made a fantastic difference for the Oasis.

2017 Accomplishments

• 6 shrubs planted (sweet gale)
• 8 perennials planted (winterberry, spiderwort, wildflower seed, beebalm)
• 5 events
• 2 volunteers
• 10 volunteer hours