Current News

CC Arboretum to restore meadow habitat on 12 acres north of campus

December 22, 2003

For immediate release - Dec. 22, 2003
Contact: Eric Cárdenas (860) 439-250; ecard@conncoll.edu

NEW LONDON, Conn. - In order to enhance increasingly uncommon habitats and control the spread of invasive plant species, the Connecticut College Arboretum will undertake a multi-phased project to convert forest and thicket to meadow and fields on the arboretum's Matthies Tract in Waterford, Conn.

Located just northeast of the Connecticut College campus, the 12-acre area will be restored to a native meadow and shrub habitat, which is increasingly rare in southern New England. The site will be actively used for teaching by Connecticut College ecologists.

The restoration will begin this winter when the arboretum will supervise the clearing of approximately five acres of white pine plantation and deciduous forest that is adjacent to an existing field of Little Bluestem grass and Redcedars. This existing field is at the eastern end of Benham Avenue in Waterford, along the railroad tracks.

Future phases, which will continue through summer of 2005, include clearing rocks, planting native grassland species and mowing and maintaining the fields.

Glenn Dreyer, Charles and Sarah P. Becker '27 Arboretum Director, said the increase of forestland in the later half of the twentieth century has greatly reduced the amount of open meadow and shrubland area.

"As a result of this increase, the populations of plants and animals that thrive in these open habitats have declined dramatically," Dreyer said.

The restoration will also remove many unwanted naturalized exotic species, particularly Oriental bittersweet, multiflora rose, Japanese barberry and various Asian honeysuckles that have infested much of this area.

As part of the project, the arboretum will also develop a new naturalistic landscaping demonstration area.

Planning for this project was done in consultation with Nels Barrett, an ecologist with the Connecticut office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Connecticut College faculty. The arboretum has entered into a Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program agreement with NRCS that will provide partial reimbursement for the expenses of establishing and maintaining the meadow habitats.

For more information, contact Dreyer at 860-439-2144.

Ranked among the most selective private liberal arts colleges in the nation, Connecticut College has an enrollment of 1,800 men and women from 43 states, the District of Columbia, and 56 countries. The college is particularly known for interdisciplinary studies, innovative international programs, paid internships, and a wide range of student-faculty research opportunities. Founded in 1911, the college operates under an 81-year-old honor code and has no Greek system. The scenic 750-acre campus is managed as an arboretum and overlooks Long Island Sound. For more information, see http://www.conncoll.edu . Connecticut College is located at 270 Mohegan Ave., New London. -CC-

For media inquiries contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu