Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary

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More than 100 stalwart volunteers ranging in age from 1 to 75 descended upon Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary and made quick work of several projects. Fifteen employees from Accenture in Boston brought their friends and family members to combine forces with volunteers from Habitat’s Intergenerational Program (HIP) and many other friendly faces to lay bluestone, clear brush, root out invasive plants, and spread wood chips on trails and compost throughout the community garden.  Afterwards, volunteers relaxed with lunch and sweets while listening to African drumming provided by the Drum Connection. A vernal pool educational table was available throughout the day where volunteers could view vernal pool life under a microscope, see a wood frog and salamander, and mold blue-spotted salamanders of clay. 

Here are a few of the impressive stats from the day, proving that many hands do indeed make light work. Thank you!

More than 100 volunteers used 100 pairs of gloves, 40 loppers, 35 rakes, 30 shovels, 12 wheelbarrows, 12 trash barrels, 12 pails, and 12 pots to accomplish the following:

• Empty 12 compost bins and spread 30 cubic yards of compost in the community garden
• Cut down more than 20 large stems of 10-foot-tall euonymus near the community garden
• Lay a 30-foot bluestone path in the formal garden, which included digging out roots and rocks and moving a large boulder
• Spread six dump truck loads (360 cubic yards) of wood chips over 1.5 miles of trails
• Clear a half-acre of brush, including 800 stems of buckthorn and bittersweet, to reclaim part of the Highland Farm meadow
• Cut trees, shrubs, and vines
• Pull out stumps
• Sort and haul brush to a central location for chipping
• Fill 20 bags of debris