The Green Team, a group of teens doing groundwork around the city this summer, will be sending us weekly updates on what they've been up to. Here's a look at their first week on the job. For more on the Green Team, turn to page 10.
This week we spent two days working at White Park planting daylilies, ornamental grass, azaleas and a tree at the entrance to the parking lot. Local landscape architect Johanna Kuss helped us plan out our work and taught us about the aesthetics of landscaping, like planting in “sweeps” to create a more natural look. We also put in some flowers at the entrance to the park near the new rotary.
We spent Wednesday at Eagle Square, pruning back the lilacs and planting hostas and catmint. Thursday the team went to the Conservation Center and met with Jason Teaster, who gave us a tour of the center and its environmentally friendly architecture. After our tour, we headed out to the flood plain to fix a broken bridge and help Jason clear out some invasive species – barberry, honeysuckle and bittersweet. A lot of people may have barberry growing in their yards as an ornamental plant because it turns a nice burgundy color, but it's an invasive species and shouldn't be used for landscaping.
On Friday, the team started a new project for the summer – fixing up the garden area behind the Kennedy Street senior housing. We measured out the area and met with landscape architect Susanne Smith Meyer, who helped us draw out our plans for renovating the area later in the summer.
The team is leaving this Sunday (June 28) for the week-long Gulf of Maine Institute Summer Conference on Thompson Island, where we'll meet with other youth teams to discuss environmental activism and community outreach.
