Source: Donna Rhodes, Winnisquam Echo (pdf)
Jesse Teeter and Steven Silvestri of Belmont High School helped members of the Student Conservation Association and the New Hampshire Landscape Association remove glossy buckthorn from conservation wetlands along Route 140 in Belmont last Friday. (Photo: DONNA RHODES)
BELMONT — Environmental science lessons extended outside the classroom last Friday, when Belmont High School teacher Dan Pleeter’s class got some hands on experience in conservation as they worked side by side with members of the Student Conservation Association and other volunteers.
More than a dozen students from Belmont High School were transported to the Tioga River Wildlife and Conservation Area along Route 140, where they were greeted by SCA workers and members of the New Hampshire Landscape Association. They received a brief safety lesson and an introduction to an invasive plant species known as Glossy Buckthorn.
The work to eradicate Glossy Buckthorn on more than 20 acres of the conservation land began last year, and was made possible for the second year in a row through volunteerism and a grant obtained by Belmont’s Land Use Technician, Rick Ball, on behalf of the Belmont Conservation Commission.
Commissioner Denise Naiva said the group realizes it is an uphill battle to rid the land of the noxious species but one they are willing to fight. “Our goal is to stay on top of it,” she said. “We’re going to do as much as we can to allow the natural species found here to take over.” …continue reading