What has the Marblehead Conservancy been up to?
The Marblehead Conservancy is always busy. The strictly volunteer organization maintains roughly 150 acres for trails and conservation areas, including Jermyn Farm, which is adjacent to Robinson Farm. And if youve ever wondered what exactly that adds up to, here is the checklist for June according to a report issued by MC Treasurer Don Morgan:  Hawthorn Pond: Replaced 15 deck boards in the old boardwalk; Applied preservative to the new boardwalk  it makes the wood last longer and makes graffiti easier to remove; Re-installed two entrance signs which had been uprooted by vandals. Steer Swamp: Trimmed most of the almost 2 miles of trails; Remediated bicycle jumps and unauthorized trails and theyre working on a new sign for the Joseph Brown Pond entrance  Ware Pond: The group continues to cut Japanese knotweed on the newly gifted property on Wilson Road; Cut up a tree that fell across the Warren Trail; Mowed all trails  Lead Mills: Mowed and trimmed all trails; Installed automatic watering system for 13,000 square feet of recently sowed wildflower seeds and 2,000 square feet of shrubs; Cut invasive vetch (approx 2,000 sq ft) before its flowers went to seed; Installed stones along the irregular Salem-Marblehead border  Forest River: Pulled approximately 30 contractor bags of invasive Pepperweed partnering with Salem Sound Coastwatch; Trimmed Trails; Remediated bicycle jumps and unauthorized trails  Tower School: Partnering with the 6th grade Science Department, they cleared invasives along the railroad bed and planted native trees and shrubs. Tower has planted a plot of violets for us to use at the Lead Mills wildflower project  Extracurricular: Don Tritschler shared a cherry pie he made with Montmorency sour cherries from his yard. All work and no play is not a problem here, quipped Morgan. Morgan said there are about 17 people who attend the conservancys twice-weekly, all-year-long Trail Crew in June. Regulars include Jiri Rodovsky, Dick Marcy, Bob French, Mo Ashley, Doug Perkins, Don Forte, Kathy Breslin, Steve Butterworth, Nina Robertson, Mary Krull, Cathi Lyons, Ben Collette, Katie Jenkins, Andrea Gast, and Eric Dolin as well as Tritschler and Morgan. We maintain all eight conservation areas and the forested portion of Seaside Park, Morgan said. Over our 20 years, we have expended almost 29,000 person-hours maintaining trails  not including meetings and planning time. The Trail Crews get to work Wednesday afternoons from 4-6 p.m. and Saturday mornings 8:30-11:30 a.m. and anyone age 16 years or older are invited to join in. For more information on the Marblehead Conservancy, visit https://marbleheadconservancy.org/.