Bedford Arbor Resources Committee and Sudbury Valley Trustees (SVT) led a joint trail walk at Bedford’s Minnie Reid conservation land in September, where attendees learned to identify the most common trees in the eastern mixed forest. Christa Collins, SVT Director of Land Protection, led the walk and explained how to identify trees by characteristics such as leaf shape and bark as well as by their location in the landscape.
In the upland meadow on the property, participants learned to identify Red, Black and White Oaks (Quercus rubra, Q. velutina, Q. alba), Hickory (Carya ovata), Maple (Acer genus), Sassafras (Sassafras albidum), Eastern Red-Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and a variety of evergreen conifer trees.
As the trail led downhill and through the forest to low wetlands, Christa discussed the challenges of distinguishing Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) from Black Huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata). Along the edges of the wetlands, Winterberry shrubs (Ilex verticillata) were distinctive with their brilliant red berries, which are loved by birds.
Participants also learned that the varied natural habitat of the Minnie Reid conservation land, which connects through other conservation lands to the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge along the Concord River, is large enough to support numerous bird species, including the Pileated Woodpecker and other interior forest birds such as certain warblers, owls and raptors.
The Bedford Arbor Resources Committee assists the town in protecting resources on publicly owned lands. SVT protects natural areas in Bedford and 35 other communities in the region. The two groups are planning a second walk for Spring 2020 that will continue through the Altmann Conservation lands to the historic Two Brothers’ rocks at the Concord River. Keep an eye on the SVT website for registration information in February. https://www.svtweb.org/calendar.
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