Heidi Natura of Living Habitats, architectural consultant for the North Shore Channel Habitat Project, took a closer look at soil along the channel banks today, with Matt Basile, forestry supervisor for the city. The channel is an artificial waterway that was completed a hundred years ago, and excavated soil was moved onto surrounding land. This area has blue clay near the surface. The team assessed other site conditions, including shade, and identified eight different work zones running from Bridge Street about 1,200 feet northeast to a point just beyond a group of existing pollinator beds. During the spring and summer, volunteers will work with city crews to continue the process of removing invasive buckthorn and honeysuckle along the banks. In addition, the city will selectively remove some trees to open up the canopy and allow in more sun in preparation for fall planting of native understory plants. Some of the trees to be removed are already dead (mostly from Dutch Elm Disease), others are young invasive Norway maples. Some dead trees, or snags, will be left as habitat.
— Wendy Pollock
