On October 27, 2024, Neil Pederson, a Maynard resident and senior ecologist at Harvard Forest, walked with Green Maynard members Abbie and Sarah along the Blue Green Trail in Maynard. This trail starts at the Colbert Street parking lot and follows a thin strip of forest beside the Assabet River for a mile and half. The first half is in Maynard; the second half is in Acton. We walked the Maynard section, which ends shortly after the water treatment plant.
The video is divided into three sections.
Part 1
In this video, Neil shares more about his interest in the Blue Green Trail. Influenced by a career as an ecological scientist, his appreciation of the biodiversity along this strip of river has grown over the last few years. He has identified 30 different tree species here (some of which you are about to see), and he has tracked individual trees over the years.
Part 2
Neil shares his thoughts about forest management in Maynard, taking into account pathogens, living organisms that can cause disease in trees and other woodland plants, and touches on the understanding of Indigenous thinkers who have thousands of years of forest management experience.
Part 3
In this video, Neil highlights the effects of pathogens on the trail's beach, elm, and chestnut trees. He shows us how to read this forested landscape, and we get a glimpse into how he sees the history of land use through the growth and species of a tree. From years of study he is intimately aware of the influence that determinants like soil type, underlying rock origin, aspect, slope, and river proximity have on species selection and growth. Part of his interest in this section of forest is how it illustrates the transition from Northern hardwood forest, (sugar maple, American beech, and yellow birch) to Southern, temperate forest (oak, hickory, and up to 100 other species). Along the way, Neil helps us identify muscle wood; mockernut and pignut hickory; American beech; black, red, and white oak; chestnut; silver and red maple; and mapleleaf viburnum.
Trees on the North (Left) Bank of the Blue Green Trail as Identified by Neil Pederson
True Wetland Species
Swamp White Oak
American Elm
Red Maple
Silver Maple
Red Spruce
Black Tupelo, Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica)
Eastern White Pine
Highbush Blueberry
Alder
Musclewood, American Hornbeam, Blue Beech (Carpinus Caroliniana)
Fire Cherry, Pin Cherry
Spicebush
Sassafras
Yellow Birch
Box Elder
Mapleleaf Viburnum
Coastal Sweet Pepperbush
Just Above Wetlands
American Beech
Serviceberry, Shadbush
Sweet Birch, Black Birch (Betula lenta)
Upland Species
White Oak
Black Oak
Northern Red Oak
Sugar Maple
Mockernut Hickory
Shagbark Hickory
Eastern Hemlock
Hophorn Beam (Ostrya virginiana)
Pignut Hickory
American Chestnut
Poison Ivy
Mountain Laurel?
Resources for Further Learning
• Reading the Forested Landscape: A Natural History of New England by Tom Wessels
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