In early October, CELT hosted students from Waynflete School for two events at Runaway Farm. The 9th grade and 10th grade classes each came for a morning of volunteering, to remove invasive plants and help build new rabbit habitat shelters (“rabbitats”) for the state endangered New England Cottontails that make Runaway Farm their home.
One group of students focused on removing invasive plants — specific plant species that spread aggressively and harm the native ecosystem. Students worked in the forest area on the Town-owned Gull Crest land just north of the Runaway Farm border, as had been approved at the September Conservation Committee meeting. Individual students became experts on specific species, like glossy buckthorn, Asiatic bittersweet, Japanese honeysuckle, or multiflora rose. Once they learned to recognize their specific species, students clipped, dug up roots, and removed as many individual plants of that species as they could find. These two days greatly helped prevent new invasive plants from expanding from the Town land into Runaway Farm, and helped promote healthy ecosystems in the wider area.
Other students spent their morning constructing rabbit habitat spaces for New England Cottontails at Runaway Farm. These rabbits use brush piles as protection from weather, to escape predators, and for nesting and resting. Students constructed brush piles with three layers: 6″ – 12″ logs crisscrossed for the bottom, 2″ – 4″ logs and branches in the middle, and loose branches on top.
Many thanks to Waynflete students and faculty for coming to help CELT promote healthy ecosystems and habitat at Runaway Farm! See if you can spot any animal signs like nibbled branches, scat, or hopping tracks next time you’re out on the trails.
