Help us restore our local ecosystems!
Feeling helpless in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss? Roll up your sleeves and join our effort to restore the local landscape!
Invasive plants threaten the biodiversity of our forests and wetlands: they out compete native plant species for scarce resources, and in doing so, they disrupt ecosystems that have developed over millennia.
Join us at WRL’s Berlin Road Preserve to help us clear invasive plants along the trails and road. We’re hoping to remove a small patch of phragmites in a road swale, tackle honeysuckle and rose growing along the bog bridges and remove barberry from the forest. All ages welcome, but minors under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. We will provide all training and equipment, no experience necessary.
Meet at Berlin Road Entrance parking lot along Berlin Rd. Additional parking available at the end of Berlin Rd. in the Williams College lot.
For questions, email programs@rurallands.org.
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Rural Lands is hosting monthly invasive species removal days from April – October. Each workday will be on a different Rural Lands property in Williamstown.
You will learn:
- About the variety of habitats found in Williamstown
- How to ID invasive plants and about their disruptive roles in ecosystems
- The importance of preserving native plant communities
Directions: Drive south on Routes 7 and 2 from downtown Williamstown (2.3 mi.). Turn right (west) on Route 2 and then left on Torrey Woods Road (2.6 mi.). At the first intersection, continue straight on Berlin Road, a dirt road (3.0 mi.). Drive uphill 1.7 mi. past the last of the houses. Continue 4.7 miles down the road.
Parking: There is a small parking lot (2-3 cars) along Berlin Rd. on the right – look for the WRL kiosk. Additional parking available at the end of the road.
What to bring: Long sleeves and pants made of thicker material such as canvas (rose thorns will tear through lighter materials!), long socks, sturdy shoes/boots that can get dirty and torn, thick work or gardening gloves if you have them (we have some to borrow!).