Cochituate Rail Trail Restoration
Restoring the Commons
Along the Framingham trail head of the Cochituate Rail Trail there is a section dominated by the compounding problems of erosion and invasive plants. Our work began by in 2022 by installing a variety of native shrubs and trees along the top of the bank to help get roots in the ground and stabilizing the space previously dominated by Japanese Knotweed.
During the 2023 season we continued in our restoration efforts by addressing a small section that was receiving all the water runoff from the adjacent uphill parking lot. For this segment of the restortion we planted a variety of aggressive native grasses and wildlfowers designed to provide deep root systems and spread throughout the space to form a tight knit canopy. We are utilzing rip rap stone as a stop gap to stabilize the slope from the large volume of water moving through the space until the plants are established and spread.
We hope to continue our work in 2024 by addressing the remaining 2,300 sq/ft denuded from a Japanese knotweed infestation.
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