Watershed restoration
Pierce Pond Fish Ladder
WORKSHOP: Saturday, August 13th, 2022
10 am – noon
Pierce pond fish ladder, penobscot, maine
Join the Penobscot Alewife Committee, the Open Air Arts Initiative and the SEED Barn for a creative workshop centered on tending the rivershore along the restored Pierce Pond Fish Ladder. We will be working together to sculpt a ‘habitat sculpture’ using material found on site which will sit atop a patch of invasive Bishop’s weed. While exercising our creative muscles, we will also learn how to quell the invasive Bishop’s weed using NO chemicals through the approach of community centered restoration. Read about the project as featured in the Weekly Packet’s ‘Another View
how to participate in the ongoing restoration
This effort is not limited to a singular event. Bishop’s weed is incredibly tenacious, and will take extended time and energy by community members to eradicate.
Here is how to help tend the site:
 Peter Leonard of the Blue Hill Garden Club works on digging out Bishop’s weed | DIG IT OUT For small patches, dig out the Bishop’s weed, making sure to remove ALL segments of plant and root. Place all plant material in a garbage bag and take it to the dump. |
 Make sure to remove all plastic tape from the cardboard boxes before using them to tamp out the Bishop’s weed. | CARDBOARD & MULCH For larger patches, place several layers of cardboard over the offensive plants. Conceal the cardboard with leaf litter, sticks and mulch, which will decompose into the soil while tamping out the Bishop’s weed. |
MAP:
Engage with the watershed
This map invites community members to experience unique ecology zones along the land/water interface and participate in tending landscapes surrounding fish ladders that have been restored by the Penobscot Alewife Committee.
Zoom WAY in to learn about the history of each ladder and explore ways to engage with an array public access points.
Pierce’s Pond
There are four distinct ecology zones present at Pierce’s Pond; cobble river and lakeshore along the fish ladder and the dam beyond, meadow, beech oak hardwood forest around the outdoor classroom, and the coniferous woodland path leading downstream. We have posted native plant lists specific to each zone, sourced from the Natural Landscapes of Maine. Many of these native plants are plentiful in the wild landscapes that surround us. Sourcing seeds listed here from your own landscape, and sowing them onsite diversifies the genetic makeup of the species growing here.
Creative prompts are offered as ways to deepen our understanding of the land/water interface. Explore the open source images of wildlife webs supported by plants that grow in these zones. Feel free to practice observational drawings to reflect on each species and how they fit into the larger picture. Please send in reflections, ask questions and add insights of your own.
Contact: Lee Lee: lee-lee<a>virtualvoices.org