CMS Students Helping to Restore Waterways
Fifth-grade students from China Middle School and Vassalboro Community School are continuing the work started two years ago by fellow students helping with the revegetation project at the Masse Dam Site in Vassalboro. They are learning the connections between alewives, native plants and the restoration of Maine waterways back to their original state. The restoration of Maine waterways, also known as the Alewife Restoration Initiative, will allow river herring, an anadromous fish, to return to freshwater to spawn.
Matt Streeter, from Maine Rivers, shared what has happened and is happening as dams are being removed allowing alewives and blueback herring to return to China Lake and Outlet Stream. Nate Gray from Maine Department of Marine Resources provided information on alewives as a keystone species and what that means to our local environment. Anita Smith a Maine Master naturalist clarified the difference between native and invasive plants and why we need to focus our restoration efforts with native species.
This year’s seed collection were ones that would do well in wet to medium wet soils. Some of the seeds planted were Swamp Milkweed, Swamp Smart Weed, New England Asters, Wild Bergamot, Black-eyed Susan and Golden Alexander. Next fall students will go to the Masse Dam Site to plant their young plants along the outlet stream. There is also a plan for the 5th graders to visit the site this spring. In the spring they will learn more about the history of the site, identify critters from the stream to determine if the stream is healthy or not, as well as plant shrubs along the stream’s edge.
Seeds for this project were provided by the China Lake Association.
Article and photos submitted by Elaine Philbrook of the China Lake association