LYNNFIELD — The Tree Committee presented an information session by local naturalist Steve Fantone, who has documented the wildlife and ecosystem of Reedy Meadow, the largest freshwater cattail marsh in Massachusetts, over the past few years.
Through his countless hours of rail trail footage, Fantone’s work illustrates the importance of native wildlife, particularly trees, to the creatures living in habitats like the Reedy Meadow between Lynnfield and Wakefield.
“Native trees are important to the environment because they provide biodiversity and show them for wildlife,” he explained. “They also help prevent erosion, destabilizing soil, and increase water quality by absorbing rainwater, filtering pollutants and slowing down water flow.”
Another function trees serve is that they act as natural tripods for Fantone to strap his four trail cameras and record any of the wildlife that approaches. Any motion sensed by the cams triggers them to start recording for two minutes.
Fantone also has a live stream feed running 12 hours a day to record his bird feeder set up along the edge of the Saugus River that cuts through Reedy Meadow.
The result is 4k footage of the local fauna, ranging from deer, turkeys, coyotes, blue jays, and blue herons, going about their lives, all available to the public on his YouTube channel, Steve’s Wildlife.
His other channel, Hike Walk Paddle, gives viewers a tour of various Boston locales like Pillings Pond using his drone and 360° camera. The result, Fantone hopes, is for people to become aware of these ecosystems and even check them out for themselves.
“So, you might say, ‘Where should I visit if I want to see Reedy Meadow for myself?’ A great place to visit Reedy Meadow is the Partridge Island Trail,” Fantone said. “The boardwalk was recently repaired in November by a group of volunteers… It’s important to keep this boardwalk in good condition because it’s really the only public access to the Meadow that’s accessible for everyone.”
As a member of the Lynnfield Open Space and Recreation Working Group, Fantone has organized walks through Reedy Meadow.
The planned Lynnfield Rail Trail will eventually open up more of the habitat to the public, with access provided by the route crossing through the marsh with an elevated boardwalk.
“I think the rail trail is important because it’ll expose people to the meadow,” Fantone said. “It’s a good opportunity to educate people about what’s out there and about the importance of Reedy Meadow and the importance of taking care of it.”
Besides educating the audience of around 40 locals about Lynnfield’s wildlife, Fantone’s presentation highlighted general information about the benefits of planting trees and how individuals can help protect local wildlife.
For instance, trees regulate temperature by providing shade with their canopy and through a process called transpiration, where water is absorbed from the ground and then expelled into the air, cooling the surrounding environment.
Some tips Fantone noted to become greener include planting a vegetated buffer with native plants that can help prevent erosion and installing a rain garden, which is a depression in a yard that collects rainwater that, in turn, fosters native growth, helps pollinators, and prevents polluted runoff.
Another point he stressed was the harm of using rat poisons for pest control, with the harms far outreaching the primary animal that is poisoned.
“Rat poison is bad,” Fantone said. “Animals can eat rodenticide directly, or they can eat it from a box. Animals that eat those animals, like owls, bald eagles, other eagles, ox, or others, can eat a poisoned animal, which could lead to the poisoning of scavengers and other predators. They can persist in the environment, cause clotting problems, and cause mange in a lot of the animals it doesn’t immediately kill.”
For residents who are excited about learning more about local ecosystems and how to project them, future events and initiatives have already been planned by the Tree Committee, like an Arbor Day celebration that will feature a live owl demonstration.
