Author: echohillnorth

SPRING POND CLEAN UP 2014

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Date: Saturday, May 31 (rain date: Sunday, June 1)

Time: 10am – 1pm (come for as little or as long as you can!)

Location: Oak Knoll (Road) Pond

Join your neighbors, come out and meet folks, and get some exercise as we begin to get the pond and beach ready for summer swimming and picnics!

The Association Board is working hard on safe and appropriate pond and beach maintenance so that we may continue to enjoy all this unique neighborhood resource has to offer, but your help is needed!

Under the experienced and dedicated leadership of Board member, Jim Soper, we’ll paddle canoes on the water to rake up the weeds, collect on-shore debris in wheelbarrows for compost, spread new sand on the beach, and clear out the invasive plants so that the native species can thrive. Jim will also again this year teach people to identify invasive species. 

Needed that day: Wheelbarrows, weed whackers, canoes, rakes, tarps, shovels, work gloves.

Refreshments will be provided by the Association.

KIDS WELCOME! (They has a great time helping last year – scroll down to see the photos!)

 

Speeding/Pedestrian Safety

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The Board is grateful to Echo Hill North resident, Elizabeth Lingo, for bringing the issue of speeding and pedestrian safety to the forefront of the Board’s agenda items for this year. She has put in many hours already researching best practices and ensuring headway in the process of making our neighborhood safer for all. (Notice the speed monitor on Heatherstone Road…)

The Board has recently sent a letter drafted by Elizabeth Lingo to the Amherst Select Board requesting traffic surveys. Once we have the results, we will ask the Department of Public Works to make changes to address the problem. These could take the form of new signage, painted bike lanes, median islands or speed bumps. We will also begin the complicated process of lowering the speed limit.

Stay tuned and many thanks Elizabeth.

A head start on the Spring 2014 pond clean up!

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Looking good!
Looking good!

Many, many thanks to Jim Soper, Faythe Turner, Larry Steinhauser, Tom Warger, Jerry Hayes and Will Cutting for several hours of work at the pond last Sunday, April 13.  In an effort to take advantage of the opportunity to do some clean up before the water level is raised to the summer level, they raked mats of dead weeds, leaves, dead cattails and picked up sticks and trash along the exposed edges of the pond and on the beach area.  We are grateful for their extraordinary effort and demonstrated love of the pond.

The bulk of the work is yet to do so see you on May 31!

New England Environmental Testing Pond This Summer (2014)

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Phosphate levels in the pond last summer were elevated. This can be caused by decomposing organic matter, by runoff from adjacent areas, or other sources. Because phosphates lead to algae and weed proliferation, the Board has been investigating various options for treating the pond for clearer water.

Before going through the expensive process of filing for the necessary permits for various treatment options, the Board has contracted New England Environmental to test this summer to pinpoint the extent and source of our phosphate problem.

The goal of the testing is to help the Board pinpoint the extent and source of phosphorus at the pond contributing to the amount of algae and weeds each year. 

Annual Member Meeting, February 2014

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 Monday, February 3, 2014

 7 PM

Amherst Woman’s Club

35 Triangle Street

 Featured Speaker – Elizabeth Lingo

 Pedestrian Safety

– Options for Action –

 7 PM

Dessert and Coffee

 7:30 PM

  • Pond and Financial Reports
  • Report on Renewing the Covenants
  • Board Nominations and Elections
  • Officer Elections

 Directions to Amherst Woman’s Club: Main Street toward Amherst Center, right on Triangle Street. The Amherst Woman Center is a large beige Victorian across from the Emily Dickinson garden. http://amherstwc.org/1.html

Parking: Guests may park in the driveway or parking lot. Excess parking is available on Mattoon Street, around the corner from the club.

Pond Lab Report, June 2013

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Test results from Quabbin Analytical Laboratory as of June 19, 2013

As usual for us, E-Coli bacteria was found to be within acceptable levels for E.P.A. Standards: 10 colony forming units (CFUs) of E. Coli per 100 ml of sample water. (We have had acceptable readings as high as 15 and 20 in the past 3 years.)

Phosphate         0.58 mg/l

Spring Clean Up 2013

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The spring clean up and social on May 18 was a great success. Mother Nature provided us with glorious weather. We cleaned weeds from the pond, weeded out invasive flora, cleared and raked the beach, and shared a delicious brunch. Kids and teens turned out and were awarded with gift certificates for ice cream and frozen yogurt.

A huge thank you to: Jim Soper, who led the clean up. Steve Ellis, Dick Giglio, Paul Hamel, and Faythe Turner who headed work details. Faythe Turner and Linda Terry who arranged for the brunch. Steve Brown who rounded up prizes for the kids. And especially to all our Echo Hill North neighbors who showed up armed with rakes, canoes, weed whackers, tarps, and clippers!

Here are a few photos.

Spring Pond Clean Up and Brunch 2013

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When – Saturday May 18

– rain date Sunday May 19 –

Time – 10 am – 2 pm

Where – Oak Knoll Pond

Share brunch by the pond, work with neighbors, and get the beach ready for summer swimming and picnics. Jim Soper will be there to show you how to identify invasive species like Autumn Olive and Multiflora Rose.

Come for the whole time or stop by for a few minutes.

Why?

Here’s a photo I took at the pond on Sunday May 5. Look at all those weeds! Let’s clear out the mess for swimming and picnicking this summer.

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Weeds need to be cleared from the pond.

Eat!

Bagels, cream  cheese, pastries, coffee, tea, juice! All refreshments will be provided by the Association.

Work!

We’ll paddle canoes on the water to rake up the weeds. On shore, we’ll collect the debris in wheelbarrows for compost. We’ll rake out the sand on the beach. And we’ll clear out the invasive plants so that the native species can thrive.

Win!

There will be a raffle and prizes for Bart’s and Go Berry.

Teens and Kids earn raffle tickets by helping!  We need your energy and strength.

What to Bring

Wheelbarrows, weed whackers, canoes, rakes, tarps, shovels, work gloves.

Image
Multiflora Rose – An Invasive Plant Crowding Out Native Species
Image
Autumn Olive – Invasive Plant