The Trustees of Reservations Education Coordinator Linton Harrington led a group on a heart-healthy walk on April 16, 2011 through the Copicut Woods to one of the few remaining stands of cedar trees to plant a dozen new trees. Prized for its lightweight, decay-resistant wood, the Atlantic White Cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) was once a common tree in our region but is now quite rare. Because fires are not permitted in the area, few areas receive the sunlight needed to start new saplings. Foresters have cleared an area of red maple trees to give newly-planted trees a chance to grow into mature cedar trees. Click here for the video of the event. Click here for photos of a 2005 Cedar Swamp Walk. Copicut Woods is part of the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve, an area of preserved forest large enough to sustain the native biodiversity of this region, from the dominant white pine-oak forest to these rare Atlantic white cedar swamps. For more information the project, contact Linton Harrington at 508-679-2115. (Bottom row photos courtesy of Linton Harrington)
 

(Top row, left) Nancy Possinger, Arthur Hancock and a friend, and Louise Kaczynski, who serves as a tree steward in Fall River, gather near the entrance to the cedar swamp where the plantings will be done. (Top row, center)  Trustees of Reservations Education Director Linton Harrington and Property Manager Sam Phin describe the project at the Copicut Woods parking lot on Indiantown Road. (Top row, right) Assistant Scoutmaster David Fitzpatrick walks with members of Boy Scout Troop 21 from Somerset to the site of the cedar swamp. (Middle row) Boy Scouts look over the supply of rubber boots to wear into the swamp where the will help to plant the saplings that are loaded onto a pick-up truck. (Bottom row, left) Arthur Hancock and Leah Davis of the Boston University Alumni Association Global Day of Service work on planting a sapling. (Bottom row, right) The group of about twenty volunteers pose for a photo after the project is complete.

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