Scout Habitat Restoration Projects at Angle Fly Preserve
As on most land that has supported a variety of human uses over its centuries of recorded history, Angle Fly Preserve's natural habitats have been greatly modified and, sadly, often degraded. With nothing to check their expansion, invasive plants and animals can crowd out native species while diseases inadvertently introduced through international trade flourish in new hosts. With their natural predators eliminated, white tailed deer populations have increased beyond the carrying capacity of the land and are a major reason our local forests no longer have an understory. This can all seem unsurmountable, but Somers area scouts are doing their part to make a difference.
2011
Jonathan Dunstan
Troop 376/Eagle Scout Project
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Jonathan built a deer exclosure in a forested area. A deer exclosure is a fenced area to keep deer out to learn whether and how quickly the land could regenerate from seeds and plant roots that may still be in the soil.
2011
Jamie Graff
Troop 228/Eagle ScoutProject
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Jamie fitted the poultry barn with rain barrels to capture water for the wildflower demonstration garden.
2012
Michael Keane
Troop 228/Eagle Scout Project​
Michael designed and planted a rain garden in a low wet area at the entrance to Angle Fly, in front of the Reynolds house. The plants in the rain garden are all natives.​
2012
Craig Dammeyer
Troop 376/Eagle Scout Project​
Craig added native plantings to secure the slope behind the composting toilet at the top of the Reynolds Farmstead meadow.
2013
Zbynak Gold
Troop 376/Eagle Scout Project
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Zbynak built a deer exclosure in the meadow area on the White trail, to investigate the effect of plant regeneration in a different habitat than the exclosure built by Jonathan Dunstan in the forest.
2014
Tom Krawetz
Troop 228/Eagle Scout Project
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Tom removed invasive plants near the yellow barn as well as in the upper parking lot median and replaced them with native plantings.
2014
Kevin Turchick
Troop 228/Eagle Scout Project
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Kevin removed a large patch of invasive grass near the poultry barn and covered it with black plastic to prevent it resprouting from seeds or root fragments in the soil.
2018
Jack Hannan
Troop 376/Eagle Scout Project
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Jack cleared invasive plants from near the poultry barn, replacing them with native shrubs and flowers. He also added to a nearby garden started by Kody Tirpack with plants helpful to bird and pollinators.
2018
Matthew Reimann
Troop 228/Eagle Scout Project
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Matthew cleared invasive plants from beneath the white pines at the southern end of the Reynold Farmstead pond, near the poultry barn. He replanted the area with a variety of native ferns, added mulch and a path.
2018
Christian Faller
Troop 376/Eagle Scout Project
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Christian cleared invasive plants and vines from the AFP entrance to the information kiosk and replanted with native shrubs. Not only does this improve visitors' first impressions, but also water quality of a nearby stream.
2019-20
Alex Cameron
Troop 376/Eagle Scout Project
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Alex cleared out invasive plants at the north end of Reynold's Farmstead Pond near the entrance to Angle Fly Preserve and replanted with natives.