Live Tree Staking, Sign Posting and Restoration Site Tour at Traphole Brook

Note, these events have been rescheduled to March 30 due to the poor weather on March 23.

Live Tree Staking

We are looking for a few volunteers with waders to do some additional live tree staking to help reduce future erosion and flooding around Traphole Brook in Norwood.

Tree staking is a relatively easy and inexpensive method of stabilizing stream banks and preventing future erosion that involves installing “live tree stakes”. Live tree stakes are branches of wetland trees that have been recently cut off of an adult tree.

When live tree stakes are placed into the bank of a stream or river, they start to grow and become a new tree. This helps stabilize the bank and limit future erosion, as these trees will start to grow roots first before blooming up into a new tree.

Restoration Site Tour and Stream Side Sign Posting

After the live tree staking we will provide a tour of the restoration site at the location of the former Mill Pond dam in Norwood. Along the way, we will be posting some stream side signs.  

The tour will be led by NepRWA River Restoration Director, Sean McCanty.  The Mill Pond Dam was removed in February 2022 and the restoration of the mill pond area was completed that year.   The tour will occur following the completion of the live tree staking and is open to all, regardless of whether you participate in the tree staking and sign posting or not.   

The stream side signals that we will be posting were designed, working with our partner NepRWA, to be posted along brook trout streams in the Neponset River watershed.  The signs include a QR code that links to a page on the NepRWA website with information about brook trout, their habitat and threats to coldwater streams. Check it out, by scanning to code with your phone, or click here to read the information at the link.  The signs were made possible by a grant from the Massachusetts TU Council.