Eco-Restoration Journey Week 15: New benches, trail work and the big green-up

Every visit to the Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project reveals exciting progress. Over the last week, comfy benches were placed around the property and work began on the installation of the stabilized stone dust trail that will provide a wonderful surface for nature lovers of all abilities. 

Meanwhile, the area is now bursting with new native plant life, after layers of sand were removed from the retired bog and the ground was turned over (a process called microtopography). This liberated a long dormant native seed bank to bask in sunlight and soak up moisture, perfect conditions for germination and growth.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s been happening at Harwich Conservation Trust’s (HCT) ambitious rewilding effort at the Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Preserve.

Box seats along the trail: classic HCT-designed benches installed

Most of the 15 benches planned for the project have been installed around the perimeter of the recently restored wetland habitat that is brimming with green sprouts. The benches will serve as excellent vantage points along the trail and provide resting areas for folks who would like to sit, relax and take in the views.

The benches were built by SumCo Eco-Contracting, based on a tried and true HCT design developed by Colin Leonard, a member of HCT’s Board of Trustees for 34 years. Leonard, a well-known general contractor, said the original design came from an influential volume, “Handbook of Landscape Architectural Construction,” edited by noted landscape architect Jot D. Carpenter, who was also an Ohio State University professor and a National Park Service consultant.

“I didn’t reinvent the wheel,” said the modest Leonard. “Our benches are based on standards of landscape architecture.”

Similar benches are found at many HCT properties, and many of these were built by Leonard and AmeriCorps volunteers. In past years, winter was bench construction season, with Leonard and crew crafting benches at a surprising pace. “We would build a bench a day,” said Leonard, who also provided a set of bench plans to AmeriCorps volunteers to take with them. 

Leonard expects the new benches at the Hinckleys Pond site to last for several decades before needing replacement. One thing is for sure: they are quite comfortable and well-placed around the Preserve. It was a pleasure to try them out the other day and take in the rapidly greening restoration, where several flitting dragonflies provided excellent entertainment. It was a perk of my “HCT press pass” since we anticipate public access to reopen in September.

“Equitable access”: Installation of All Persons Trail begins

One of the most exciting aspects of the Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project is the creation of a nearly one-mile All Persons Trail. The trail will be wheelchair accessible, suitable for families with youngsters in strollers and will provide a great way for people of all abilities to enjoy nature.

All Persons Trails follow guidelines created by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), with specific guidance surrounding pitch and slope of the surface. In essence, the goal is a flat, even surface, suitable for a wide variety of users with different abilities.

The Massachusetts Office of Outdoor Recreation says that All Persons Trails provide “equitable access for seniors, people with various disabilities or mobility considerations, small children and their caregivers, people recovering from injury or illness, and people with chronic pain or joint problems.”

Work has begun on the final phase of the All Persons Trail at the Hinckleys Pond site: installing the stabilized stone dust surface that will provide a wonderfully smooth and level trail experience for users.

If you would like to get a preview of what’s to come at Hinckleys, take a spin over to HCT’s Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve in Harwich Port, where a recently completed eco-restoration project included the installation of a half-mile All Persons Trail.

We had the chance this week to take a gander at the first section of stabilized stone dust installation at the Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Preserve, and chat with the multi-talented Jeremy Sanders, site foreman for SumCo Eco-Contracting.

He is a big fan of All Persons Trails. “Access to nature makes people happy,” said Sanders. “”For folks who have challenges getting around, this trail will give them access to nature, to hear the birds singing and to see the wildlife. I think that is really important.”

The green scene

It is fair to say that when the Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project began in March, things looked a bit rough around the site. During the first phase of work, layers of sand that had been applied during decades of commercial agriculture were removed from the former bog areas. Then, the ground was turned over, in a process called microtopography.

For a while, it didn’t seem like much was happening in what looked like a moonscape initially. But the magic had already started. A long dormant native seed bank in the ground was getting the sunlight and moisture it needed to spring to life. As summer dawned, the growth began to overspread the site. Now, every time you drive by along Rt. 124 or take a peek from the bike trail it’s a pleasant green surprise, as the native wetland plants reach for the sky.

Approximately 1,000 other plants, including Atlantic white cedar trees, were also planted around the site as part of the project. Nick Nelson, Senior Fluvial Geomorphologist and Northeast Regional Director with Inter-Fluve, said plant growth will continue through the summer and fall. The resilience of nature is a sight to behold!

Project refresher

The Hinckleys Pond – Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project includes the restoration of two retired cranberry bogs that bookend 174-acre Hinckleys Pond in Harwich, located at the headwaters of the Herring River estuary. Hinckleys Pond is also connected by streams to river herring spawning habitat in Long Pond and Seymour Pond.

By the late 1990s, much larger off-Cape bogs were producing an extra supply of cranberries that caused the price to fall. This shift in the industry makes it more difficult for local growers to continue farming. Some are looking to exit the industry.

Farmers have a choice. They can either sell their properties for conversion of the upland to subdivisions which can cause water quality changes and end up closing off public access to the land. Or they can seek a conservation future by selling to local land trusts and towns. In 2021 at Hinckleys Pond, the Jenkins family finished their farming chapter and chose to sell their 31 acres to HCT for the next chapters of conservation and eco-restoration.

The Brown family, who owns a retired bog on the other side of the pond, is also partnering with HCT on the project. The collaborative eco-effort will increase biodiversity and restore freshwater wetland habitat as well as enhance opportunities for everyone to enjoy the trails, views and wildlife watching.

The eco-restoration project was funded by HCT donors, the Brown family, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Watershed grant, EPA National Estuary Program Coastal Watershed grant under cooperative agreement with Restore America’s Estuaries, Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation MassTrails grant, foundation funds through the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, and a Transformational Habitat Restoration & Coastal Resilience grant through the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

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