Norwood Park Arboriculture Project

The norwood park Arboriculture project (npAp) is a special tree project of the Little Falls Watershed Alliance. The project’s mission is to renew, conserve and expand the amazing canopy tree collection and to protect critical, local native ecosystems in Norwood Park, Little Falls Stream Valley Watershed. We are connecting amateur and expert naturalists to identify and learn about this beautiful urban green space and forested land. We are combating invasives and working to foster healthy biodiversity with energetic volunteers and philanthropic efforts.

 

Upcoming Events

Updates

Featured
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Spring Newsletter: npAp

Happy Arbor Day!  The Norwood Park Arboriculture Project (npAp) is excited to share the inaugural npAp News!

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New Year's Bird Count, Norwood Park

While, I suspect, most of us were still sleeping, Pete Givan and Adele O’Dowd were out in Norwood Park leading a bird walk to do a New Year’s Day count and introducing participants to the trees in the Park.

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All Things Nature: Norwood Park Natural History Day

Mushrooms, trees, ceramics, rocks, ice cream, saplings, birds, milkweed balls, and more all came together for one big celebration at the Norwood Park Natural History Day, Sunday October 30.  Over 200 attendees learned about the trees in the Park, what kind of mushrooms grow where (and even sampled some cooked up right on site), learned about watersheds and the importance of native plants, and did some non-native invasive removal.  

Tree Tour

Walk the ¾ mile self-guided npAp Native Tree Tour and get to know the trees of the Park as the unique individuals they are. Learn how to identify them and enjoy each through seasons and years.

 

npAp Background

In 2019, a large but declining canopy tree which had been shading a playground was taken down in Norwood Park for the safety of park patrons.  Once the tree was down, many park neighbors and visitors inspected its remaining grand stump, climbing it and counting the rings. This was an opportunity to look back in time to before the park even existed. The American Elm (Ulmus americana) stump revealed that the tree had likely been standing there for some 120-140 years! 

Norwood Park was established in 1937 and has an interesting history before and after that time. But when the historic tree came down, a group of park neighbors and friends realized that this marked an opportunity to appreciate, learn about and conserve the many other wonderful stately canopy trees and local native plants in and around Norwood Park, and to recognize their critical role as an urban forest and riparian buffer for the greater region’s native ecosystem – the Little Falls Watershed Stream Valley.

In 2009, a previous effort had been made to eradicate invasive species and restore native habitat on an adjacent hillside at the southwest corner of the park. This is the Norwood Park Meadow Project, initiated by the Little Falls Watershed Alliance in collaboration with Montgomery Parks. Volunteers and Weed Warriors planted the meadow with over 30 species of native plants grown from local seeds.  Yearly meadow maintenance by volunteers keeps the plants healthy.

In 2021, volunteers interested in the canopy trees joined forces with LFWA to launch the Norwood Park Arboriculture Project, with the goal of expanding on the effort to protect local native habitat and help visitors identify and learn about the amazing tree collection on their doorstep. 

Start helping your watershed today!