The Cattail Conservatory is a rising initiative that promotes ecological healing through restoration of indigenous plants while fortifying indigenous ways of life. By engaging our environment with familial intentions, we actively contribute to the reinvestment into all of our relations.  
The presence of cattail is a visible indicator of fresh water resources. As we harvest to permanently remove the invasive phragmites from fresh water sources, we will use them in ways to support ecological innovation. We aim to reinforce the value of caretaking Mother Earth, and the notion that water is life by helping to reestablish the natural growth patterns of cattail and companion plants in historical and developing wetlands.

Areas of Interest

& Developing Partnerships

  • Intensive care to restore the marshland and companion plants through the controlled removal of the non-native phragmites.

  • Within the Boston Nature Center Sanctuary lies the Canterbury Brook wetland where strong cattail colony resides and helps filter the waters that traveling through it. They are now admist two phragmite stands that are a growing concern.

  • An area once filled with cattail and visible water is now filled with phragmites. Only one small cattail stand remains and is being threatened.

    Location: Enneking Pkwy, Smithfield Road, Reservation Road, Smithfield Park.

Why this matters:

The biodiversity of greenscapes are being monopolized by a variation of phragmites that are not indigenous to North America. They grow in a fashion that towers to heights of 13 ft., multiply in a manner that’s too dense for wildlife to pass through, and are hardy enough to grow in any condition. Due to their troublesome nature, that smothers out everything in their path, DCR has designated them a an invasive species that requires a rapid response plan. As they expand beyond waterscapes, areas like the woodlands, meadows, and valleys are losing their ability to effectively grow and nurture the organisms that depend on the diverse plant life within them.

Waterscapes

Neponset River Dorchester, MA

Stony Brook Wetlands Hyde Park, MA

Canterbury Brook Mattapan, MA