Ell Pond Water Chestnut Cleanup Taking Place This Sunday

Community volunteers are invited to participate in a clean-up of water chestnuts at Ell Pond this weekend and next. Hand-pulling of these invasive plants will take place at Ell Pond this Sunday, July 30, 2023 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and next Sunday, August 6, 2023 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. 

Volunteers should provide their own kayaks or canoes (as well as life jackets), though limited reservations may be available at wakefieldboating.com. If you do not have a kayak but still wish to help, please bring a porous basket (like a plastic laundry bin) to help carry the plants which are pulled out of the water. Waterproof gloves, your own drinking water, and sunscreen are all strongly recommended. Please meet near the dog park at The Knoll (off Lynn Fells Parkway). 

Water chestnuts are an aquatic plant capable of growing densely while out-competing native species, as noted in a city notice of intent related to its mechanical harvesting work. 

The plants were first documented in Ell Pond several years ago, prompting initial attempts at hand-pulling to manage their spread. While these efforts did slow the water chestnut’s advance, they didn’t eradicate its presence in the pond, according to city filings. 

This work is intended to augment the machine harvesting which has been taking place for the past two weeks at the pond, a project being managed by the Melrose Conservation Commission and made possible by a combination of a state and local funding.