40 Janet Rd

There are plans for a new garden in the neighborhood in Chelmsford at the base of the Thanksgiving Forest entrance: “A Garden for a Purpose.” Our mission is to create a native pollinator garden with specific plants that support 2 species of bees over an entire season. According to Dr. Gegear, a UMASS Dartmouth professor and Director of the Bumblebee Project, several Massachusetts bumblebees are at risk, specifically Bombus fervidus and Bombus vagans. His research has proven there is one effective method to attract them back to this area. We have the enthusiastic approval, endorsement, and support of the Chelmsford Conservation Committee and have developed the design with a strong contingent of gardeners and artists. The site will be a haven for these two bees and others, creativity, and beauty, while sowing the seeds of understanding ecosystems and the importance of bees. Bringing together the forest and surrounding community, cultivating native agricultural practices, fostering artistic expression, and building a community. We have already staked out, tilled, and amended a 10X25 garden perimeter for spring planting. The next step is creating an animal fence that will be waddled and placing a stone pathway within the garden to limit compaction. We appreciate all your gardens’ efforts to bring awareness to the importance and urgency for natives to sustain ecological balance and resilience within the Chelmsford community and the world.

We would love you to visit and discuss our garden and its needs with you anytime. Please view our garden site and plan attached.