Chester Land Trust (CLT) is the recipient of a $12,000 competitive grant award from the Community Foundation of Middlesex County (CFMC) Mary Janvrin and Natalie Janvrin Wiggins Fund for Birds, Other Animals and Nature. Funds will be used to protect and further develop the rich natural habitat for birds and other wildlife in areas surrounding Chester Creek from destruction due to Japanese knotweed and other invasive plants.

CLT’s grant proposal was developed through a collaboration between members of CLT, the Chester Conservation Commission, and the founder of the invasive plant management specialist company Invasive Plant Solutions. The award was presented by Thayer Talbott, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of CFMC, during CLT’s annual membership meeting on Dec. 6.

Bill Myers, President of CLT, said that most of the funds would be used to remove hazardous dead trees, clear invasive plant debris that has accumulated over the years, and enhance the invasive plant management program initiated at Carini Preserve in the fall of 2022. Although a variety of invasives are present at Carini Preserve, Japanese knotweed is present in abundance and, due to its highly invasive nature, threatens the sensitive ecosystem present in the Chester Creek area.