Improving the Seminary Property Along the Park River

Hartford Seminary is partnering with the Park River Watershed Revitalization Initiative on two projects to improve the Seminary property along the Park River.

Coordinating the work is Mary Pelletier, founding director of Park Watershed Inc. Roseann Lezak, the Seminary's Director of Administration and Facilities, is overseeing the projects on behalf of the Seminary.

In one project, the Seminary, the Park Watershed and Knox Parks are seeking a grant for removal of invasive species along the North Branch of the Park River, which runs north from Farmington Avenue past Seminary property on Lorraine Street.

If the Urban Waters grant is approved, most of the field work will be at the Connecticut Historical Society to remove multiflora rose and at the 39 Woodland Street office building to remove knotweed. Barberry and burning bush throughout the Hartford Seminary property also would be removed.

Following the removal of the invasive species, there would be replanting of native understory vegetation -- small trees such as dogwood and redbud, shrubs and ground covers where appropriate.

According to the grant proposal, the partners seek to remove these plants before they become "invasive" and impact native vegetation, which provides essential habitat -food, shelter and water -for migratory songbirds that travel along the riparian corridor. Hartford Seminary property hosts areas of yellow trout lily in the spring, thus the native landscape vegetation is already rather unique.

The second project will reduce polluted water runoff by repairing an erosion channel.

Fuss & O'Neill surveyed the Seminary property in order to develop a strategy and installation schedule to reduce stormwater run-off and remediate the erosion channel.

The intent of this project is to reduce pollution from stormwater run-off from flowing into the North Branch of the Park River.

The Park Watershed is planning to undertake the repair work in the spring after the ground thaws, completing it before the heat of the summer. The design work is underway.