The Return of Lebanon Swamp: Habitat Restoration Effort

Hello! My name is Harley Monteiro. & I am fundraising to restore the historic “Lebanon Swamp” of Wilmington, Massachusetts. This is a volunteer effort, & all funds raised will go to acquiring Plants, protecting them from herbivores, & removing invasive species.

This formerly massive ecosystem was an Inland Atlantic White Cedar Swamp, a state listed Imperiled habitat type, with very few intact examples remaining in the Commonwealth. The name “Lebanon” was given in the 1700s as a biblical reference to the “Cedars of Lebanon” from early Puritan settlers, to signify the area’s abundance of Cedar trees at the time! These crucial ecological communities are also culturally significant to the Indigenous peoples of the Atlantic coast & support numerous endangered wildlife species. Now, though fragments of the wetland still exist, there are no White Cedars left here in what remains of Lebanon Swamp, due to factors such as overharvesting for timber, Deer overpopulation, invasive species, & fragmentation of the wetland with the development of residential neighborhoods.

Speaking of, I grew up in one of those neighborhoods, abutting one of the last parcels of Lebanon Swamp. I grew up wandering these woods, flipping over rocks for Salamanders, & catching Bugs with my net. This place taught me so much at such a crucial age & helped inspire my love for Nature. I later went on to college to pursue my dream of working in conservation for the National Park Service. I have since worked for three different parks, including Yellowstone National Park!

Now that I know what I know, & have the experience to back it up, I decided it’s time to bring that home. I decided that I could no longer stand back & watch this special place degrade further & further every year with invasive species & litter & the loss of more wildlife. I decided that this is the minimum this land deserves from me, for every bit of knowledge & joy they have gifted me over the years.

& that brings me here, now with the approval of the town conservation commission in my pocket, asking you for generosity towards my cause. To bring the Cedars back to Lebanon Swamp, & rid this place of the invasives that seek to suffocate.

Much of the planting will of course be of Atlantic White Cedar trees, Chamaecyparis thyoides, but these rare habitats feature an incredibly diverse Plant community, that I will also be bringing back to maximize the ecological services that this place has the potential to support. Some of the Plant species incorporated will even be endangered species, utilizing this project as an opportunity to bolster their local populations!

Any & all contributions are greatly appreciated.

If you cannot contribute financially, but are interested in contributing your time helping out, feel free to reach out! That is equally appreciated!

Thank you.