iv. landscape restoration - shepherd brooks estatelandscape introduction - page 2 part ii - brooks...

Brooks Estate Master Plan Medford-Brooks Estate Land Trust 1 September 2011

Landscape Introduction -

IV. Landscape Restoration Landscape Restoration Executive Summary Chronology of Physical Development Part I – Overall Brooks Estate Landscape Plan (All areas of the Estate except Brooks Pond, Access Drive and Historic Core) A. Origin and Purpose

B. Scope of Part I C. The Landscape Design Process D. Assessment Methods and Materials E. Site Assessment Findings F. Analysis 1. Invasive Plant Cover 2. Loss of Vista and Sense of Place 3. Deterioration of Specimen Trees 4. Diminishing Wildlife Habitats G. Determining What is Historic H. Additional Guiding Documents 1. U.S. Secretary Of The Interior’s Standard for Rehabilitation (1995) 2. Preservation Brief 36: Protecting Cultural Landscapes, Planning, Treatment and Management of Historic Landscapes (National Park Service, 2002) I. Historic Photographic Documentation 1. Aesthetic Sensibility 2. Sense of Place 3. Vista 4. Topography and Geology 5. Botanical Composition

J. Conceptual Design Drawings 1. Entrance and Access Drive 2. Buffer Zones One and Two 3. Point of Rocks 4. Meadow+ 5. Vegetation K. Summary Drawings 1. Vista 2. Trail System L. Summary Table M. Phasing N. Budget



Part II - Brooks Pond and Access Drive A. Summary B. Aerial View of Brooks Pond C. Brooks Pond and Access Drive – Estate Overview Map D. Map of Wetland Area E. Vernal Pool Map F. Brooks Pond History G. Historic Vistas H. Access Drive I. Rehabilitation Guidelines, Objectives and User Considerations J. Schematic Design

1. Conceptual Use and Rehabilitation Diagram 2. Conceptual Rehabilitation Plan 3. Grove Street Entry 4. Site Sections 5. Vista Map

a. Current and Historic Vistas b. Proposed Vista from Acorn Hill

6. Enlarged Plan – Pedestrian Access 7. Pedestrian Access – Site

a. Accessories b. Accessible Path c. Peninsula One d. Peninsula Three

8. Access Drive Width Analysis Part III - Historic Core

A. Objectives B. Historic Integrity C. Assessment Summary D. Arrival and Circulation E. Parking F. Pedestrian Paths G. Lawns Around the Manor H. Utilities, Lighting, Signage I. Ecology and Wildlife Considerations J. Historic Core Cost Summary



Landscape Restoration Executive Summary

The Brooks Estate as presently defined in the 1998 Conservation and Preservation Restriction is comprised of 50 acres of open space, including approximately 10 acres of Brooks Pond. It represents the largest and most intact of Medford’s many 18th and 19th century estates, all of which have been developed as suburban neighborhoods – with the exception of the Brooks Estate. This makes it a rare intact example of a 19th century gentleman's estate. In broad terms the goals of the Brooks Estate Landscape Restoration are:

1. History and Habitat Restore the Brooks Estate as an historic landscape, open-space asset and habitat by

balancing modern needs and conditions with the conservation values of the Conservation and Preservation Restriction.

Highlight remaining elements of the historic landscape and recreate sufficient elements to capture the “look and feel” of the property at its 19th century apogee.

Promote biodiversity and improve habitat values.

2. Adaptive Use Provide public space for a diverse set of uses that celebrates and respects the property’s

history, architecture and environment. Promote passive use by visitors. Provide and enhance the sense of place. Create a low-maintenance and self-sustaining landscape.

Some historic features of the Estate from its high point in the 19th century will be fairly faithfully restored to their historic rural character – such as the Access Drive from Grove Street and the 7.5 acre Historic Core around the Shepherd Brooks Manor and Carriage House. In contrast, other areas of the Estate will be carefully altered to enhance its natural and environmental features – such as the meadow restoration at the center of the Estate and the removal of aggressive invasives that are choking out native species and reducing diversity. Important vistas between various parts of the Estate that are so critical to the complexity of the topography and sense of place will also be restored, to visually reconnect the Estate, but also to increase habitat by providing a variety of plant food sources that such diversity entails. This approach represents a balance between respecting the Estate’s past while clearly building upon it to create a new direction that incorporates the values of environment, open space, natural habitat and passive recreation. This approach also ensures that the Estate will be actively used by Medford and other residents, but that it will not be overrun to the point where the use compromises the environment. For example, the proposal to rebuild the Carriage House as a multi-purpose function facility for a maximum 100-person event ensures that the amount of traffic and parking is something that is scaled to the Estate’s size and capacity. The trails around the Estate will continue to provide access for hikers, dog walkers, fishermen, bird-watchers, etc., but in such a way that



these passive uses will not damage or compromise the fragile ecosystem and environment of the Estate. This approach has started to be successfully managed with the introduction of the boardwalk to Brooks Pond more than ten years ago, which focused activity around the pond in one place, attempting to limit the unplanned trails that were damaging its ecosystem. An important feature of the Estate that must not be forgotten is the 7 acres of cemetery land that is located in the southwest corner of the Estate, set back from both Grove Street and the Access Drive by buffers. This acreage does not fall under the 1998 Conservation and Preservation Restriction and is controlled by the Oak Grove Cemetery. It is worth noting that in the thirteen years since the 1998 Restriction, there has been no design or development proposed in this area. M-BELT should eventually open a dialogue with the cemetery to make sure that whatever happens in this area is integrated into the surrounding landscape, should it ever be developed as additional graves. Full implementation of the elements of this landscape plan will take a decade or more to complete. This is partially due to financial restraints but also to the fact that it will take a decade or more of time for the new trees and shrubs to take firm root and grow from adolescence to maturity. Within a decade of its start, the rehabilitation process could eliminate invasives, restore vistas and topographical features and re-establish a central meadow. The Landscape Restoration section is broken up into three parts: Part I provides an overview of the Landscape Restoration for the entire Brooks Estate, and provides details of all areas of the Estate with the exception of Brooks Pond and the Historic Core around the Shepherd Brooks Manor and Carriage House, which are detailed in Parts II and III, respectively. Section I accounts for 35 of the Estate's 50 acres. Part II focuses on Brooks Pond and the Access Drive, providing a detailed conceptual design for the Drive reconstruction from Grove Street to the Historic Core and the access areas around Brooks Pond. Part III focuses on the Historic Core of the Estate, including the 1880 Shepherd Brooks Manor and Carriage House set in a 7.5 acre portion of the Estate. While there is some overlap between the three parts because they were completed as separate studies over several years, there is a consistent vision for the Brooks Estate landscape that runs through all three conceptual design studies of the Estate: restoration of historic landscape, enhancement of habitat, promoting passive use, balancing the historic and the environment, removing invasives, and taking the long-term view to bringing back the Estate as a community asset serving Medford and beyond.



Chronology of Physical Development 1660 Brooks family purchases and settles 400 acres of land in what becomes Medford,

Massachusetts. 1831 The canal running south from the western pond is dug by Peter Chardon Brooks

Senior. 1852 Land is sold to the City of Medford for a cemetery. 1859-1922 Peter and Shepherd Brooks actively develop their country estates. 1859 Peter Chardon Brooks III builds his Italianate-style summer residence, Point of

Rocks, designed by Calvert Vaux, on the highest point of the Estate. 1867 The Brooks family donate land for the Grace Episcopal Church, designed by H.H.

Richardson, at 160 High Street in Medford. 1880 Shepherd Brooks hires renowned Boston architectural firm of Peabody & Stearns

to design his Queen Anne style summer residence, Acorn Hill. 1883-1889 Brooks Pond is dredged and hand-dug in the summer months to convert what was

a natural marsh into Brooks Pond. 1889 Shepherd Brooks completes the granite dam at the southern outlet of the western

pond. 1942 City of Medford purchases the remaining 82.5 acres of the Estate. 1946 Point of Rocks, after years of abandonment and vandalism, is destroyed by the

City of Medford. 1946-1954 Brooks Village is built and includes 200 family dwelling units to house returning

World War II veterans and their families. The Shepherd Brooks Manor was used to house ten veterans’ families.

1956-1975 Brooks Village is removed. Shepherd Brooks Manor is converted to a City of

Medford nursing home. 1975 The Brooks Estate is nominated and placed on the National and Massachusetts

Registers of Historic Places. 1992 The Brooks Estate Preservation Associate (BEPA) is formed after a cell phone

tower is proposed to be located at the Brooks Estate.



Chronology of Physical Development (continued) 1995 Child Associates completes Land Use Master Plan for the Brooks Estate calling for

the permanent protection of the land as historic open space, the restoration of the historic buildings and a limited Cemetery expansion.

1995-1997 The future of the Estate is debated across Medford. 1997 A Conservation and Preservation Restriction is executed by the City of Medford

and grantees (The Trustees of Reservations, MDC – now Department of Conservation and Recreation, and Massachusetts Historical Commission) to permanently protect the now 50-acre Brooks Estate and Manor/Carriage House. The Restriction is recorded in March, 1998.

1998 The Medford-Brooks Estate Land Trust (M-BELT) is established to manage the

Brooks Estate. 2000-2010 Restoration of the Shepherd Brooks Manor begins; planning for landscape is

developed. Master Plan and Business Plan are developed. 2011 Multi-million dollar bond request submitted to the City of Medford for the

restoration of the Brooks Estate.

Brooks Estate Master Plan - M-BELT 1 September 2011

Landscape Restoration Part I - Page 1

PART 1: BROOKS ESTATE LANDSCAPE PLAN (ALL AREAS OF THE ESTATE EXCEPT BROOKS POND, ACCESS DRIVE & HISTORIC CORE) A. ORIGIN AND PURPOSE In March 2002 the Board of Directors of the Medford-Brooks Estate Land Trust (M-BELT) applied to the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Community Service Fellowship Program for assistance in translating ten years of pre-design documents on the Brooks Estate into a series of conceptual drawings. Noting the importance of this project to the Estate’s well-being, Harvard approved the application and assigned landscape designer Lucinda Statler to work with M-BELT from June through September 2002. This part of the Brooks Estate Landscape Plan is a slightly edited version of the Statler document, “Conceptual Design Report on the Brooks Estate”. Part I of the Brooks Estate Landscape Plan consists of six sections, all written to allow the reader to understand the wealth of extant material on the Brooks Estate and how it led to the final conceptual design. Most important, the report is a culmination of the work that M-BELT, its supporters and its professional partners have completed together. Looking ahead, it will serve as a bridge to the many fund-raising, design and construction initiatives that will enable M-BELT to rehabilitate the Estate, develop its recreational potential and enhance its wildlife habitats. B. SCOPE OF PART I The Brooks Estate consists of 50 acres of land that are distinguished by a high degree of topographical and geological diversity. Among its features are a 90-foot elevation shift, a ridgeline cliff, stony outcroppings, kettle holes, 11 soil types and an augmented pond system. The land and all structures on it are protected from development by a conservation restriction. This Section’s scope includes 35 acres of the Estate. As a point of organization, it divides the acreage into five zones, each possessing a unique set of qualities. They are outlined immediately below and illustrated on the following page. 1. Entrance and Access Drive: This zone begins at the original point of entry to the Estate, extends a quarter-

mile along the original, internal central road and terminates at the Shepherd Brooks Manor. The entrance, now blocked to vehicular traffic, is defined by two granite columns, one of which connects with a stone wall that runs north along Grove Street. The drive’s course is also original to the Estate, and it passes through all of the other project areas except Buffer Zone Two.

2. Buffer Zones One and Two: The first buffer zone begins at the Estate entrance, runs along the Grove Street stone wall and terminates at the property’s northwestern corner. The buffer includes the wall and a 35-foot-deep strip of land abutting it. The second buffer zone is located at the Estate’s southwestern boundary, which separate Brooks Pond from property controlled by the Oak Grove Cemetery.

3. Point of Rocks: Located to the north of the Access Drive, this zone contains the Estate’s highest elevation point, and the partially buried remains of the nineteenth-century Point of Rocks Manor, which was demolished in 1946.

4. Meadow+: Lying to the north of the Access Drive and to the east of Point of Rocks, this zone contains a fraction of what used to be an open meadow with scattered specimen trees and a mixed woodland border. It was used in the nineteenth century for haying and some animal husbandry.

5. Trail System: Spanning the entire estate is a matrix of old and modern footpaths totaling approximately two miles. Some of the paths are well established and lead logically from one point in the Estate to another. Others either terminate at illogical points or have been created by people who use a portion of the Estate as a shortcut to other locations.



Two areas of the Estate fall outside the scope of Part I. The first area is the 10 acres of land containing Brooks Pond and a 100-foot buffer zone encircling it. Both are analyzed in Part II of the Landscape Restoration section of the Master Plan.

The third area of study is the seven-acre Historic Core at Acorn Hill, on which the Shepherd Brooks Manor and Carriage House are situated. The buildings and the immediate surrounding area are protected by restrictions beyond those placed on the Estate as a whole. Accordingly, it is the subject of a separate design, which was executed for M-BELT by Elmore Design Collaborative and is documented in Part III of the Landscape Restoration part of the Master Plan.



C. THE LANDSCAPE DESIGN PROCESS Landscape rehabilitation is typically executed in four phases: pre-design, design, construction and maintenance. A decade of pre-design work is not unusual when a project’s objective is to rehabilitate a large, complex property. Within the context of the Brooks Estate a decade is reasonable, for within it building- and land-use options had to be explored, technical assessments made and an administrative infrastructure developed. In essence, haste is incompatible with establishing a base that can supporting historical planning and rehabilitation, as well as perpetual preservation. A high-level task list is offered below to draw a distinction between pre-design and design work, and to suggest where in the rehabilitation process the Brooks Estate is now located. Item H of the first section refers to this report.

1. Pre-Design Phase a. Define period of significance to project b. Perform historical research c. Inventory and document existing conditions d. Prepare existing condition plans e. Inventory historic plants f. Analyze and evaluate the property’s integrity g. Develop a scope plan for overall rehabilitation h. Prepare detailed conceptual design and budget documents i. Develop phase I fund-raising plan j. Secure funds for design phase

2. Design Phase a. Write and release an RFP for a formal design contractor b. Enter into a contract with a landscape architect c. Pass All CAD files and existing documents to a landscape architect d. Conduct public design process e. Review and approve design iterations f. Approve final design drawings and supporting documents g. Prioritize design elements for construction phase h. Develop phase II fund-raising plan i. Secure funds for construction phase

D. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND MATERIALS

An assessment of the Brooks Estate’s physical condition was made through on- and off-site research that included visual analyses, interviews and a review of technical and historical documents. The assessment process was not value neutral but guided by M-BELT’s set of core values, as they are expressed in the organization’s publication titled The Brooks Estate Landscape and Vegetation Management Plan. By combining all of the methods and materials, a clear evolutionary profile of the Brooks Estate emerged and particular physical conditions were marked for rehabilitation. An outline of the Management Plan and its core values is provided below. Descriptions of on- and off-site research methods and materials are provided immediately thereafter. M-BELT wrote and approved the Management Plan in 2000 after studying much of the same documentation that now informs this report. As important, the plan was guided by the opinions of people who frequent the Brooks



Estate for recreational and educational purposes. The core values put forth by the Management Plan can be categorized and summarized as follows.

1. History and Habitat Restore the Brooks Estate as an historic landscape, open-space asset and habitat by balancing modern

needs and conditions with the conservation values of the Conservation and Preservation Restriction. Highlight remaining elements of the historic landscape and recreate sufficient elements to capture the “look

and feel” of the property at its nineteenth-century apogee. Promote biodiversity and improve habitat values. 2. Adaptive Use Provide public space for a diverse set of uses that celebrate and respect the property’s history, architecture

and environment. Promote passive use by visitors. Provide and enhance the sense of place. Create a low-maintenance and self-sustaining landscape.

E. SITE ASSESSMENT FINDINGS The Brooks Estate is a public property that was owned by the Shepherd and Peter Brooks families during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Used primarily as a summer residence at that time, the property contained two manor houses that were situated on its two highest points, Point of Rocks to the northwest and Acorn Hill to the northeast. Functionally the Estate served as a seasonal farm for the Brooks families who, with assistance from a sizable staff, grew their own food and conducted light animal husbandry during their sojourns from Boston. Owing primarily to the design capabilities of Shepherd Brooks, the property was logically laid out to provide spaces for habitation, farming and recreation. Historical photographs illustrate that the Estate’s aesthetic was guided by the same naturalistic principles that guided American landscape architecture during its nineteenth-century nascence. Among the principles were invisibly “improving” a property’s beauty, enhancing botanical diversity, accommodating public and private human activity and consistently framing the observer’s visual experience. During the nineteenth century approximately 70% of the Brooks Estate was a controlled meadow that held specimen trees, thickets and woodland borders. The remainder of the property contained an eight-acre pond, a mature deciduous-coniferous forest and closed woodland. Following decades of neglect, today’s Estate has less than two acres of meadow remaining, many of its specimen trees are either dead or in decline and its woodland is succumbing to the advance of invasive plants. Vistas that once stretched across the property and out to nearby Mystic Lake are now gone. Despite the devolution of the constructed landscape, however, many of its original features remain intact, though often concealed by unchecked vegetation. With the exception of two areas in the western and northwestern sections of the Estate, the topography and geology are unchanged, and well-documented soils are in place. The Access Drive to the Shepherd Brooks Manor still follows its nineteenth-century course and, according to a 1995 tree survey, some of the Estate’s specimen trees are still standing. Across the Estate a network of planned and unplanned footpaths opens the property to public use. Amateur and professional ornithologists frequently visit the property, as do fishers, nature and history enthusiasts, and people in need of a quiet walk. The range of recreational opportunities is somewhat limited by the Estate’s current conditions. For instance there is almost no open area that can accommodate groups of visitors, the pathways are largely overgrown and disorienting, and the lack of vistas limits the property’s contemplative nature.



F. ANALYSIS As a starting point to this design project, the Brooks Estate was surveyed to identify the primary conditions that limit its utility. Those qualities are photographically documented and categorized in the full Conceptual Design Report on the Brooks Estate. While reading the survey of current conditions, one should bear in mind that the quantity and severity of problems confronting the Estate can be directly addressed through the process of rehabilitation. While the Estate is a fantastic historic landscape with many varied topographic features, in broad terms the Estate is overgrown and filled with invasives. The Access Drive from Grove Street is overgrown, with both the granite pillars, Brooks Estate sign and low stone wall obscured by overgrowth. The Access Drive is similarly overgrown for its entire 1/4 mile length, in addition to being too narrow for cars to pass. In addition, the overgrowth of the road - and many areas of the Estate - are limiting the connectedness of the various landscape elements, removing one of the primary elements of the original landscape design, one that built around a number of vistas across the Estate. At the center of the Estate, the city of Medford used to use this area for waste disposal. During that time municipal employees made the meadow more suitable for a dumpsite by bulldozing it flat. In the process they buried once exposed bedrock and created a ten-foot-high ridge of dirt around the perimeter. The ridge has since been colonized by, among other things, sumac, weeds and maple saplings. While not officially used as a dumpsite, illegal dumping and unchecked invasives continue to be a problem in this area. Throughout the Estate runs a network of planned and unplanned trails. The former are laid out to lead pedestrians from one point of interest to another; the latter are cut-throughs with no apparent destination. Because the two overlap and there are no signs to distinguish one from the other, the network is at best confusing. 1. INVASIVE PLANT COVER A number of invasive plant species now thrive on the Brooks Estate. Three of the most prolific are Asiatic bittersweet, Japanese knotweed and Norway maples. Other invasive plants found on the property include buckthorn black swallowwort and rambler rose. Though existing reports on the Estate note the presence of most of these plants, none documents their location or the degree to which they have proliferated. This information is important to the assessment process; therefore, included below are brief explanations of how each of the six invasives spreads, and a map that plots invasive density across the Estate. 1. Bittersweet reproduces by seed, gains mass through root suckering, and is capable of reaching lengths of 30

to 50 feet. This fast-growing vine impairs the health of neighboring trees and shrubs by climbing through them in search of light and, in the process, exerting a disfiguring amount of torque.

2. Japanese knotweed is an exceptionally hardy plant that was originally imported into this country to stabilize slopes along waterways, railroad tracks and roads. Now present throughout most of the continental United States, knotweed thickly colonizes open and woodland-border areas through rhizomes that thrive in a broad range of soils. That coupled with its ability to absorb soil nutrients and survive drought allows knotweed to flourish at the expense of indigenous groundcover and understory plants.

3. Norway maples reproduce by seeds that germinate profusely in open or woodland soils, regardless of their ability to sustain a plant beyond the sapling stage. As a mature tree this species casts a dense shade that is inhospitable to nearby trees, shrubs and groundcover plants. At all stages of its life cycle the Norway maple’s shallow root system aggressively absorbs moisture and nutrients from the soil.



4. Though buckthorn has long been naturalized in Massachusetts, it becomes invasive if it is not carefully controlled. As seen on the Estate, this plant tends to form dense, arching thickets that shade and crowd out desirable vegetation. It also can prevent other plant seedlings from taking root in the area. Buckthorn spreads through seed and frequently creates a dense, dry understory, making it and its surroundings susceptible to fire.

5. Swallowwort is in the same family (Asclepiadaceae) as common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). It spreads by wind-borne seed, grows rapidly and has a twining habit that enables it to clamber over and through nearby plants. The plant also interferes with the reproductive cycle of monarch butterflies, which frequently deposit their eggs on its barren pods instead of nurturing milkweed pods. Since the pods do not provide sustenance to butterfly larvae, the larvae simply die off.

6. Rambler rose was once commonly planted in open fields, but today thrives in many different habitats -- from open roadways to forests. This plant is extraordinarily prolific: each year it is capable of releasing up to a million seeds. Ramblers threaten native trees and shrubs not only through its reproductive capacity, but also through its dense growth habit and its ability to alter and deplete the surrounding soil. As on many neglected New England properties, ramble rose has found favorable growing conditions across the Brooks Estate.

Norway maples along the Estate’s western boundary - one of many examples of invasives at the Brooks Estate The colonizing habit of Norway maples is evident in this photograph taken of the stone wall running along the western edge of the Brooks Estate. Scores of saplings obscure the Estate’s interior, choke out low-growing indigenous plants, and aggressively absorb moisture and nutrients from the soil. Like most other plants, the lilac seen in the middle of the photograph will be overwhelmed by this colony if the colony is left unchecked. This pattern is common throughout the Estate.



1. INVASIVE PLANT COVER (CONTINUED)

An invasive plant census was taken during the on-site assessment process. It rated each area on a scale of one to five, with one indicating the absence of invasives from a particular area and five indicating domination by them. Due to the quickness with which these plants can spread, ratings below the number five will most likely shift upward over the coming years. Underbrush invasives place areas with a rating of four or higher at an elevated risk of fire.

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2. LOSS OF VISTA AND SENSE OF PLACE The ability to achieve and maintain a sense of place within a landscape depends upon the availability of visual reference points. On the Brooks Estate, vegetation conceals these points from would-be viewers. Accordingly, getting disoriented or lost during a visit is not uncommon. Neither is forgetting, or never realizing, that the property has a rich topography, that it lies near a major lake, or that its 50 acres contain a pond system and a number of century-old trees.

Obstructed view of Brooks Pond from Acorn Hill Between Acorn Hill and Brooks Pond an intentional sight line has been erased. Here one stands in isolation, unable to draw a relationship between the two areas. The lack of reference points makes this area nearly indistinguishable from any other on the property.



2. LOSS OF VISTA AND SENSE OF PLACE (CONTINUED)

Obscured view of Mystic Lake from Point of Rocks Recent growth patterns now restrict the range of experiences one can have of the Estate. The combination of dwindling meadows, impenetrable woodland and dense, narrow trails provides little opportunity for open-air gatherings, repose or comfortable solitude. At the Estate’s highest point a ridgeline terminates abruptly to form a cliff, from which nearby Mystic Lake was once visible. That geological feature is now concealed and a significant visual link between the Estate and the outside world is lost.



3. DETERIORATION OF SPECIMEN TREES In a new landscape specimen trees are planted in anticipation of the structure and visual appeal that they will lend to the surrounding property when they reach maturity. In that respect they anchor their environment. With age, specimen trees can take on additional importance by providing birds with food and shelter, and by testifying to the passage of time. A century ago oak, beech and hemlock were among the more dramatic trees planted on the Brooks Estate.

Deceased beech tree at Point of Rocks In 1995 a census was taken of the Brooks Estate’s specimen trees. Eighty-three were found to be living on the property now within the scope of this report. Since then, many of those trees have died. Above, a beech tree listed in the census stands lifeless among a crowd of much younger oak and Norway maple trees. Most likely the tree’s quick demise was caused by a bacterial or fungal infection.



4. DIMINISHING WILDLIFE HABITATS

Relative Number of Birds IdentifiedTotal: 1,623

2000704 (43%)

1995919 (57%)

The Brooks Estate is losing much of its biological diversity. Most of its conifers and an alarming number of significant trees have died; invasive plants have proliferated; and the once-present meadow and woodland border have diminished to the point of insignificance. This loss may be precipitating a decrease in the number of bird species visiting the Brooks Estate for food and shelter.

According to data gathered in 1995 and 2000 by local ornithologists and then processed as part of this project, the diversity and prevalence of nearly all bird species visiting the Brooks Estate are in decline. With one exception, fewer birds of all habitats were identified in 2000. Overall, the decline was 23.4%. The one increase involved birds whose primary habitats are woodland thickets, which rose by 2.3%.



4. DIMINISHING WILDLIFE HABITATS (CONTINUED)

Reduction in Birds Identified by Habitat- As a Percentage of Overall Reduction -

Coniferous forests and open conifers

28%

Meadows with scattered trees16%

Open woodland and meadows

10%

Deciduous-coniferous forests

9%

Waterways1%

Woodland5%

Broad-leaf forests5%

Open thickets and clearings

16%

Meadows10%

Fifty-two percent of the reduction involved bird species that settle in spacious areas, such as meadows, open thickets and woodland borders. Another 42% involved species that are drawn to mature forests containing broad-leaf trees or a combination of deciduous and coniferous trees. The remaining 6% reduction involved species typically found in healthy woodlands and along waterways. More data will have to be gathered to draw definitive conclusions on why the bird population has shifted downward. However, by placing existing data into the context of the Brooks Estate’s dwindling botanical diversity, a reasonable hypothesis can be made. As the property devolves into a woodland thicket, it is becoming inhospitable to bird species that enjoy all but one type of habitat: woodland thickets. To test this hypothesis, another ornithological study should be conducted through the same methodology that guided the existing two studies.



G. DETERMINING WHAT IS HISTORIC

To allow an old estate to follow its own course…is to permit it to go to rack and ruin at no late date. Nature needs to be helped a bit, and the solution of the problem is that type of naturalistic gardening which leaves things as they are until they grow ugly.

-1910 County Life article on the Brooks Estate aesthetic

M-BELT’s set of core values guided the Brooks Estate assessment process. In addition to documenting the property’s physical qualities, the process passed judgment on any quality that conflicted with the organization’s vision for rehabilitation. That set of core values, however, was not enough to lead this project directly to the development of a design plan. For instance, one of the core values reads, in part, “restore the Brooks Estate as an historic landscape,” and another “highlight remaining elements of the historic landscape.” These statements, though clear unto themselves, raised two critical questions; namely, what is a historic landscape? What elements constitute a historic landscape? To answer those questions, this project revisited the Conservation Restriction that was placed on the Brooks Estate in 1998. Page five of the Restriction states that the Brooks Estate “will be restored, preserved and protected and maintained in a manner that is consistent with…standards for…preservation and restoration as specified in the United States Secretary of the Interior’s Standard for Rehabilitation, as may be amended.” With a link thus established between this project and federal guidelines, attention shifted to two federal publications that define what a historic landscape is, and explain how to identify landscape elements that are genuinely historic. By necessity this information broadened the off-site assessment to include a series of photographs that had been taken of the Brooks Estate in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In essence, while M-BELT’s set of core values dictate that the Estate be rehabilitated, government publications and the photographic record define the extent to which it must be rehabilitated. Following an outline of the above-mentioned federal documents is an examination of some of the photographs of the Brooks Estate’s original design features. One should bear in mind that the physical differences between the Estate of the nineteenth century and the Estate of the twentieth-first century are vast, and that they will remain so. That is not to suggest the two cannot share a set of design principles; for in a sense they must. H. ADDITIONAL GUIDING DOCUMENTS 1. U.S. SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR’S STANDARD FOR REHABILITATION (1995) Referenced in Section I of the Brooks Estate Conservation and Preservation Restriction, in general terms this document generally defines the term historic property. According to the federal government the Brooks Estate can be defined as a historic landscape because it:

was consciously designed or laid out by a landscape architect, master gardener, architect, or horticulturist according to design principles, or an amateur gardener working in a recognized style or tradition, and it

is associated with a significant person(s), trend, or event in landscape architecture.

Since the Estate is historic, the Department of the Interior also explains what rehabilitating it legally means. It states that rehabilitation is “the act or process of making possible a compatible use for a property through repair, alterations, and additions while preserving those portions or features which convey its historical or cultural values.”



2. PRESERVATION BRIEF 36: PROTECTING CULTURAL LANDSCAPES, PLANNING, TREATMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF

HISTORIC LANDSCAPES (National Park Service, 2002) As a sub-department of the Department of Interior, one of the Parks Service’s primary responsibilities is writing guidelines on how to interpret and implement federal land policy. This particular document emphasizes the need to preserve what is genuinely historic and to refrain from altering a landscape to add an undocumented “sense of history” to it. Among the features that make landscapes historic, states the Park Service, are geological formations, vegetation, vistas, pathways and a sense of place.

The Parks Department recommends that any party wishing to rehabilitate a historic property first determine what the property’s original nature and appearance were. Not surprisingly, it also states that the best way to do this is by referring to historical sources that directly document the property’s former characteristics. Together these documents comprise what the department refers to as a period plan. The purpose of the plan is “…[to] document to the greatest extent possible the historic appearance during a particular period of ownership, occupancy, or development. Period plans should be based on primary archival sources and should avoid conjecture.” To this end, among the best primary sources are photographs, for they offer an unedited, firsthand inventory of what once existed and a visual list of what should be included in a rehabilitation initiative.

M-BELT is fortunate to have dozens of photographs of the Brooks Estate from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. With great clarity they define the significant principles and trends that guided the Brooks Estate’s original design. But what were they? Some studies find in the Estate’s landscape evidence of a philosophical relationship between Shepherd Brooks and his contemporary, Charles Sargent, once the director of the Arnold Arboretum. This is certainly a theory worthy of scholarly research, however it is conjecture at this time.

What one can safely say about the Brooks Estate’s original design is that it was rooted in the nineteenth-century concept of Arcadia, a place that nature had established specifically for human use and contemplation. This conceptual ideal was a starting point in the development of modern landscape architecture and, of course, it required significant human toil to be realized. Generally speaking the principle of this naturalistic form of landscape architecture was to alter a property’s features in ways that invisibly “improved” the property’s beauty enhanced the property’s botanical diversity created spaces that could support different types of human activity and consistently framed the observer’s experience of the property That defining principle and its goals are touched upon by a County Life article that was written about the Brooks Estate in 1910. More to the point, they are found in the Estate’s photographic record. To follow are a dozen historical images that illustrate the relationship between Arcadia and the Estate as it was originally designed. The photographs are presented topically to include information on the property’s aesthetic sensibility, vistas, sense of place, topography and geology, and botanical composition.



I. HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTATION

1. AESTHETIC SENSIBILITY

Rear of Brooks Manor, 1884 Unlike many European styles of landscape architecture, the Brooks Estate’s style was greatly defined by informality. Conspicuously absent from the Manor was any trace of ornamentation in the form of topiaries, knotted gardens, cultivated floral displays, arbors, etc. No less sophisticated than its European predecessors, the aesthetic of this landscape creates an environment of coexistence between human activity and nature.



1. AESTHETIC SENSIBILITY (CONTINUED)

Unidentified man with specimen white oak, autumn circa 1886

The Brooks Estate’s landscape aesthetic precluded any ornamentation that was either highly stylized or architectural in nature. Across the property, however, specimen trees ornamented hillsides, meadows and woodland borders. As illustrated above, naturally occurring features were given a stage from which they could pronounce their presence.



1. AESTHETIC SENSIBILITY (CONTINUED)

Intentionally designed thicket, summer 1884

Where meadows gave way to forest, thickets were planted to re-create a line of demarcation that naturally occurs along woodland borders. This device secured a place for meadows within the “natural” landscape by holding back the advance of trees.



2. SENSE OF PLACE A sense of place refers to one’s ability to experience a landscape as an orderly composition of unique areas, and to know where one is within that composition.

Grove Street entrance to Point of Rocks, circa 1884 Specific points of entry were established in breaks in the stone wall running along Grove Street. Simply, the gates marked the beginning of a journey from the outside world to the manors. On a more complex level, the entries marked the start of a quarter-mile journey that slowly and incrementally revealed the Estate’s recreation, work and living areas to a visitor. The experience across the Brooks Estate was as varied as the landscape, and each place along the road was unique.



2. SENSE OF PLACE (CONTINUED) Lying immediately north of Brooks Pond, the road to Acorn Hill allowed a visitor to look down to the recreation area of the pond, up to the work area of the hayfields and over to the living areas of Acorn Hill and Point of Rocks. The road’s course and the placement of trees presented areas and then concealed them in different combinations, from different angles and at different points in time.

Mid-property view of Brooks Pond, autumn 1885 As suggested above, a portion of the hayfield and of Brooks Pond might be visible from the road at one moment and hidden by trees or hills at the next. Finding one’s place within the landscape was a simple matter of finding visual reference points.

Point of Rocks, view toward Acorn Hill, autumn 1884

The breadth of the Brooks Estate was visible from many vantage points. For instance, from the portico of Point of Rocks the relationship of the building to the central hayfield, to Brooks Pond and to Acorn Hill was fully developed.



3. VISTA

View from Acorn Hill to Brooks Pond, autumn 1884

High-angle vistas allowed one to contemplate the property’s internal logic or, more precisely, the character and location of one area relative to the next. Standing atop Acorn Hill, one’s visual experience yielded information about the Estate that was not accessible from lower elevations.

View from Point of Rocks of Mystic Lakes, circa 1884

Vistas also provided more abstract information. From Point of Rocks the view of Mystic Lakes explained where one was, not in relation to the Estate, but in relation to the outside world.



4. TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY

Winter view to the south, circa 1884

Within the Estate’s boundaries, topographical and geological features were given prominence by the original landscape design. The property’s elevation dramatically slopes down from 122 feet above sea level at Point of Rocks, to 32 feet above sea level at Brooks Pond. This difference is evident in the above photograph and, to a lesser degree, is still evident while walking the Brooks Estate in winter.



4. TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY (CONTINUED)

Horse-drawn shay traveling north of Brooks Pond, circa 1884 Taken from the Access Drive looking north, the above photograph documents the importance of topography to the Estate’s aesthetic. From a flat base, a hill quickly rises to present specimen trees and open fields to the viewer. Exposed bedrock and boulders eliminate any question as to what holds up that surface.

Cliff on Grove Street side of Point of Rocks, circa 1884 A ridgeline running along the Brooks Estate’s northern boundary terminates and was once exposed at Point of Rocks. The resulting cliff provided a perfect spot from which to contemplate Mystic Lakes.



5. BOTANICAL COMPOSITION

View of Brooks Pond from Acorn Hill, circa 1890 Though the Brooks family used the Estate during the summer months, deciduous and coniferous trees and shrubs imparted a sense of beauty and order on the property throughout the year. They also provided animals with a source of food and shelter. A short census of native and non-native trees original to the Brooks Estate can be culled from historical sources and the 1995 tree survey. That census includes oak, beech, birch, maple, hawthorn, hickory, dogwood, crabapple, juniper, pine, hemlock and spruce. Also included are native and non-native shrubs and groundcover plants, including tupelo, porcelain berry, Solomon’s seal, raspberry, privet, hackberry, roses, periwinkle, euonymus, jetbeed and button bush.1 Unfortunately, a complete census of the Estate’s original botany may never be reconstructed. As existing written and photographic records attest, however, key components to the Brooks aesthetic were balancing and diversifying plant species, and placing them where they could thrive.

1 Some of the original plants (i.e., porcelain berry, privet, periwinkle, euonymous and jetbeed) can be invasive. Their role in the Estate's future landscape design should therefore be limited to none.



J. CONCEPTUAL DESIGN DRAWINGS The collection of values, guidelines, regulations and historical information that informed this project is complex. However each component comfortably joined with the next to form a coherent set of objectives that could be translated into a set of design drawings. For any element to be included in the drawings, it had to satisfy at least two of the predefined objectives and violate none. For instance, restoring a sight line from Point of Rocks to the Mystic Lakes is included because it satisfies conservation values, abides by original design principles and is one of the Estate’s historically documented features. Conversely no vista between Point of Rocks and Acorn Hill is included because, though it is historically documented, wildlife habitats would be threatened by the number of trees that would have to be taken down to re-establish it. At the end of Section I is a table of elements that were included in the final design and an explanation as to why they were included. Immediately below is a reiterative outline of all of the organizational values, design principles and historical concerns that gave rise to the design drawings. 1. M-BELT’s Core Values, from The Brooks Estate Landscape and Vegetation Management Plan

Restore the Brooks Estate as an historic landscape, open space asset, and habitat, by balancing modern needs and conditions with the conservation values of the Conservation and Preservation Restriction.

Highlight remaining elements of the historic landscape and recreate sufficient elements to recapture the “look and feel” of the property at its nineteenth-century apogee.

Promote biodiversity and improved habitat values. Provide public space for a diverse set of uses that celebrate and respect the property’s history, architecture,

and environment. Promote passive use by visitors. Provide and enhance the sense of place. Create a low maintenance and self-sustaining landscape.

2. Original Design Principles of the Brooks Estate Landscape

Invisibly “improve” the property’s natural beauty. Enhance the property’s botanical diversity. Create spaces that can support different types of human activity. Consistently frame the observer’s experience of the property. 3. Historic Elements of the Brooks Estate, as detailed by the photographic record

Aesthetic sensibility expressed through natural elements Vistas extending across and out from the property Defined sense of place Prominently featured topography and geology Diverse botanical composition



1. ENTRANCE AND ACCESS DRIVE The original entrance and Access Drive were designed to announce the beginning of the Brooks Estate and to provide visitors with a diverse set of visual experiences during the journey to Acorn Hill. Those qualities can be reintroduced to the Estate through rehabilitation, which would require the following measures. All measures focusing on hardscape removal or installation should be treated as parts of a single construction project, which would include the laying of any utility lines between Shepherd Brooks Manor and Grove Street. At the entry all invasives should be eradicated and replaced with a combination of deciduous and evergreen specimen plants. A simple two-leaf iron gate could then be installed to replace the currently existing, aesthetically inappropriate bar gate. Importantly, the leaves would be hinged not on the original granite columns, but on piers installed next to the columns’ facing, interior sides. Installing a keypad security lock would enable M-BELT to control vehicular flow at all times without resorting to inefficient, visually off-putting padlocks. The course of the Access Drive should not be altered because it is historically significant and elementary to the Estate’s composition. Its surface, however, should be stripped of asphalt and brought to a consistent width to make it compatible with modern-day use. Traffic would easily pass through the Estate on a drive that is 15 feet wide and shouldered to a width of five feet on both sides. To prevent the drive from looking like a public throughway, it should be resurfaced with a solid aggregate material that has a color and visual texture similar to those of pea stone. The shoulders should be planted with drought-tolerant grasses and periodically mowed to a height of no less than three inches.2 Where pedestrian paths intersect with the Access Drive, signs should be installed to help visitors find their way to desired locations. Among the information included on the signs would be each path’s name, length and destination point. The bar gate now located at the beginning of the fire road on the north side of the Access Drive should be removed and the road left unobstructed. If preventing vehicles from entering the road is a goal, it could be achieved by installing clearly visible signs or removable bollards. Lighting should be installed to make the Estate safe for nighttime pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. Fixtures chosen for this should not be designed to feign historical accuracy; rather, they should be simple and visually unobtrusive, and cast a soft, downward light. All fixtures should be installed at intervals that would ensure a continuous ban of illumination. Including timers that could be set and overridden at either end of the drive would enable M-BELT to sponsor evening events on Acorn Hill and limit the effects of light on the Estate’s wildlife. Notes on Construction: With regard to the placement of underground utility lines two options exist, each with specific advantages and disadvantages. If lines laid beneath the Access Drive’s longitudinal center, damage to the roots of trees on either side of the drive would be minimized; however, the drive might have to be dug up if the lines were ever in need of repair. A possible solution to this problem should be to encase the lines in a conduit that could be accessed through strategically placed manholes. Alternatively, if lines are laid beneath the Access Drive’s northern shoulder, they could be repaired or replaced without disturbing the drive’s surface; however, as stated, it could gravely damage existing tree roots. A resolution on this matter should be based on a professional analysis on each option’s environmental, logistical and financial factors.

2 To be determined is whether a shoulder could be included on the southern side of the drive where it extends into Brooks Pond’s 100-foot buffer zone. This question will likely be resolved by a future hydrological study of the pond.



1. ENTRANCE AND ACCESS DRIVE (CONTINUED)

SUMMARY DRAWING



1. ENTRANCE AND ACCESS DRIVE (CONTINUED)

PROFILE DRAWINGS

Grove Street Entrance: A two-leaf iron gate and keypad lock would draw attention back to the Estate, accurately associate the property with a particular time period, and enable vehicular control. The gate, as shown, should be no higher than the granite posts. Access Drive: The Access Drive should be a uniform 15 feet wide and have a five-foot-wide, grassy shoulder on either side. A hard, durable composite should be used to seal the drive after all underground lines and pipes have been buried. Evenly distributed downlighting would allow pedestrians and drivers to pass to and from the Estate safely at night. Grove Street Edge: Visual access to the Estate’s woodland can be regained by eradicating invasive plants and properly thinning, trimming and upstorying existing trees. Here the stone wall has been excavated and repaired with stone that was original to it. The exact profile of the resulting wall will vary with the height of Grove Street’s shoulder, which has increased over time.



2. BUFFER ZONES ONE AND TWO The zones’ rehabilitation goals are historical but tempered by pragmatism. Within Buffer Zone One, repairing the original stone wall, eradicating invasive growth and properly trimming trees will restore views into the property and differentiate it from its surroundings. Though visual access could be granted across the zone’s 35-foot depth, a more desirable goal would be to create a thicket 15 to 20 feet in from the woodland edge. This would allow for visual depth without opening a series of unofficial entry points to the Estate. The work required to rehabilitate the stone wall is complicated by the fact that Grove Street’s surface is significantly higher that it was 100 years ago. No longer a country carriage road, it has been built up to accommodate modern traffic. Unfortunately the base is now buried beneath subsurface gravel and shoulder sand. Accordingly, its excavation will require M-BELT to form a working partnership with Medford’s Department of Public Works. In addition to unearthing the base, excavation should include searching for toppled stones that could be used to rebuild the wall -- to whatever degree that is possible. No permanent binding materials or off-site stone should be used during the rebuild. If troublesome gaps in the finished wall exist, intelligent landscaping could mitigate their impact. Between the back of the wall and the Estate’s woodland edge a low transition zone should be established. Again, intelligent landscaping would be called for. Any vegetation planted here would have to be drought and salt tolerant, and ideally range from six to 18 inches in height. These specifications would keep the property’s edge clean, preserve the interior-view line and help discourage invasives from repopulating the buffer zone. Rehabilitation issues in Buffer Zone Two are less complex. The twin objectives here would be to eliminate existing cut-throughs to the Oak Grove Cemetery, and to stop erosion on the southwestern edge of the Brooks Pond conservation zone. Both can be achieved by eradicating invasive vegetation and replacing it with a dense, deciduous-evergreen woodland thicket. Contrary to recommendations made by other sources, a fence should not be erected in the buffer zone to control foot traffic or erosion. This is said because the use of interior fences is not in keeping with the Estate’s original aesthetic. Moreover when a fence does not connect two structural points it is visually superfluous to its environment.



2. BUFFER ZONES ONE AND TWO (CONTINUED) SUMMARY DRAWING



3. POINT OF ROCKS

A convergence of outstanding natural features (geology, topography, openness and vista) made Point of Rocks the obvious place for Peter Brooks and designer Calvert Vaux to construct a manor home in 1859. Though Point of Rocks is now gone, its foundation and many of the area’s natural features remain. Clearing: Eradicating invasive plants from Point of Rocks would serve a number of purposes. To start, it would bring the geological ridgeline back to prominence and restore Mystic Lake’s western shore as a visual reference point. If it were undertaken here and in Meadow+ simultaneously, it would restore the equally significant internal vista to and from Brooks Pond. With invasives eradicated, significant trees could then be fertilized and properly trimmed to prevent their decline. Two potential complications should be noted. Because the shape and location of the manor foundation are not entirely known, they would have to be mapped through careful probing. If, after this process, large trees and invasive plants were found to exist inside the foundation perimeter, special accommodations might have to be made for their safe removal. Also, unstable or weak trees near the cliff should be taken down. If a barrier were required at the cliff’s edge, it would have to be visually innocuous. A split-rail fence made of a dark wood-and-resin composite might prove a good choice.

Conceptual rendering of view to Brooks Pond from Point of Rocks

Installation: Replacing trees and shrubs on Point of Rocks will require careful planning. Since the area is made largely of ledge and some of its soils are shallow and/or silty, most likely a combination of small and mid-sized trees and shrubs would have to be used to replace some of the inappropriately large trees that have settled onto the summit. Another point to consider is that the vista re-established from Brooks Pond would lack its original terminus, which was the Point of Rocks Manor. Lacking that building, a large specimen tree could be planted near the top of Point of Rocks, which would provide a new endpoint and commemorate the manor itself. Sight lines and soil quality would determine the tree's location. Furniture and Fixtures: To optimize Point of Rocks’s contemplative nature, benches and trash receptacles should be placed between the foundation remains and the ridgeline cliff. This would provide visitors with an accommodating vantage point from which to view the banks of Mystic Lakes, the Estate’s meadow and Brooks



Pond. Any temptation to install “historic looking” benches instead of plain, comfortable ones should be resisted. To give visitors an understanding of where they are, directional and educational signs should be placed near the foundation remains but behind the benches and well away from the cliff. 3. POINT OF ROCKS (CONTINUED) SUMMARY DRAWING

Notes on Excavation: A decision to excavate the foundation on Point of Rocks could prolong the time required to rehabilitate the area in total. For instance, if excavation were to occur during or after this project’s execution, most likely a temporary access road would have to be built to connect the area with its original Grove Street entrance. This would not affect the timing of invasive removal or tree thinning, but it could postpone the replanting of trees and shrubs between the foundation and entrance. Hardscape features (i.e., benches, signs and trash receptacles) could be installed before excavation, but arrangements would have to be made for their safe removal and storage while the work is in progress.



4. MEADOW+ Historical photographs illustrate the central role that the land contained in Meadow+ once played on the Brooks Estate. As shown earlier in Section I, reciprocating views between the two manors and Brooks Pond stretched across open grassland that was adorned by specimen trees and exposed rock. The area’s functional purpose was to allow light farming; its aesthetic purpose was to provide a sense of place to people standing on the Access Drive, beside either manor or somewhere in between. In essence Meadow+ added to the Estate’s sense of order and revealed it.

Historical photographs placed beside aerial surveys from the 1950s and 1990s document when the land in Meadow+ lost its utility and character. In the late nineteenth century, this open area comprised as much as 70% of the Estate. By 1954 advancing woodland sealed up the view between Acorn Hill and Brooks Pond and reduced the meadow’s size to approximately 50% of the Estate. Then, by 1993 the view between Point of Rocks and Brooks Pond was lost and the meadow had shrunk to just six acres. Today it consists of less than two acres of land, both of which are visually and physically segregated from the rest of the Estate by a wall of unchecked vegetation. This design plan proposes that visual paths from Point of Rocks and Acorn Hill to Brooks Pond be reopened and that the meadow be rehabilitated to a size and shape approximating those that were recorded in 1993. Doing this would dramatically change the visitor experience of Brooks Estate: a central activity area would be restored, vistas would be renewed and internal coherence would exist once again. The design fully considers wildlife habitats and seeks to prevent them from disappearing entirely to the Estate’s expanding woodland thicket. Clearing: The rehabilitation process should begin with the eradication and removal of all invasive growth from Meadow+, with particular care given to the area between the Access Drive and the eastern side of Point of Rocks.

1954 aerial survey of Estate, 28 acres of meadow

1993 aerial survey of Estate, six acres of meadow



A purposeful tree thinning, preservation and installation program could then be implemented. The first objective would be to determine which of the trees were old, large and healthy enough to qualify as specimens, and to tag them for preservation. All untagged trees would be carefully assessed and, if necessary, removed to re-establish sight lines to the pond. The maturity and canopy height of many trees on Acorn Hill would make sight line restoration a product of judicious thinning and pruning. By contrast, the denser, less mature growth pattern of trees between Point of Rocks and the Access Drive would require an equally mindful but more intensive cutting process. The remaining trees would then be fertilized and trimmed as needed to preserve their health. With excess vegetation removed, newly exposed bedrock and other mineral formations between Point of Rocks and the Access Drive would have to be analyzed. Ultimately, the overall geology would remain uncovered and, if necessary, stabilized. Surrounding soils would be minimally graded to prevent erosion and to rejoin slopes that have been artificially interrupted. Additional trees and shrubs could be planted if the land’s appearance were visually unsatisfactory or if drainage and soil stability were to require it. Installation -- Acorn Hill: Immediately after vegetation were removed from between Acorn Hill and the Access Drive, the area’s soils would have to be analyzed to determine their fertility and the degree to which they retain and shed water. A final planting plan could then be executed in accordance with soil test results and M-BELT’s objectives for the area. From a design perspective, planting options would be either to leave the woodland floor bare (a condition found in many mature forests), or to install a combination of small understory shrubs and groundcover plants. This project recommends the latter, as it would keep foot traffic off a moderately steep slope, help prevent erosion and provide an additional habitat for small animals and birds. Were M-BELT to adopt this recommendation, the overall planting plan would have to include a combination of shrubs that are shade tolerant and well suited to sloping soil. One other requirement, of course, would be that plant heights not interfere with the sight line that had just been re-established. Soils augmented and graded as needed, all of the shrubs and groundcover plants could be installed, mulched and put on an irrigation regimen until they were well established. Installation -- Meadow and Woodland Border: As the meadow and woodland border are of paramount importance to the Brooks Estate’s design and biodiversity, they should be considered parts of a single biological system. Well thought-out and maintained, they would enrich soil chemistry and moderate moisture loss. They would also prove favorable to invertebrates and ground insects that naturally aerate and fertilize the soils they inhabit. These qualities would not be confined to the meadow and to the border as individual units, but constantly and symbiotically exchanged between the two. In addition, the woodland border would benefit the meadow by shading it and protecting it from encroachment by nearby trees. To reintroduce this system to Meadow+, great care would have to be taken in choosing, installing and maintaining its constituent plants. The following recommendations are offered as guidance toward that end. Immediately after the area between Point of Rocks and the Access Drive were cleared, soil fertility and general conditions would have to be assessed. Any necessary fertilizer and conditioners could then be applied and the soil tilled, smoothed over and minimally graded to control water runoff. To establish an expanse of indigenous perennial grasses and wildflowers, seed-selection criteria would have to include each plant’s drought tolerance, historical accuracy, bloom period and origin. Seed would be mixed, broadcast across the entire area; and then raked, rolled to a proper depth and surface graded. An organic, seedless mulch could then be applied.3 From that point forward, the meadow would have to be regularly irrigated until all of its plants were well established. Of course Brooks Pond would not be a candidate for irrigation water. An irrigation source worth exploring would be city water now filling pipes that feed the Estate’s fire hydrants. One such hydrant exists near the top of Meadow+, but its ability to function is unknown.

3 If hydroseed were used, raking and mulching requirements might be reduced but not eliminated.



Around the perimeter of the meadow a combination of deciduous, coniferous and other evergreen trees and shrubs would be installed to form the beginnings of a woodland border. The expectation should be that at maturity the border would be varied in profile (see Section J.5 Vegetation); and reach a maximum height of 15 to 20 feet, and a maximum depth of 40 feet. The border’s eventual depth and density should prevent people from passing through it except at points established by the Estate’s trail system (see Section K.1 Trail System). Again, criteria for plant selection should be drought tolerance, historical accuracy, bloom period and origin. Following plant installation, an organic mulch would have to be spread within each plant’s drip line and regularly replenished until, at minimum, the border were large and dense enough to shade the surrounding soil.4

Conceptual rendering of meadow, as viewed from the Access Drive

Notes On Meadow Planting: As an open, varied ecology the meadow and woodland border would provide visitors with a richer visual and physical experience of the Brooks Estate. As this report later illustrates (see Section K.1 Trail System), the Estate’s trail system would extend from the Access Drive through the meadow and then branch off to allow visitors to exit through the woodland border. Placing that path near the middle of the meadow would help keep foot traffic away from the meadow's edge. The reciprocating nature of the meadow and woodland border would greatly benefit wildlife. For instance, mammals and birds would have over six acres of land in which to touch down, scavenge or assert territorial rights. The meadow could also consistently feed wildlife, and invertebrates, if portions of it were in bloom from late winter through mid-autumn. M-BELT should consider that maintaining a meadow’s general health requires periodic mowing. Though mowing temporarily reduces the number of field flowers from a wildlife menu, the effect is mitigated when area plants bloom at different periods and mown plants were left on the ground so their seed can be eaten. On the Estate, half the meadow could be cut early and the other half late to maintain habitat and aesthetics throughout the year. Ultimately its food supply would last until the first snow, at which time nuts and berries remaining in the border would sustain wildlife through much of the winter. Toward the beginning of spring, this cycle would begin once again.

4 Some mulch could be created by chipping debris from trees that had been thinned from Meadow+. If that were done, the debris would have to be free of invasives and of tree seeds, particularly those from Norway maples.



4. MEADOW+ (CONTINUED) SUMMARY DRAWING



4. MEADOW+ (CONTINUED) PROFILE DRAWING Around the meadow’s contracting border, invasive growth limits air circulation and sunlight, while absorbing nutrients and limited water from the soil. As a result, they flourish at the expense of their neighbors. As illustrated below, a healthy woodland border should be planned to include a diversity of deciduous and evergreen species, and installed to optimize the amount of air, light and root space available to each plant. When properly executed a woodland border helps prevent surrounding vegetation from advancing on a meadow and it provides food and shelter for animals.

Right A diagonal configuration creates a sweeping transition from the woodland and the meadow. Sharp contrasts between trees and shrubs can be attained using this method.

Left A step effect can be created by positioning two trees of similar height next to each other, as in an orchard. Some visual access is granted into the border, but it is intentionally limited by a mid-size shrub in front.

Left Walling one tree in front of another creates a transition area that occurs naturally at the edge of many deciduous-coniferous forests. Seen close up, the foremost trees gain prominence; from a distance balance is restored. Here high groundcover keeps foot traffic away from the border.



5. VEGETATION As in the nineteenth century, the Brooks Estate contains areas of meadow, thickets, and mixed and open woodland. The difference is that the process of natural selection is no longer being controlled, thus the landscape is being overrun by its most fertile and adaptable plant species. In the end, the purpose of this design report is to suggest the means by which human will can be re-imposed on the Brooks Estate to curtail a process that is concealing the historic landscape, and destroying opportunities for human enjoyment and wildlife habitation. Again the differences between the estates of the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries are vast, and will remain so. However they can be made to share a great many attributes, including a vegetation plan that organizes the property rationally and secures its naturalistic beauty. Until now this report has emphasized the need to open up the Brooks Estate by eradicating invasive growth and mindfully thinning or removing existing trees. It has also posited explanations as to how the two buffer zones, the entrance and Access Drive, and Point of Rocks might appear after they have been rehabilitated. Yet what will the woodland occupying the majority of the Estate look like? To answer that question, this report now offers two walking scenarios. Together they take the reader through the meadow and thicket, across a portion of the woodland and to the outlook cliff on Point of Rocks. In doing so, it references the summary drawing and profile drawings below that document four unique botanical environments. Conceptual Walking Scenario One: To understand the difference between the present and proposed meadows, one should note the light, amorphous area inside the meadow outline shown in the summary drawing. That is the size and shape of today’s meadow, which is invisible from the road and most other points on the Estate. If one were able to stand on the Access Drive, as it is drawn, and look up through the meadow, as it is proposed, one would see an open expanse of grass and wildflowers, encircled by a woodland border partially in bloom. Behind the border would be higher trees holding a continuous canopy aloft. As one’s eye traveled to the north, one could follow the 90-foot ascent being made by the meadow, border and woodland to the summit of Point of Rocks. Between the viewer and the summit, the meadow would be dotted by specimen trees, exposed rock and thick, localized shrubs that would stagger but not sever the sight line. Walking up the hill and then turning right, one would leave the meadow, pass through the border and enter the Estate’s woodland. Much different from the meadow, the woodland would be comprised of a variety of trees from different generations. Depending on their species and age, some could reach heights of 50 to 100 feet. They might be red oak, American beech, basswood, or sugar maple. Others, more closely situated and standing up to 50 feet tall, could be hickory, pine, birch or juniper. The canopy above one’s head would be a panoply of greens varying in height and density. One area of the woodland floor could be dappled with sun and lined with lily of the valley, while another area stretched cool shade across a colony of ferns. The depth to which one could explore the woodland would vary greatly as well. In the more botanically mature sections, for example, one might be able to stroll comfortably between the bases of tall trees. By design any such stroll would be intermittently interrupted by thick detours of younger trees and bushy understory shrubs. If a rabbit were to run across the floor and into one of these green masses, it would be safe from predators – human or otherwise. Conceptual Walking Scenario Two: The second tour of the Estate’s vegetation starts at the ridgeline cliff at Point of Rocks, which is represented on the summary drawing by the canopy break near the left margin. The approximate size and shape of the current opening is represented by the light, amorphous area. As stated earlier in Section I, clearing and thinning vegetation from the area would restore the vista to Mystic Lake’s western shoreline. Atop the cliff, the botanical environment would be that of a mixed woodland, with trees ranging from 15 to 50 feet in height, depending upon the depth and stability of existing soils. At the base of the cliff the environment would be akin to that of a mature forest, with straight-line specimen trees holding a canopy 50 to 75 feet above Grove Street. This line would continue along the street, turn east and then run along the northern boundary separating the Estate from Winchester. Surveying the Estate from its highest point, one might suddenly



notice that the once monotonous tangle of trees and vines has been replaced by stands of deciduous and evergreen trees, each with room to breathe. Beneath them shrubs now grow, sometimes as individual accents, other times as a part of a stable, untrimmed thicket. Notes On Design: This interplay of open space and differently textured woodland areas could – and should – be repeated across the Brooks Estate, but it would require patience and an extended effort given the rate at which New England landscapes mature. (In the time it took to design and construct Boston’s central artery, an American beech sapling will grow to only one-fifth its adult height.) One should bear in mind that creating the meadow and initiating a woodland border could be done within a relatively short time frame. So too could invasives be removed and existing trees treated to extend their lives. However, fully correcting the effects of unbridled natural selection on the Estate’s woodland and restoring its botanical richness will require many years. The starting point for this would be at the outset of the rehabilitation process, when clearing invasives would require that the first new trees, shrubs and groundcover plants be installed. From that point forward and in accordance with a planting plan, new trees could be cycled into the landscape to fill in gaps and to reintroduce species to the property. The Brooks Estate should not be viewed as a horticultural blank slate ready to be filled. In fact many of the existing trees provide a foundation on which one could base a planting plan. For instance, on the western edge of Acorn Hill a few, relatively healthy American beech trees still stand. Near their bases is a series of immature and precariously established beech saplings that would form a grove if their surroundings were optimized. The same condition is found on the western edge of the proposed meadow where numerous red and white oak trees stand. Though they are not currently affected by invasives, that could change for bittersweet recently established itself nearby. South of the Winchester border yet another grove exists, this one of chokecherry trees (Prunus virginiana) that are somewhat healthy but threatened by the increasingly ubiquitous Norway maple. Together, these areas of old- and new-growth trees could be used as starting points in restoring the Estate’s botanical splendor and uniting history with the future.



5. VEGETATION (CONTINUED)

SUMMARY DRAWING



5. VEGETATION (CONTINUED)

PROFILE DRAWING



K. SUMMARY DRAWINGS 1. VISTA

The above diagram illustrates the sight lines that can be established through careful vegetation removal. Together, views across the Estate and to nearby scenic areas such as the Mystic Lakes will unify the property and restore the sense of place that was once an integral part of the Brooks Estate landscape.



K. SUMMARY DRAWINGS 2. TRAIL SYSTEM

The primary purpose of the trail system will be to allow visitors to travel across the Estate in a mindful, orderly manner, and to present a varied, visual experience of the Brooks Estate as a whole. The trail system will be reconfigured by clearing overgrown paths and eliminating others that have no logical course or endpoint. All remaining paths will be mulched and marked with signs to escort visitors through a unique series of meadow, woodland and thicket views. Additional signs will be erected to mark distance and to point out features of historical or ecological importance. Significant trees will be labeled, and benches and trash receptacles placed at each destination point.



L. SUMMARY TABLE Each element of the conceptual design was included to satisfy the core values of M-BELT, to abide by the Brooks Estate’s original design principles, and to rehabilitate landscape features of significant historical value. The following table provides a quick overview of the design elements and the concerns they address. It is included to underscore the complexity of this project’s design and the analytical process that preceded it.

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Entrance and Historic Drive

Widen and repave drive with solid but aesthetically compatible surface

x x x x x x x x x

Provide lighting at entrance and along drive

x x x x x x x

Provide iron gate with electronic-security capability at Grove Street entrance

x x x x x x

Clear invasive plants x x x x x x x x x x xReplant with desired species x x x x x x x x x x x xInstall signs at major trail points off the drive

x x x x x x

Buffer Zone 1Clear 20 feet of undergrowth along Grove Street

x x x x x x x x x x x x

Remove invasives x x x x x x x x x x x xReplant with native lilacs, groundcover and other vegetation


Rehabilitate any existing significant trees


Repair granite wall x x x x x xBuffer Zones 2Clear invasive plants x x x x x x x xReplant with thicket to discourage foot traffic and erosion

x x x x x x

Point of RocksClear invasive plants x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xProvide historical signage x x x x x xProvide seating, trash receptacles x x x x xDevelop a tree canopy effect around the mansion footprint

x x x x x x x x x x

Restore vista at overlook x x x x x x x x x x x x xReplant desired species x x x x x x x x x x x x

Brooks Estate Landscape and Vegetation Management Plan

Original Design Principles

Historic Elements



L. SUMMARY TABLE (CONTINUED)

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Meadow +

Restore approximately 5 acres of meadow

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Clear invasives from expanded meadow


Rehabilitate any historically significant trees

x x x x x x x x x x x

Plant scattered specimen trees x x x x x x x x x xReplant meadow with native flowers and grasses

x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Regrade to restore continuous surface x x x x x x x x

Remove all debris from area x x x x x x x x x x x xClear invasives from woodland x x x x x x x x x x x x x xRestore view from Point of Rocks to Brooks Pond


Provide signage and seating x x x x x x xRestore trails x x x x x x x x xTrail SystemBlock off all unnecessary trails x x x x x

Remove asphalt from remaining trails x x x x x

Clear remaining trails and perimeters of overgrowth


Apply mulch to all trails x x x x x x x xInstall historical and directional sign throughout system

x x x x x x x

Strategically place benches and trash receptacles throughout system

x x x x x x x x

Label significant trees along trail x x x x

Brooks Estate Landscape and Vegetation Management Plan

Original Design Principles Historic Elements



M. PHASING Recommendations on the order in which rehabilitative measures should be executed are based on two factors. First, the landscape is quickly succumbing to invasive plant growth and the lack of a tree maintenance program. Second, the meadow will disappear entirely within a few years, thereby complicating the process of restoring it to its approximate 1993 size and shape. These are perceived as the most troublesome issues confronting the Brooks Estate’s landscape, therefore top priority is given to remedying them. Ideally when each rehabilitative measure is implemented, it would be done across the entire Estate. Economic reality, however, may dictate that at least some measures be taken on a zone-by-zone basis. If this proves the case, M-BELT should make every effort to ensure that at least invasive removal is done across the entire property at one time. In the long run, it would make it far less difficult to keep the Estate clear of unwanted vegetation. Regardless of the order in which M-BELT executes these rehabilitative measures, it should bear in mind that a full rehabilitation program could take a decade or longer to implement. This is due not to financial constraints – though they could become a factor – but to the time required for New England trees and shrubs to take firm root and grow through adolescence to maturity. Within a decade of its start the rehabilitation process could eliminate invasives, restore vistas and topographical features, re-establish a central meadow and yield a proper entry and Access Drive. However, the towering nature of American beeches and Scotch pines, and the spread of hawthorns and cypresses will be fully appreciated only by generations to come. In essence, rehabilitation in the short run will correct serious problems and greatly enhance the property’s ecology and recreational value, and in the process establish a starting point for future botanical projects. Once rehabilitative measures have begun, construction and maintenance will become forever intertwined. It is therefore imperative that any final planting plan include a comprehensive and executable set of directives that are geared to nourishing and protecting soils, trees, shrubs, groundcover and all other landscape features that are directly or indirectly affected by the scope of construction. Without that coupling of plans, M-BELT should refrain from executing any significant work on the Brooks Estate. PHASE ONE Finalize a detailed, long-term planting plan for the Estate, and an associated plant maintenance plan. Identify, assess and tag all trees of significance by virtue of the size, species and/or age. Remove all invasive trees, weeds and shrubs impinging upon the health of significant trees or historical

landscape elements. Remove all dead and diseased trees, with some exceptions made for dead trees that are solid and stable. Trim and apply fertilizer to all significant trees as required to preserve their health. Begin execution of planting plan by replacing trees, shrubs and groundcover plants. Begin execution of plant maintenance plan by irrigating and assessing all newly installed plants. PHASE TWO Clear land for meadow expansion. Selectively clear trees for restoration of vistas between Point of Rocks and Brooks Pond, and between Acorn

Hill and Brooks Pond. Plant small and mid-sized shrubs within vista paths to stabilize soil and limit human access. Re-grade land within meadow area to correct artificial topographical interruptions, and to reduce the risk of

water erosion. Stabilize all geological formations within the meadow area. Treat meadow soil with organic fertilizers and till in preparation for meadow and woodland-border plantings.

(Note: Observations suggest that topsoil has been removed from potions of the central meadow. If new topsoil



is introduced, in should be only in quantities necessary to restore the area to its original slope and estimated depth, and to harmonize its fertility with the adjoining area.)

Install all woodland-border trees and shrubs. Plant and mulch all meadow grasses and indigenous wildflowers. PHASE THREE Remove all overhead wires and street poles from length of Access Drive. Install all underground water, sewer and electrical connections between Grove Street and the Acorn Hill

Manor. Install all wiring for new gate security system and new lighting system, which will run the length of Access

Drive. Replace irregular Access Drive with a durable composite surface, installed to a uniform width of 15 feet. Clear and grade a shoulder five feet on either side of the Access Drive, and plant with appropriate grasses

and/or groundcover. Excavate and repair stone wall along Grove Street. Install piers next to the interior sides of granite columns at main entrance. Hang a double-leaf gate from piers. Erect historical sign at entrance to denote the beginning of the Brooks Estate. PHASE FOUR Remove all debris and old asphalt from interior trails. Block off unwanted trails and cover with vegetation. Clear path for additional trails (where needed) and remove vegetation from desirable existing trails. Uniformly cover all desired trails with a minimum of three inches of new wood chips. Install all directional and historical signs, with the latter located at the main entrance, on Point of Rocks, at the

bottom of the meadow path, and at the remains of the Girl Scout cabin. Install benches and trash receptacles in desired locations.



N. BUDGET



N. BUDGET (CONTINUED)

Brooks Estate Master PlanMedford-Brooks Estate Land Trust1 September 2011

Brooks Estate Landscape Restoration - Remainder of Estate - Cost Summary

Item Description Quantitiy Unit Unit Cost Estimated Cost

Buffer Zone 1 1 Each $60,000 $60,000

Buffer Zone 2 1 Each $25,000 $25,000

Meadow 4.5 Acre $140,000 $630,000

Point of Rocks 3 Acre $50,000 $150,000

Brooks Pond 1 Each $40,000 $40,000

Trails Trail creation, management & signage 1 Each $70,000 $70,000

Misc. Misc. planting / existing tree maintenance 1 Each $25,000 $25,000

Subtotal Construction $1,000,000

Design - 20% Includes all Civil and Landscape Design $200,000

Total Brooks Estate Landscape Restoration Cost (not including Access Drive or Historic Core) $1,200,000

Clear invasive pants; develop a tree canopy effect around Point of Rocks footprint; restore vista at overlook; replant desired species; investigate possible archaeological dig at Point of Rocks.

Restore approximately 4.5 acres of meadow at center of Estate; clear invasives; rehabilitate historically significant trees; plant scattered specimen trees; replan meadow with native flowers & grasees; restore view from Point of Rocks to Brooks Pond.

75' Setback zone along Grove Street: clear 20' of undergrowth; remove invasives; replant with native groundcover & other vegetation; add signage and pedestrian gate at Point of Rocks historic entrance; repair/rebuild stone wall

At Brooks Pond west side (facing cemetery Grove Street side): Remove Invasives; plant new wood thicket.

Remove invasives; build new accessible trail to peninsula between center and eastern lobes of Pond; wetlands restoration; selective plantings.
