Wildlife Habitat Enhancements and the Anthony J. & Mildred D. Ruggiero Memorial Trust
Wildlife Habitat Enhancements and the Anthony J. & Mildred D. Ruggiero Memorial Trust
By David Barnett, President & CEO
The site of Mount Auburn Cemetery has served as a valuable habitat for wildlife since long before the institution’ s founding in 1831. In the last two decades, with the increased awareness of Mount Auburn’ s ecological uniqueness in the greater Boston area and the growing environmental sensitivity throughout society, more and more attention has been directed toward managing the grounds as a natural resource and wildlife habitat. Plantings have been introduced for the benefit of migratory and resident birds and animals, particularly around the Cemetery’ s bodies of water. Our goal has been to provide a wide diversity of vegetation offering nesting, protection, and food resources, in a manner that fits within our historic landscape preservation mission and that will be sustainable long into the future.
8 | Sweet Auburn
Much of this work has been made possible by funding from the Anthony J. & Mildred D. Ruggiero Memorial Trust, which the Ruggieros established in 1994 to support wildlife habitat enhancements and educational programs. The couple’ s philanthropic involvement at Mount Auburn began in 1993 when they provided funding for the design and installation of new plantings and a pathway around Willow Pond. As part of that project, the Ruggiero Commemorative Garden was created to recognize their generosity.
Over the last twenty years, Mount Auburn has received more than a million dollars from the Ruggiero Memorial Trust for wildlife habitat enhancement projects. Perhaps the most dramatic has been the woodland restoration in Consecration Dell, a beautiful area with steep forested slopes and a pool at its center. Work to restore the Dell to a more natural state began in 1997 with the planting of native species along the banks of the vernal pool. In addition to being an historically significant location, the Dell was( and is) ecologically significant in part because of its resident population of spotted salamanders( see page 18), one of the few in eastern Massachusetts. Our
photo by Jim Holman