Restoring Orleans’ Lost Treasures
At Putnam Farm in Orleans, Massachusetts the Orleans Conservation Commission, biologists and volunteers are restoring wetlands and giving threatened species a playground for life.
At Putnam Farm in Orleans, Massachusetts the Orleans Conservation Commission, biologists and volunteers are restoring wetlands and giving threatened species a playground for life.
The short film titled “The Wetlands” features Norman Allard Jr. and Tom Biebighauser, who share their insights about the importance of wetlands. Allard speaks about how water is the lifeblood of the planet and the journey it takes from small tributaries to large rivers and eventually to lakes. Tom, a wetland ecologist, discusses how wetlands are unique habitats that are home to various species of wildlife and plants that grow nowhere else on Earth.
Wetland Design is a graduate level, online class that will show you how to design and build naturally appearing and functioning wetlands. The detailed units explain the values of wetlands, how wetlands were drained, factors affecting site selection for restoration, techniques for construction, and how nonfunctioning wetlands can be repaired.
Building dams is the old-fashioned way of constructing wetlands and ponds. Tom Biebighauser has developed highly effective and low-cost techniques for restoring wetlands without the use of dams, ditches, canals, pipes, and pumps. Wetlands built without dams appear and function like natural wetlands, requiring little if any maintenance.
Join Tom Biebighauser, Wildlife Biologist and Wetland Ecologist to learn about wetland restoration techniques. Various techniques will be explored to restore wetlands, and discuss how to do so with minimal maintenance (without the use of dams, weirs, or pumps).