Submitted by Connie S

Asha M, Nikolis Gualco, Groton Conservation Administrator and member Medora K

Groton Garden Club members filled the conference room at the Center Fire Station to learn about Groton’s Natural Resources from Groton Conservation Commission Administrator Nikolis Gualco. The Conservation Commission manages over 1000 acres of town-owned land, promotes and develops natural resources and protects the watershed in our area.  He noted that 50 percent of the land within Groton is protected.

The Conservation Commission is also a first stop for anyone wishing to perform work within the identified buffer zones along wetlands areas.

Among the many concerns of the Commission, Gualco warned that one is the invasive plants that are creeping into private and public lands. These include black swallow-wort, a member of the milkweed family. Unlike our native milkweed, Swallow wort is toxic to the monarch butterfly. Another invasive of concern is bittersweet, which strangles many trees around town.