Joyce Greenleaf has been on the Southborough Stewardship Committee since its inception over 20 years ago and has been Chair for at least the last 5 Years. Her commitment to the conservation values on the 90 acres of Breakneck Hill and the adjacent 58 acre town forest has been exceptional.
During her tenure she has helped to oversee the removal of over 25 acres of invasive bittersweet, tuning a large portion of the land into habitat for grassland birds where bobolinks now visit every year, and many other birds nest throughout the property. Kestrels are now regular residents along with indigo buntings, cedar waxwings, hummingbirds, bluebirds, Baltimore orioles and a variety of other birds.
Joyce embraced the collaboration with Dr. Robert Gegear when Breakneck Hill became his first research site with the installation of the Beecology Research Garden and Meadow. The result has been increasing biodiversity of declining pollinator species. Breakneck Hill has become a hot spot not only for birders but for the Mass Butterfly Club as well.
Breakneck Hill is also a popular dog walking destination, and like many areas with heavy dog usage, problems can arise. Joyce spearheaded a Dog Waste Program that was part education and part humorous signage that helped greatly reduced the problem. The signage is still used when needed. Remember, “There is No Poop Fairy!”
Joyce has mentored many scouts and overseen numerous Eagle Scout Projects. She has also brought art projects to the conservation land, working with an artist on a scavenger hunt of artistic renderings of wildlife placed throughout the Town Forest. A new artist-created trail map is also now on the kiosk built by an Eagle Scout at the Trail Head.
As Chair of Stewardship, she has to make sure the trails get mowed, schedule the annual mow of the fields, ensure spot invasive treatments and process the invoices. Keeping the trails in tiptop shape is no easy task and requires constant vigilance. Joyce is a hands-on worker. You can find her wading through brambles to collect the escaped ballons that have landed, creating a hazard to wildlife. She puts out the heavy and sharp metal NO SPAY signs along the roadway, alerting people that the conservation land is exempt from the town Mosquito Spray program. She also does the not-so-pleasant work of annually cleaning out bluebird and kestrel houses. There are many happy bluebirds and kestrels as a result.
This last year has been particularly busy for Joyce at Breakneck Hill as she oversaw the major construction project of the Farm Dump Cleanup and the resulting trail closures. While the hazardous materials have been removed, she is now working on the restoration efforts on the scarred land. One of the most exciting recent projects is the new one-acre Roadside Meadow that was seeded last fall. Some native wildflowers should start to bloom later this summer, the culmination of a three-year effort.
Joyce also leads by example. Ten years ago, she and her husband installed a new garden focusing on native plants in their own yard, and have continued to work planting a variety of native plants. She has commented that as a result of native plantings, the she has seen new species of birds that never visited her yard before.
It is challenging to summarize Joyce’s 20 years of accomplishments into one award presentation. Joyce has demonstrated great dedication to creating and managing quality wildlife habitat for people to enjoy by leading with kindness and grace. Joyce exemplifies the ideals that SOLF had in mind when it established the Elaine Beals Conservation Award.
