The Manager's report back on repairing the grass at Greene-Rose Heritage Park, and to establish a long- term plan of action

Over the last several years the pandemic has proven that Cambridges open space is in high demand, and as a result the city has seen an increase in the use of parks and other open spaces citywide. With regard specifically to Green-Rose, we have found that this park has become a popular location for non-permitted sports most particularly volleyball. While outdoor volleyball is played primarily on a sand surface, the large, grassed area at Green-rose is an attractive alternative. Grass can tolerate some of this use from time to time, but constant aggressive play in the same area results in excessive grass wear which is what we were finding at Green -Rose.

Public Works maintains Green-Rose Park on a weekly basis utilizing both in-house employees and contracted services. Several times per week, crews sweep hard surfaces, pickup litter, and mow grass areas. Every other week planting beds are pruned and weeded and litter within the beds is removed. Beyond that we also concentrate on overall field maintenance by fertilizing and seeding at least two times per year and maintaining a well-functioning irrigation system to assure maximum grass growth. This year to combat some of the aggressive use the park was getting we also used aeration and aeravation equipment to treat the field surface. This equipment uses long tines to penetrate the surface helping to de-compact soil and aiding in getting nutrients to the grass roots. Overall, the field area is in good shape, although we are still seeing some minor areas of stress where volleyball had been played, we anticipate that with the treatment we have been utilizing these areas will return to a healthy condition.

In the short term we will continue to monitor the condition of the park add additional resources where necessary. Longer term, Public Works will work with the Open space committee to evaluate the need for more permanent volleyball facilities either at Green-Rose or other area parks.