We are happy to announce that the A.J. & M.D. Ruggiero Memorial Trust has awarded an $84,000 grant to the Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery to support Phase 3 of our ongoing Indian Ridge Habitat Restoration.

Over the years, we have received more than $1.5 million from the Ruggiero Memorial Trust for wildlife habitat enhancement projects, making it possible for us to restore a variety of areas throughout our landscape. In both 2019 and 2020, the Trust awarded grants for Phases 1 and 2 of our work on Indian Ridge (replanting the steep slopes overlooking Halcyon Lake and the area atop the Ridge respectively). And now, this latest grant will help us complete the project.

In Phase 3, we will work with Larry Weaner Landscape Associates to create a sedge and wildflower meadow throughout Indian Ridge. This will replace the turf grass and bare ground surrounding the replanted areas. While the area has already undergone substantial improvements thanks to everything we have done to date, Phase 3 will be the crucial step that we now need to unify the landscape and add even more habitat value to the entire Ridge.

Once complete, this redesigned landscape will feature native plants almost exclusively, transforming Indian Ridge into a showcase of the New England plant palette rarely found anywhere else.

Thank you to the Ruggiero Memorial Trust and all of our generous supporters for making this exciting project possible! If you would like to support our work too, please visit https://mountauburn.org/give/special-projects/ and select “Indian Ridge Habitat Restoration.”

Read more and watch our “Restoring Indian Ridge” video series at https://mountauburn.org/indian-ridge-habitat-restoration/.