Boutillier's Brook
A Stream that Flows from Ravensdale Woods to the Saw Mill River
Headwaters are critical ecosystems that contribute to the life of rivers. Read this article from American Rivers to understand the imperative for protecting small streams.
The Hastings Conservation Commission has conducted five planting sessions on Boutillier's Brook where it meets the Saw Mill River, thanks to NYS DEC's Trees for Tribs grant program, and with help from numerous volunteer residents and Groundwork Hudson Valley's Green Team. Over nine hundred trees and shrubs have been planted. The area was formerly a mound of porcelain berry and Japanese knotweed with areas of mown lawn, all of which are shallow-rooted and provide little sustenance for area fauna. We will continue to remove invasive vines and knotweed and nurture the new plants to bring this riverine corridor to a healthier ecological state. Doing so will not only help mitigate erosion, but will also contribute to the health of the Saw Mill and Hudson rivers downstream.
Thanks to the Youth Climate Action Fund, we have also begun helping create a healthy ecosystem along the headwaters of the brook (more info below).
Email us to join a work session. We conduct occasional maintenance.
Ravensdale Micro Forest
Upstream Stream Care, August 2024: Adding trees to the upper reaches of the brook.
Thanks to funding and inspiration from the HoH Youth Climate Action Fund 2024 (HoH-YCAF), with monies donated by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Kai Ghalib, Joe Drake, Greg Weiss and Kareem Ghalib planted 8 red maples and two swamp white oaks adjacent to the source of Boutillier's Brook, which is @Ravensdale Road on the site of the former Ice Pond. (See historical details at the bottom of this page.)
These trees will help mitigate flooding and erosion. The team will also secure some wild willow seedlings and cuttings from Exit 12 to further remediate this area. To read Kai's report, click here.
Plantings on Farragut Parkway @Exit 12
Plants are tubed to protect them from deer. Thanks to NYSDEC Trees for Tribs for the plants and equipment!
This is what happens when you don't remove invasive vines - #thankyoumatthobby:
Click for: Before-and-After Pics - the full album
Plant List for May 2021
TREES (65)
8 Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
5 Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)
12 River Birch (Betula nigra)
5 Ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana)
4 Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)
2 Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
4 Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
8 Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor)
6 Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
5 Black Willow (Salix nigra)
4 Basswood (Tilia americana)
SHRUBS (285)
10 Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
20 Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum)
20 Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa)
25 Red-Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea)
5 Hazelnut (Corylus americana)
5 Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
10 Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
15 Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica)
25 Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
5 Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina)
10 Winged Sumac (Rhus copallinum)
25 Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris)
15 Virginia Rose (Rosa virginiana)
25 Pussy Willow (Salix discolor)
25 Prairie Willow (Salix humilis)
25 Sandbar Willow (Salix interior)
20 Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago)
Plant List for October 2021
TREES (55)
11 Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
14 Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)
2 Serviceberry (Amelanchier Canadensis)
4 Ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana)
4 Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
5 Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor)
10 Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
5 Black Willow (Salix nigra)
SHRUBS (245)
5 Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
20 Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum)
20 Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa)
20 Red-Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea)
5 Hazelnut (Corylus americana)
10 Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
5 Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
15 Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
10 Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica)
10 Black Chokeberry (Photinia melanocarpa)
5 Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
5 Beach Plum (Prunus maritima)
20 Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris)
25 Virginia Rose (Rosa virginiana)
15 Pussy Willow (Salix discolor)
15 Prairie Willow (Salix humilis)
15 Sandbar Willow (Salix interior)
15 Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum)
10 Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago)
Plant List for May 2022
TREES (10)
2 Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
1 Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)
1 River Birch (Betula nigra)
1 Ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana)
1 Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
1 Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)
1 Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
2 Black Willow (Salix nigra)
SHRUBS (40)
4 Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis)
4 Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum)
4 Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa)
4 Hazelnut (Corylus americana)
5 Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica)
3 Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
4 Beach Plum (Prunus maritima)
4 Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris)
4 Pussy Willow (Salix discolor)
4 Prairie Willow (Salix humilis)
Plant List for October 2022
TREES (55)
6 Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
4 Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)
5 River Birch (Betula nigra)
8 Ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana)
5 Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
2 Red Bud (Cercis canadensis)
5 Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica)
2 Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
5 Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor)
5 Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)
4 Black Willow (Salix nigra)
4 Basswood (Tilia americana)
SHRUBS (145)
10 Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis)
25 Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum)
20 Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa)
5 Red-Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea)
10 Hazelnut (Corylus americana)
5 Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
13 Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
5 Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
3 Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica)
5 Black Chokeberry (Photinia melanocarpa)
8 Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
10 Beach Plum (Prunus maritima)
15 Winged Sumac (Rhus copallinum)
25 Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris)
15 Pussy Willow (Salix discolor)
12 Sandbar Willow (Salix interior)
13 Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago)
21 Highbush Cranberry (Viburnum opulus)
Application Archive
Round 1: May 2021 Planting
Round 2: October 2021 Planting
Round 3: May 2022
Round 4: October 2022
Round 5: May, 2024. No application, but an additional 20 trees installed
Planting Plan Archive
Round 1: May 2021 Planting
Round 2: October 2021 Planting
Round 3: May 2022 Planting
Round 4: October 2022 Planting
Round 5: May, 2024. No written plan; 20 trees installed in a grassy field to the west of the previously planted area
Our long-term vision. The section we are restoring first is on NYS DOT (Dept of Transportation) property, for which we were awarded a work permit. Not addressed here is our goal of restoring the northern spurs (see right) above Nepperhan Avenue, which are on neglected Village property. The western spur was used as an unofficial dump for years. See this photo album for pics.
Boutillier's Brook's northern spurs. It wends through Village property between Farragut Ave and Farragut Parkway.
19th & 20th Century Maps Depicting the Brook
Courtesy: Hastings Historical Society
1870 map of Mrs. T. Le Boutillier's property, over which the brook flowed. Note that the brook starts on Mrs. M. Lefurgy's land in a small pond next to a quarry. That small pond is still there, in a backyard just north of Ravensdale Road at Rosedale. This map shows the brook continuing onto Equitable Insurance Company land, but doesn't show the brook's full course.
This 1867 map, from a slightly different angle, shows the brook, beginning near a quarry, on land then owned by Mrs. Riker. It flows through T. Le Boutilier's land (spelled here with one "L"), crossing Farragut Avenue onto L. Pignolet's property, and finally joining the Saw Mill River on Frank Curry's farm.
Photo of the Ice House at the small pond, located between Nichols Quarry (at the foot of today's Hamilton Avenue) and Ravensdale Road at Rosedale Avenue. A.C. Langmuir, who built the original Quarry Park and was an amateur photographer, said that the pond was used for skating. Notes at Hastings Historical Society indicate that the ice house at some point burned down.
1907 map showing the Ice Pond next to the intersection of Ravensdale Road and Nichols' Quarry.
The brook's course now runs under Ravensdale Road, through Dan Rile Park, and then under Fenwick and Brandford Roads and Farragut Avenue. It emerges in a forgotten triangle of Village land where it is joined by a western tributary. It then travels behind homes on Nepperhan Avenue, crosses under Farragut Parkway, wends through a wooded section, and recrosses under Farragut Parkway to our present planting site. Finally, it joins the Saw Mill River at the corner of Farragut Parkway and the Saw Mill River Parkway.