This season, a record-breaking number of Conservation Crew volunteers took on a major project at the Norman Bird Sanctuary: installing an 8-foot deer fence around our hügelkultur garden beds. This newly protected space not only safeguards our plants from hungry wildlife but also showcases climate-resilient gardening in action!
These garden beds showcase the Sanctuary’s commitment to community partnerships. In addition to providing fresh food for donation to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center Food Pantry, the hugelkultursulturs also demonstrate the sustainable gardening practices we employ around the Sanctuary. These garden beds are a part of our Good Gardens: an award-winning site for hands-on learning, community engagement, responsible land stewardship, and organic food production. The Good Gardens are cared for year-round by Norman Bird Sanctuary staff, volunteers, and the University of Rhode Island Master Gardeners.
Hügelkultur is a German-insprired gardening practice, translating to “mound culture.”. It involves digging trenches and filling them with layers of organic materials such as logs,branches, leaves, garden debris, compost, and topsoil. As the buried layers decompose and break down, a rich nutrient layer is created with heightened water retention and drainage properties. Overall, this technique reduces waste, improves soil health, and can even extend the growing season.
The need for the fence around the hügelkultur beds is linked to the overpopulation of deer here on Aquidneck Island. With few natural predators and abundant food sources, deer densities locally are well above the recommended threshold of 10-15 deer per square mile, ultimately putting strain on our native plant communities and small gardens. In our forest ecosystem specifically, the deer are thinning out the middle and bottom canopy layers, preventing young tree saplings from growing and thickening the forest floor.
Beyond added protection, the new fence creates an exciting seasonal possibility. Two rows in our hügelkultur have been left open, ready for pumpkins and squash planting this summer – just in time for them to shine at our upcoming Harvest Fair in early October 2025! Our third hügelkultur hosts a flower cutting garden where bouquets of fresh blooms are also donated to the MLK Jr. Community Food Pantry.
We are grateful to the Aquidneck Island Land Trust’s Merritt Neighborhood Fund, which provided partial funding for the deer fencing.
