Arnold Arboretum Confronts Problem Of Harassment, Overuse and Littering

Beer drinkers are forcing Boston's Arnold Arboretum to face for the first time the problems of litter and overuse.

The Arboretum, located in Jamaica Plain, has experienced increased public usage over the past three years and was the location of large beer-drinking parties over the warm, three-day Patriot's Day weekend.

"One area was almost completely white with litter," Gordon P. DeWolf, horticulturist at the Arboretum, said yesterday. "It took four men and two trucks two days to clean it all up," DeWolf added.

The Arboretum is technically part of the Boston Park Department, although it has an endowment managed by Harvard administrators. The University has a $1-a-year, 1000-year lease on the land. The Park Department is responsible for the roads, gates, water supply and police protection of the Arboretum.

Complaints from some park visitors who felt unsafe alone in the 265-acre park prompted Arboretum officials to hire a security patrol three years ago.

The presence of the lone security man, who works only from 4 to 8 p.m., has not been sufficient to stem the tide of litter and vandalism, however.

City police began three weeks ago to patrol the Arboretum since they received complaints of harrassment and littering. As a result the littering problem has stabilized at the Arboretum.

About 10 per cent of the time of the Arboretum's staff is spent cleaning up litter in the park, DeWolf said. This detracts from the time that could be spent on research and horticultural planning, he commented.

DeWolf attributed the litter problem partially to the new policy of allowing Boston high school students to leave school grounds when they have no classes. "This is a good place to come and sit and drink beer," he said.