Meeting date: May 26, 2026▶ Watch full meeting
Overview
The Dedham Conservation Commission held an emergency special meeting to address a severe tick infestation at the Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC). Commissioners and staff conducted a site walk that morning before convening, during which a tick was found on-site. The Commission unanimously authorized up to two mowings of designated areas around the ECEC before the end of the school year, with specific scope limited to areas identified during the morning walk. Commissioners also emphasized the need for proactive, long-term tick management planning to avoid recurring emergency meetings on this issue.
Key Decisions
- Commission unanimously authorized mowing up to twice before the end of the school year in the specific areas identified during the morning site walk, including five feet along back edges (or the width of the mower) and weed whacking around the front island.
- Commission agreed that fencing, signage, and a broader proactive tick management plan would be addressed in a future meeting, not as part of this emergency authorization.
- Commission limited today's discussion and vote to the ECEC property only, deferring any broader school-wide tick management plan to future meetings.
Notable Quotes
"Kids getting Lyme disease is just not okay. And as a public body, I think we really need to think about our priorities. So I'm going to say kids' health, super important."Commissioner Liza
"This is the second time we've had, you know, like an emergency meeting to talk about this issue. So like it shouldn't be an emergency anymore, right? We should have some more future type planning. We know this will always be an issue."Commissioner Nathan
"I think by us going back, and also it's been a hell of a year for ticks... I think we, by complying and doing it right, helping the... by following the orders, I think it's helped promote the tickets again."Matt Hafner, Facilities Manager
"I make a motion to authorize Meredith to draft a letter authorizing the schools to mow up to twice before the end of the school year. The areas that we discussed on the walk, five feet along the back edges or the width of the mower of five feet. Possibly some manual like weed whacking around the front island."Commissioner Stephanie
Action Items
| Owner | Task | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Meredith | Draft and send a letter to Matt Hafner authorizing up to two mowings of the identified areas before the end of the school year. | 2026-05-26 (same day) |
| Matt Hafner | Work with Meredith to develop a proactive tick management plan for the ECEC to be presented before the start of the next semester. | Not specified |
| Stephanie | Reach out to contact at MDAR to get expert input on tick behavior and tick dragging methodology at the ECEC site. | Not specified |
| Kristen Cannon / ECEC | Put up multilingual signage at the ECEC alerting people to the tick problem, coordinating with the district communication director. | Not specified |
| Stephanie | Share MDAR website links on tick identification and Lyme disease prevention with Meredith to distribute to ECEC and other schools. | Not specified |
Risks and Open Questions
- Mowing alone does not eliminate tick risk; ticks will remain present after mowing, leaving summer program students — including students with special needs and Special Olympics participants — potentially exposed through early August.
- This is the second emergency meeting on this issue. Without a formal long-term management plan, the Commission is likely to face the same emergency annually.
- The ECEC summer program runs through early August for students with special needs, extending the period of risk beyond the standard school year. The authorized mowings are scoped to the school year and may not fully address summer exposure.
- Prior conservation compliance orders restricting mowing may have inadvertently contributed to the current tick population spike, creating unresolved tension between conservation goals and public health obligations.
- 2026 is described as an unusually severe tick season region-wide, compounding site-specific risk factors and making year-to-year comparison difficult.
- It is unclear how ticks are reaching playground equipment across the roadway from the main grassy area; this transmission pathway was flagged but not resolved.
Recommended Follow-Up
- Confirm that Meredith's authorization letter was transmitted to Matt Hafner on May 26, 2026, and that mowing has been scheduled within the approved scope.
- Schedule a future Conservation Commission meeting agenda item for proactive tick management planning at the ECEC before the start of the next school semester.
- Follow up with Stephanie on her outreach to her MDAR contact regarding tick behavior, dragging methodology, and transmission pathways at the site.
- Confirm that multilingual tick-awareness signage has been posted at the ECEC by Kristen Cannon in coordination with the district communications director prior to summer programming.
- Distribute MDAR tick identification and Lyme prevention resources to ECEC families and staff before the summer session begins.
- Consider whether a formal, school-wide tick management plan — potentially covering other sites such as Avery School — should be placed on a future regular Commission agenda.
Notable clips
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