By Alan Burke
SALEM — It's not surprising that landscape architect Doug Jones, 45, should want the new Lynch/van Otterloo YMCA to look good. He has to look at it as a neighbor.
What is surprising is just how involved he's become, actually fashioning an ambitious, multiphased plan that only begins by adding 600 trees and shrubs. That beginning, incidentally, has already been accepted by Y management and mandated by the Salem zoning board.
"This is good news," Jones said with a smile.
A volunteer whose young daughter attends the Y, Jones is donating his expertise without so much as a free pass from the Y in return. Even more startling, his concern isn't merely what the Leggs Hill Road site looks like from his house on the street below — his passion grows when he discusses the view from on high, from the Y itself.
Jones, who works for Keith LeBlanc Landscape Architecture in Boston, grows excited as he unrolls his intricately illustrated plot plan and points out where the new trees will go, what plants will be best for what areas, how all will be arranged and rearranged.
For example, a small soccer field will be shifted to the edge of the hill and some of the parking lot ripped up. A "corridor of trees" will lead the way from the Y building to the field.
"There are two obvious assets of this property," Jones said. "Its view of Salem Harbor and the Forest River Estuary and its view of Leggs Hill Pond." The field will provide a sweeping view of the harbor. Meanwhile, the pond, a mostly hidden gem, is to be showcased at the other side of the hill.
A Marblehead resident for four years, Jones knew he was moving next to the new Y when he purchased his house. Later, hearing talk about additional parking, he decided he should step in with suggestions designed to improve the visual impact of the property while screening the less attractive elements.
"I walked in saying I'd like to help," he said.
Director Paul Gorman, more accustomed to neighborhood complaints, was delighted. "He wanted to be part of the solution." He couldn't have guessed just how much effort Jones would put into all this.
The architect began by researching Leggs Hill, discovering that for many decades it was little more than a windswept wasteland, a contractor's yard, barren.
"One hundred years ago there were no trees on this land," Jones said.
He realized that the rocky, inhospitable soil — some of it recently trucked in — represented more than an aesthetic challenge. It required knowing which plants would grow where. For example, trees won't last on steep inclines — and there are lots of those on this site. Shrubs would have to do. Where trees can thrive, on the fringes of the parking lot, they require sufficient topsoil to contain their roots.
"It's a much greater challenge getting things to grow," he said, pointing down the hill while explaining how some of the noxious, invasive plants taking over the site will be beaten back.
Day by day, Jones became more and more enmeshed in the project. He not only makes the plans, he does his best to be there when the work is done. "The effort that I've undertaken is not one that I quantified when I started." He shrugs. "It's taken on a life of its own."
Ultimately, Jones also hopes to build a path down the hill to Leggs Hill Pond, then along the estuary, eventually connecting to Marblehead's bike trail. "Without ever crossing a street."
A native of Idaho, Jones married a Peabody girl and soon found he'd taken root here on the North Shore. His interest in landscaping began as a teen working in a nursery. He soon began to realize what this field afforded, a way to excite his interest in the natural world and his creativity.
"It's a balance of art and science," he said.
Both have gone into the YMCA plans.
Jones praises the response of the YMCA management to his suggestions. "I haven't gotten push-back at all. I'm getting a very positive response."
Gorman acknowledges that the Y has endorsed Jones' idea of creating a path to Leggs Hill Pond. He praises the work and effort that has gone into the landscaping.
"The role that Doug has played is unsolicited," he said. "And it's important for people to know that the work we do at the Y, well, we wouldn't be able to do it without volunteers."
