June E-newsletter

June 2022

Charles River Conservancy

City Splash is a week away!

We're so excited to see many of you on Saturday, June 18th for City Splash (and the afterparty)! Registration for both events is now closed, but you can register for the on-land event here to enjoy our planned activities, food truck, and visit our many tabling organizations on the Esplanade.

Photo by Aram Boghosian

Thank you to our sponsors:

Backflip Sponsors

Corkscrew Sponsors

Can Opener Sponsors

Although the Charles River has come far, there's still a lot of work to do before swimming is a regular occurrance in the Charles. This is the only day you can swim in the river thanks to a Special Use DCR permit and decades of advocacy and restoration! Learn more about our Charles River Swimming Initiative here.

Floating Wetland

STEAM Activity Kits

Last week, we celebrated Wetland Wednesday by assembling 170 floating wetland activity kits for 6th grade classrooms in Cambridge public schools. Developed in partnership with MIT Sea Grant with support from the MIT Community Service Fund, the STEAM Activity Kit provides a hands-on opportunity to learn about Charles River ecology, pollution, and water quality through the floating wetland project.

Learn more about these kits here.

American Wetlands Month - EPA Presentation

In May, we were excited to kick off EPA's regionwide virtual event celebrating American Wetlands Month by presenting our floating wetlands program! Laura and Max gave an overview of the project, dug into the research, and outlined our hopes for the program's future. Watch the CRC's presentation below.

LEAP Lab Rescheduled

Join the Charles River Conservancy and MIT Sea Grant for hands-on activities and take a walk to visit the floating wetland on the Charles on Saturday, July 9th as a part of MIT Open Space programming. Microscopes, an engineering challenge, and more! This event was rescheduled from the May 7th event. If you registered for the last event, you will need to re-register.

Conservancy Volunteers

May Recap

We've had a busy month of volunteer events and giving back to the parks.

WiTricity painted benches, raked leaves, and weeded in Watertown Square.
City on a Hill Charter School removed invasive garlic mustard and litter in Hell's Half Acre.
Media Hub painted and cleaned up the Herter Park Amphitheater.
Kymera painted benches and did spring cleaning Squibnocket Park.
Harvard Business Publishing weeded garden beds, removed litter, and painted benches in Herter Park.
MIRAKL removed litter and painted benches in North Point Park.
Bicara painted benches and removed litter along Memorial Drive.

Open Volunteer Event

Saturday, July 16, 10:00am-12:00pm - We will be working along Charles River Road in Watertown on various landscaping projects with space for 20 people. Please email Sasha at svallieres@thecharles.org.

Volunteer with us!

Schedule a Conservancy Volunteers event for your company or group this fall! Reserve your day by contacting Sasha at svallieres@thecharles.org.

Charles River Trivia Night

Thanks for joining us!

We were glad to see many of you at the Newsfeed Cafe on May 26th for Charles River Trivia Night! The Leventhal Center's trivia series was presented through their current environmental justice exhibition, More or Less in Common: Environment and Justice in the Human Landscape.

In the News

Cambridge residents up in arms about proposed Memorial Drive closures (BOSTON.COM)

Thousands of community members signed a petition to voice their support for Memorial Drive closures on Saturdays and Sundays in light of a policy order to scale back to only Sundays. While many pedestrians and cyclists are strongly in support of the closures, citing the benefits to increased open space away from car traffic and access to the river, some residents raised concerns at a recent city council meeting about "overwhelming" traffic and noise pollution. Cambridge City Council postponed a vote on the proposal.

Photo via Lane Turner, Boston Globe Staff

‘If we don’t do something, we will be bearing the cost:’ How stormwater pollution is contaminating Boston’s waterways (The Boston Scope)

Our Executive Director, Laura Jasinski, was interviewed on how stormwater pollution, the combination of rainwater and runoff from city streets carrying garbage and pollutants into the river. In the interview, she outlines how innovative projects like our floating wetland might help mitigate stormwater impacts to the Charles River.