STEAM It Up!

Save the Date: October 20, 2022

Come out for an evening of family friendly K-8 activities during STEAM It Up! at Putnam Avenue Upper School in Cambridge. Meet members of the CRC team from 6 to 8 p.m. and model your very own floating wetland! Cambridge STEAM Initiative is a joint initiative of the City of Cambridge Department of Human Service Programs, Cambridge Public School Department, and the Cambridge Public Library. 

Photo by Barbara MacEachern 

Advocacy

Herter Park Master Plan

The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) held a public meeting on September 28th to go over updates to the Herter Park Master Plan, which is available for viewing on the DCR's website. We encourage you to join the CRC and submit a public comment in support of the Soldier's Field Road and at grade crossings, reduction of impervious surface and other stormwater improvements, as well as the Herter Center and amphitheater improvements, public dock access and more! The deadline has been extended to October 19th! Click here to submit a public comment.

Community Meetings on the Memorial Drive Closure

The City of Cambridge and the DCR hosted a virtual and in-person meeting on September 14th and October 6th to discuss weekend closures to vehicle traffic from Gerry's Landing Road to Western Avenue, from Saturday at 8 a.m. to Sunday at 7 p.m. The CRC attended and spoke in support of the closures to provide safer access to the Charles and the health benefits associated with green spaces. We ask that the City work with DCR to find other ways to mitigate traffic congestion to accommodate the weekend closure. The CRC also sponsored a pizza party at Riverbend Park, working with the Memorial Drive Alliance to host a social right before heading over to the October 6th community meeting. 

For more information about the community meetings, click here. 

Photo taken by Chris Cassa

Photo of Janie K. taken by Nathan Klima

Floating Wetland

Kayak Tours

CRC continued to take groups on kayak tours to the floating wetland throughout the month of September. Executive Director Laura Jasinski shared the positive impacts floating wetlands have on the Charles River and kayakers got an up close look at the native plants and the incredible root system. Thanks to Takeda, BioMed Realty, Cell Signaling, and Alexandria Real Estate for joining us on the water!

Cambridge Science Festival

Panel Discussion on Climate, Health, and Equity

Our Executive Director Laura Jasinski spoke on the Cambridge Science Festival's keynote panel that examined the ways that climate change is already impacting health in Massachusetts and how we can rise to the challenge. She discussed how our floating wetland project, volunteer program and advocacy address climate, health, and equity in the Cambridge/Greater Boston Area.

Photo via Twitter by @HotspotVulcan

2022 COASTSWEEP Cleanup Results

Thank you to all who came to Riverbend Park on Saturday, September 17th to help with our annual COASTSWEEP Cleanup! COASTSWEEP is part of the International Coastal Cleanup organized by Ocean Conservancy in Washington, DC. Special thanks to event sponsor Amgen and all of our wonderful volunteers from Dana Hall, MGH, Booking.com, Northeastern APO, and the greater Boston community who made this event so impactful. With over 90 volunteers, we removed 127 pounds of trash across almost 2 miles of parks along the Charles River! Our volunteers removed an impressive total of 6,346 pieces of trash! Here are the highlights from this year's cleanup:

• 2,349 cigarette butts
• 993 plastic pieces
• 969 pieces of glass
• 341 food wrappers

September Recap

Our volunteers have done tremendous work this month! Thank you to our amazing partners and community members who helped clean the parks as people start heading outside to experience the changing leaves during the Fall season.

• BUFYSOP improved Memorial Drive by removing litter and cutting back vegetation.
• Biogen painted benches and picked up litter at Cannalonga Park and Memorial Drive.
• Novartis worked along the Riverbend Park area.
• Education First worked in two locations, removing litter at North Point Park and Paul Revere Park.
• Gordon Brothers painted benches and removed litter along Memorial Drive.
• Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. painted over graffiti, removed litter, and cut back vegetation at Magazine Beach.
• Forward Financing completed landscaping projects, removed litter, and painted benches at Herter Park.
• BCG painted benches and removed litter at North Point Park.
• Tome Biosciences painted benches and picked up litter from the pathway between North Beacon St. and Greenough Blvd.
• Vertex Pharma improved Magazine Beach by painting benches, removing litter, and removing invasive plants.

Open Volunteer Event

Join us at our last open volunteer event of the 2022 season!

• Saturday, October 29, 10:00 am-12:00 pm - We will be working in Herter Park, Boston, raking the Herter Park Amphitheater. Please email Sasha at svallieres@thecharles.org to register.

Meet our new additions to the team!

Joann Lai (she/her) is our new Communications and Outreach Manager. She recently earned her M.S. in Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University. She has previously worked on community outreach and engagement efforts at Solstice Initiative and interned at the State House. Prior to graduate school, she worked as an Environmental Scientist at CAL FIRE, conducting program evaluations on one of California’s hazardous materials programs. These work experiences have shaped her curiosity for expanding public participation and environmental stewardship. Outside of work, Joann enjoys reading a good book, catching up on her TV shows, and trying new restaurants.

Kaelyn Gormley (she/her) is serving as the Land Stewardship Coordinator through the TerraCorps program. A recent graduate of Lafayette College with a bachelor’s in Environmental Science, Kaelyn is interested in pursuing ecological restoration while prioritizing environmental justice. She is eager to learn more about conservation, restoration, and community engagement through this position. Prior to joining the Charles River Conservancy team, she has worked for the Conservation Crew for the Town of Concord, as a Coastal Ecology intern for the Trustees of Reservations, and has done lab research exploring resource recovery from waste water! In her free time, Kaelyn enjoys spending time outdoors, cooking, and crocheting.

In the News

First-in-the-nation step from New England EPA will regulate stormwater run-off in 3 Mass. urban rivers (GBH)

The New England EPA is setting up a new regulatory regime in which private landowners with one acre or more of impervious or water-resistant surfaces will be held accountable for their contribution to runoff pollution into Massachusetts' urban rivers. As the EPA works to improve the health of the Boston-area rivers, the CRC's floating wetland initiative could be part of the solution to improve water quality in the Charles River. Read more here. 

Photo via Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images