Newton Athletes Play New Game In Charles River Parklands

22 October 2003

On Saturday, October 25, fifty high school athletes from Newton will help restore an area of lawn where grass no longer grows. They'll aerate the soil, spread new loam (high-quality soil), seed the area with grass seed, and cover it with erosion control fabric. They'll also trim back overgrown brush and invasive plants, and will pick up trash that has accumulated in the area.

The area known as Herter Park West is the site of a former MDC maintenance building and yard which was torn down in the 1980s. Several acres of riverfront parkland has become overgrown and was for the most part unused.

This summer, at the suggestion and with the generous funding of Nancy and Lawrence Coolidge, the CRC arranged for the old chain link fence that surrounded the area to be removed. In addition, huge hunks of concrete, rusting pieces of metal, and other large pieces of trash were removed from the site. Much extra labor was also donated by Boger Construction and by the Historical Restoration Corporation.

The owner of the site is the Commonwealth's Department of Conservation and Recreation (formerly the MDC), which was helpful in promptly providing the permit. The masterplan prepared for that site suggests the opening of vistas to the water, a walking path along the shore, and a meadow combined with some wooded areas.

In an effort to make the area safer, more accessible and inviting, CRC volunteers will help restore the area. The volunteer effort on Saturday will be the first of many efforts to reclaim this lost stretch of parkland and add several acres of parklands to Brighton's public open space.

The Charles River Conservancy regularly works with volunteers in the parklands on both sides of the river. Since the Conservancy program started, over 1000 volunteers have cut brush, restored, shoreline, painted benches, removed invasive species and picked up trash. The full time volunteer coordinator works closely with the DCR's Allan Morris. This stewardship effort of the parklands makes up about half of the Conservancy's efforts that also include renewal of the parklands with such projects as the new Charles River Skatepark near the mouth of the Charles.