Yesterday was the annual NewtonSERVES day, one of the best traditions in this city.
Every year on a Sunday in the spring volunteers fan out across the city to pitch in their volunteer labor on neighborhood projects of every kind across the city. This year there was well over 1000 volunteers working on more than 50 projects in every corner of the city.
Did you see a project in your neighborhood? Were you working on one yourself? Tell us about it.
I did two invasive species cleanups along the Charles, one in West Newton in the morning and another at the Blue Heron Bridge in the afternoon.
For those who are interested, our primary target was garlic mustard, which is an invasive species. It is edible and apparently makes a good pesto, but it also spreads quickly and changes the soil chemically in a way that’s not nice to indigenous plants.
This is garlic mustard: http://www.nyis.info/user_uploads/files/2146038_garlic_mustard_flowers(1).jpg
I spent Saturday morning with a team from The Village Bank, the Newton-Needham Chamber’s Young Professionals Group, the Friends of Hemlock Gorge and City Councilor Brian Yates at the annual Hemlock Gorge Clean-up.
I’ve participated in this event for years and can share several observations:
1. We live among selfish pigs who think nothing of leaving their cans, bottles, coffee cups, dog poop bags, butts and other things behind after enjoying the stunning beauty of Echo Bridge and Hemlock Gorge.
2. There did seem to be fewer plastic bags this year, perhaps a result of the bag ban?
3. It appears that Corona is currently the litter-bugs’ beer of choice. For years it was Bud Light.
4. It is sometimes possible to fish a Dunkin Donuts cup out of the Charles with a long stick but it also possible to fall in as well.
5. Dunn-Gaherin’s rocks for once again providing hungry volunteers with lunch.
My 7 year old and I cleaned up the Burr playground/yard/garden in the morning and enjoyed ice cream at City Hall in the afternoon.
Later, my husband and I along with some other neighbors did an unofficial project: We live in West Newton and there’s the shortcut stairs on Border Street to get to Washington Street/commuter rail. There is always a lot of litter there. The two most disgusting things we found was one of those single-use flossers and a pair of underwear. Hopefully it stays cleanish for now.
Thanks to Greg Reibman for documenting the cleanup and for recruiting such a great team of first time volunteers, primarily the “Village Volunteers” in their blue shirts supplementing the regulars from the Friends of Hemlock Gorge. They did the Chamber and Village Bank proud.
All of us could feel proud the next day when more than 150 people from Newton and Needham and elsewhere took part in Jim Purdy’s excellent tour of Hemlock Gorge and Echo Bridge that were mercifully clean of the trash that Greg described.
I like to think that most of the trash is left by drivers from the highways through Newton.
I hope the people from Newton and Needham who saw close up how rusted and water damaged the railings on top of Echo Bridge are will tell their elected officials and Community Preservation Act Committees how important it is to restore the original beauty of this historic landmark. I’m going to use the Public Hearing before the City Council tonight to ask for Newton’s fair share of the costs of fixing the Bridge . At least ten people from Needham organized by Echo Bridge Railings Committee Lee Fisher already made the Bridge’s importance to the people of Needham clear by their at the town’s CPA public hearing. Please visit the Echo Bridge Railing Committee’s web site as well as the Friends of Hemlock Gorge’s web site. Keeping our communities beautiful takes more than one day or one weekend of work.
City Councilor Brian Yates
President, Friends of Hemlock Gorge
Member, Echo Bridge Railings Committee
My daughter, Madeleine, and I joined with a number of other families to beautify Ward School, where Madeleine is a kindergarten student. Madeleine was particularly excited that we got to “paint the school,” including helping apply chalkboard paint to several classroom doors (even her own classroom door, which she proudly showed her teacher this morning). We spent about half the time cleaning up and mulching the front and side gardens, which look much-improved having received some extra TLC. And of course, we celebrated with ice cream at City Hall at the end of the day! We had a great time working together as a mother-daughter team and also made many new friends.
Thanks to everyone who participated for your hard work!
Huh. A Grossman who likes ice cream. Who would have guessed?
Things were hopping at the Upper Falls Greenway yesterday. Organizer Julie Irish said there were more than 80 people involved in a whole range of activities. A boy scout crew dug up the big rocks that were a menace to bicycles at the Chandler Place entrance. More boy scouts were planting grass on the barren strip by Mechanic St. A big crew from the Avalon apartments took care of clearing out bags, and bags and bags of leaves, weeds and invasives. Lots of neighborhood volunteers were hauling out trash and miscellaneous prizes including a leftover piece of railroad track.
I was down the end near NewTV cutting the last of the giant Asian bittersweet vines. That’s been an ongoing project. Three or four years ago the whole stretch from Chandler Place to NewTV was infested with these giant vines and they had toppled numerous trees. Each year more and more of the big ones have been cut at the base. After drying out for a year, most of them have been pulled down from the trees. By the time we pull down this year’s cuttings next year, that entire stretch will be much improved and it will be way easier to keep the new little sprouts at bay.
Once again this year, local Councillor Deb Crossley was a trooper. Between her 12 foot long clippers for reaching up and clipping and her lumberjacking at the huge bases with her handsaw she struck fear into the entire Asian Bittersweet species.
Special hat’s off to Julie Irish, Dean Whitney, Cleo, and Asa. The whole family organized one great NewtonServes project this year.
Brian Yates call for CPA funds for Bridge Restoration won’t go far in a community that can’t even fix the leaks in the roofs of City Hall , the new library ( see the entry portico ), the old Newton Centre Library , the old Zervas and Angier schools, etc etc.
We are too preoccupied helping funding projects like Austin Street Court Street, the Orr Block fiasco, new elementary schools, to be able to keep up with tree loss, road repair, Needham Street “Improvements”, MU4 zoning disasters , Crescent Street Housing projects and multiple ‘do good’, politically correct, infrastructure sapping expenses.
Brian’s clairion call can’t be heard given the cacophony of the special interest voices crowding city hall.
As a former member of the Historical Commission I remember that Commission was sold the CPA on “Preservation”. What is getting preserved ? We can’t even get passed a Local Historic District these days and no CPA funds were used!
We had for the first time a Newton Serves at Edmands Park; targeting the southeast ‘Black Swamp’ sector.
In response to canine cut paws from glass over the many years, we put out the call to help pick up glass, trash, and the homeless encampment.
Not only did we have off-leash walkers, on leash walkers, but also 7 BC students.
This needed doing 30 years ago, but thanks primarily to the devoted off-leash park users (Dick Blazar included) a truckload of debris was hauled from the park.
visit Edmandspark.org for an understanding of progressive community maintained parks -‘your tax dollars not at work’..
What is the best way to get notified about when this event will take place next year? Is there an email list I can get on?