Frederick Law Olmsted (as impersonated by Gerald Wright), a lover of nature and of verse, joined participants from six surrounding communities on a Little River Nature Poetry walk led by Belmont Citizens Forum Director, Anne-Marie Lambert. Poet Richard Cambridge recited two original works written for the occasion, "Watershed" and "Doe", as well as excerpts from his earlier works. Lambert provided historical background about the Great Swamp, Native Americans, farming, pollution, and development in the area, and Ellen Mass of Friends of Alewife Reservation contributed information about current events and a reading of Maya Apfelbaum's 'Silver Maple' poem. The walk included poetry ranging from Wordsworth to Robert Frost, from the traditions of the Navajo to those of the Japanese, and from children's poems to Greek Lyric poetry. Participants took in the sounds of warblers, chickadees and red-winged blackbirds, spring fragrances from the meadows and flowering cherry trees, the sight of budding maples and unfurling ferns, and the drama of an encounter with two large wild turkeys in the forest. The walk followed the Alewife North Trail, maintained by FAR along Little River on DCR's Alewife Reservation, passing next to the beloved Silver Maple Forest partially in Cambridge, and on its way to Little Pond, where most of the forest stands, in Belmont. The fate of the forest is pending based on regional litigation. Many citizens of Belmont, Cambridge and Arlington are hoping for a full conservation outcome.

Ellen Mass

Anne-Marie and Olmsted


Ellen reading


Olmsted


Richard, Anne-Marie, Ellen