Environmental Pride of City- Thanks

See ocean waves of native flowers, shrubs and trees to believe this huge marshland, within a crowded urban commercial and residential neighborhood! To get in, walk from Alewife T passenger pick up, 300 yards down an asphalt pathway, to 3.5 acres of restored wetland basin with tree islands storing storm water from the city's west residences. The Basin will weather a '10 year storm', and up to '100 year storm’. Suffolk ecology students with teacher attended, and teachers from Lesley, Tufts and Harvard. Friends of Alewife Reservation took them on a tour of the ‘forebay’ and ‘basin’.

High quality wood boardwalks, benches and an observation deck at the "oxbow" allows for a full circular walk from the “forebay” where sediments flow in from Fresh Pond - Huron residential area and removed at Alewife by trucks. The “oxbow” at the end of the Boardwalk provides breeding areas for Alewife herring, and a significant opening for Little River to enter, and for high marsh water to join the River when it is filled with two large spill pipes. Groundwater recharge to the River is also a benefit with the new marshland hydrology.

Presentations were from Kleinfelder Co., Mass Water Resources Authority, Department of Conservation and Recreation, Mayor Davis, Duke Bitsko of Bioengineering and Gioioso Co., David Kale, Financial Manager in Belmont, and Richard Rossi, City Manager. DPW Engineering Department’s Owen O’Riordan, chief engineer, and Project Manager, Catherine Woodbury, presided over the event. Judge Stern explained MWRA's successful goal to bring Boston area's storm water and sewer systems up to US-EPA code.

Restored wetlands purify to protect the waterways and maintain wildlife on the 120 acres of Alewife urban wild, an ‘adaptation’ area for climate change. To protect this enormous investment of over 100 million dollars for marsh and storm water infrastructure, the silver maple forest of 7 acres upstream should remain in tact, as the woodlands’ flood retention is essential for the hydrology of rest of the region. Removing the forest for 300 more units could devastate the new wetlands because of its Island location next to the restored marshes and surrounded in Belmont by the 100 year floodplain.

The wetland construction demonstrates official’s insight into ecological importance of our region, and the future of humanity as we begin to appreciate nature more, and to understand its value as our climate changes.

The city and DCR will hopefully consider restoring the rest of the 120 acres (10 have been restored thus far including Blair Pond), and to understand the ecological nature of the wetlands and its value for Alewife-Little River sub-watershed on the Mystic River watershed and into the Boston Harbor.

FAR is having a “Walk on the Wildside” Candidate’s walk October 26, to interest School Committe and Council to make Alewife New England ecology an important science goal of the city.