Around Town

See Gardens in Watertown That Support Bees & Other Pollinators During Tour on Sept. 12

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The Watertown Life-Friendly Garden Tour will take place on Sept. 12, 2021. Pictured is a bicolored striped sweat bee on aster. The following announcement was provided by Watertown Friends of the Bees:

You’ve probably heard the phrase “save the bees,” but the bees who need the most help may not be the bees you think of first. In addition to the fuzzy bumblebees we know and love, and the honeybees that give us honey there are many types of native bees you may not have noticed.

Around Town

Public Invited to Give Input on Watertown Climate & Energy Plan

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The Resilient Watertown Stakeholder Advisory Group Holding sent out the following announcement about its second meeting on the Watertown Climate and Energy Plan Update. The Resilient Watertown Stakeholder Advisory Group (RWSAG) Meeting #2 will be held on Tuesday, July 27th from 6-8pm (remote meeting). 

The meeting will be open for viewing by the public on Watertown Cable Access https://wcatv.org/. The public may email questions and comments to Resilient Watertown: resilient@watertown-ma.gov. 

The focus of this meeting will be for RWSAG members to refine the proposed actions developed by working groups and collected through the first public input survey. Participants will dive deep in breakout group discussions to understand how these actions can become a reality for Watertown. The meeting will be live-streamed for public viewing and recordings of the breakout group discussions will be posted following the meeting.

Environment

LETTER: Invasive Plant Spreading in Watertown, Poisonous to to Some Animals

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The blooms of the black swallow-wort. The plant is poisonous to butterflies and other animals. By Nicole Gardner and Douglas Hood

Black swallow-wort is a non-native, highly invasive plant that is poisonous to butterfly populations and other animals, and which toxifies the soil to benefit itself and harm other plants. We need to act right now to stop its spread and protect the Monarchs, other animals, and other plants. Black swallow-wort can be found all around Watertown, sprouting up through and even strangling lush well-established perennials and shrubs, along chain-link fences, in empty patches of dirt, or coming up between pavement cracks.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities

OP-ED: Resident Concern About Loss of Hundreds of Trees During Redevelopment Project

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Samatha Rao VuppalaShade trees in the Arsenal on the Charles complex. (The following piece was submitted by Sharon Bromberg-Lim, a member of Trees for Watertown)

A large real estate equities firm arrives in a small New England town. Based in California, the firm has rolled into many towns before, bought up properties big and small, and plunked down buildings. This project is just one of many investments that the firm owns. The firm says it must cut down more than 200 trees to put up its buildings.

Environment

Learn About Pollinators and Native Plants at the May Watertown Citizens Meeting

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The following announcement was provided by Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & the Environment:

Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment’s May Monthly Meeting will be about Mystic Charles Pollinator Pathways

The meeting will be held May 19, 2021 7:00 PM on Zoom. Learn why our pollinators need native plants at our Monthly Meeting. Our May monthly meeting will feature Jean Devine and Brucie Moulton of Mystic Charles Pollinator Pathways. MCPP is a volunteer coalition of gardeners and native plant enthusiasts that have come together to promote and create more pollinator habitats in our region – the Mystic & Metrowest Charles River Watersheds in Massachusetts. They will talk about the importance of native plants and putting your garden on the pollinator map.

Environment

Tree Planted for Arbor Day First of 100 Planned Around Watertown in 2021

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Trees for WatertownTeam members from Hartley Greymont tree service company and Watertown Department of Public
Works help to install the new Dawn Redwood tree planted at the Lowell School on Arbor Day, 2021. The following piece was written and submitted by James Briand of Trees for Watertown Watertown:

Tree Warden Gregory Mosman celebrated Arbor Day last week with the planting of a magnificent Dawn Redwood at the Lowell School, assisted by Steven Kendall representative of tree service provider Hartney Greymont and former Deputy Tree Warden for the City of Boston. Joining Mosman and Kendall were volunteers Marbin Sanchez and Jon Quinn, and David Andrad of the Watertown Department of Public Works. The tree planting was recorded by Trees for Watertown board member Jessica Grimsby, who is preparing a short how-to video to encourage residents to plant trees on their own property. Next year Arbor Day will turn 150 years old.

Around Town

Watertown Teens Take to Streets on Earth Day to Call Attention to Climate Change

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Sunrise WatertownSunrise Watertown marched on the streets of Watertown on Earth Day to bring attention to climate change. The following piece was provided by Sunrise Watertown:

Fifteen months ago, Sunrise Watertown convened with the intention of hosting a 2020 Earth Day event for the community. Little did we, or anyone, expect, our plans would come to a screaming halt at the hands of the pandemic. Nevertheless, we reworked our ideas by hosting a virtual Earth Day event; We invited community members to make signs to post pictures with, sign our petition to enact a Massachusetts Green New Deal, and watch some of the videos we had created through Zoom. Since then, we have gone on to meet with Massachusetts Senators, town councillors, and a whole host of other people willing to help us fight for a livable future.

Around Town

Paddle and Run the Charles River Virtually in 2021, Event Hosted by Charles River Watershed Association

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Charles River Watershed AssociationThe Run of the Charles paddle race will take place virtually in 2021, with participants paddling live but on their own schedule. A run will also be held. The following announcement was provided by the Charles River Watershed Association:

We are excited for you to join us for this year’s Annual Run of the Charles with a virtual twist! While we had high hopes to do our beloved event in person, we have put together a fun and interactive event to get you out on the Charles enjoying the sights and sounds of Spring. We look forward to keeping the competition alive! Run of the Charles: Boston’s Premier Paddling Race, Sunday, April 25 – Sunday, May 23 www.charlesriver.org

RUN OF THE CHARLES PADDLE RACE

For this year’s paddle race, individual paddlers and teams have the option of four different routes, some taking you to areas of the Charles where you may have never paddled before!