Belmont Rower Looks Out for the Charles River

 Climate Change, Environment, March/April 2024  Comments Off on Belmont Rower Looks Out for the Charles River
Mar 012024
 
Belmont Rower Looks Out for the Charles River

By Zeus Smith As a US National Team rower, Belmont resident Maggie Fellows spends a lot of time on the Charles River. Since 2021, the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) has mobilized a cohort of passionate community leaders like Fellows to push for climate-smart policies and practices right in their backyards. Called River Advocates, this program brings together volunteers from various backgrounds and experiences to learn effective advocacy strategies and steward a more climate-resilient future. The River Advocates program is a crash course in civic engagement––by joining, volunteers find a community of like-minded individuals interested in learning about direct actions [READ MORE]

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Let The Charles River Run Free of Defunct Dams

 March/April 2023  Comments Off on Let The Charles River Run Free of Defunct Dams
Mar 012023
 
Let The Charles River Run Free of Defunct Dams

By Julia Hopkins For more than 400 years, the Charles River has been altered, controlled, and dammed to bend to the will of industry and profit.  The river we know today is not free. Instead, a river radically changed by the long history of human intervention. We dammed its waters to power industry, leaving a legacy of toxic pollution in our wake. We straightened its gentle meanders, buried its tributaries, and hardened its shores, constricting its natural flow. We drained and filled its wetlands to free up more land and let our parking lots sprawl right up to its banks.  [READ MORE]

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Watershed Modeling Enhances Flood Resilience

 Climate Change, Environment, January 2022, Newsletter, Stormwater, Water Quality  Comments Off on Watershed Modeling Enhances Flood Resilience
Jan 032022
 
Watershed Modeling Enhances Flood Resilience

By Julia Hopkins and Julie Wood Climate change isn’t coming—it’s here. Sea-level rise, drought, blistering heat; the tangible effects of global warming are already happening in Massachusetts, and our highly urbanized watershed and those who call it home are increasingly vulnerable to its impacts. It also means extreme weather and severe inland flooding are some of the greatest threats to our watershed and our lives. In the northeastern United States, precipitation during heavy rain events increased by more than 70% according to the Fourth National Climate Assessment released in 2018. This trend is expected to continue as our climate warms. Today’s [READ MORE]

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CRWA Works to Keep the Charles River Clean

 Environment, Newsletter, November-December 2021, Stormwater, Water Quality  Comments Off on CRWA Works to Keep the Charles River Clean
Nov 012021
 
CRWA Works to Keep the Charles River Clean

By Julia Hopkins and Lisa Kumpf Have you ever thought about what happens to that rain when extreme storms hit? If you call Belmont home, it ends up in the Charles or the Mystic River.  The town of Belmont is sandwiched between the Charles and Mystic Rivers, two beautiful, fragile natural resources that provide habitat for wildlife and enjoyment for humans. The town is split between the Charles River watershed and the Mystic River watershed.  A watershed is a land area that channels all rain and snowmelt into ponds, brooks, and streams that drain into a single river, and eventually [READ MORE]

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Belmont Roots May/June 2021

 BCF Events, Environment, May-June 2021, Newsletter  Comments Off on Belmont Roots May/June 2021
May 042021
 
Belmont Roots May/June 2021

Now that the weather is at least occasionally balmy, local organizations are contriving new events that bear some resemblance to past years’ experiences. You may not get the thrill of the crowd cheering as you finish a race, or the warm glow of watching other concerned citizens clearing garbage from your favorite outdoor spaces, but you will get out of your home. The Charles River Watershed Association’s Annual Run of the Charles has “a virtual twist” this year. Register for the fundraising 5K or one of five different paddling races any time before Sunday, May 23. You and your paddling [READ MORE]

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