Arlington Land Trust

Protecting Open Spaces in Arlington

Other News

Virtual Community Workshop on Open Space and Recreation Plan

June 2021 – News Briefs

The Open Space Committee (OSC) is leading the process to update Arlington’s current 2015-2022 Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP). The OSC is committed to a comprehensive and open public engagement process, and would like to hear from you.

The first public event is a Virtual Community Workshop on Thursday, June 10th from 7-8:30pm to gather feedback on current open space and recreation facilities and amenities as well as ideas about future needs and priorities. Click on the date link above to register in advance.

You can visit the OSC website to read the current plan and other information about the committee, and you can email your comments about open space and recreation planning at any time to OSRPUpdate@town.arlington.ma.us. Thanks for your participation.

It’s MAY, It’s MAY

May 2021 – News Briefs

The Lusty Month of May (thanks to Camelot) is here with many special activities and meetings on the calendar. Here are a few things of particular interest.

EcoWeek, May 5-15

Arlington EcoWeek is an annual celebration raising awareness and inspiring action on behalf of our community and our planet. The Town is sponsoring a wide variety of events and activities open to all ages, including outdoor tours and online presentations, a clean-up at the Symmes Woods, and projects you can do on your own, such as citizen science data gathering. EcoWeek will spotlight local public art projects as well as initiatives led by student green teams and community groups. 

All events are free and accessible, and they will follow Covid safety guidelines; pre-registration is required via the Town’s EcoWeek website.

Spy Pond and Elizabeth Island

The Spy Pond Committee of Envision Arlington has prepared a flyer on fertilizer use,  Keep Arlington Beautiful, to help residents protect Spy Pond and other water bodies. Rain and stormwater runoff carry fertilizers, pesticides, and other pollutants from lawns and streets into our lakes and ponds. These pollutants and nutrients lower water quality and contribute to algae blooms and other unwanted plant growth. Thank you for following these guidelines.

Due to the continuing Covid-19 restrictions, the Recreation Department will not be able to offer canoe and kayak rentals on Spy Pond this summer. However, if you have access to a small boat, please visit Elizabeth Island for a quiet respite and walk along the pathway.

ZBA Mugar/Thorndike Place Hearing on May 13

The next ZBA hearing is scheduled on Thursday, May 13, starting at 7:30 pm, to continue discussion of the Comprehensive Permit for Thorndike Place, located on the Mugar land in East Arlington. The ZBA has requested that the Applicant consider revising its plans to restore the townhouses facing Dorothy Road as originally proposed, reduce the overall size of the project, and continue to protect the wetlands.

Check the ZBA agenda page next week for the final 5/13/21 agenda, revised plans and other new documents or correspondence.

Arlington Land Trust continues to advocate for the permanent protection of the Mugar parcel as conservation land. The site is subject to regular and significant flooding, and is a critical stormwater buffer for the surrounding and downstream neighborhoods of East Arlington.

Annual Meeting Recording

The Land Trust held its 20th anniversary annual meeting via Zoom on Tuesday, January 19. This recording includes the brief business meeting, reports of recent activities and board member elections (about 20 minutes).

View the January 19, 2021 Annual Meeting video

The highlight of the program is a richly illustrated talk by Bob Wilber, Director of Land Conservation at Mass Audubon. He addressed the topic “Land Conservation in the Time of Climate Change,” focusing on the dramatic freshwater ecological restoration of a former cranberry farm in Plymouth, now known as Mass Audubon’s 480-acre Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary. 

More Walking Routes

In our May 2020 post “Walking in Arlington” we presented a number of maps and ideas for walking routes in and around Arlington. In this post we are pleased to suggest some additional routes and resources. Remember to wear a mask, practice social distancing, and follow other relevant guidelines as indicated at each site.

Arlington’s Great Meadows

Arlington’s Great Meadows (AGM) is a 183-acre parcel of land owned by Arlington but located in East Lexington. It is the largest nearby area of undeveloped open space with numerous looping trails and several boardwalks. The Minuteman Bikeway on its southern border provides access at several locations. Other parking and access points are shown on the AGM map.

 Note that the parking area behind the former Golden Living Center nursing home complex is now closed. Demolition has started to remove the buildings and construct a number of town-house units. When the work is completed, a new parking area and public access trail will be provided from Emerson Gardens Road to AGM.

For more information, visit the Friends of Arlington’s Great Meadows website at www.foagm.org

ACROSS Lexington

ACROSS Lexington is a network of marked trails and paths for walkers, runners and trail bikers, including access from the Arlington Reservoir path. The routes use existing public ways to connect the town center with various historic sites, schools and conservation areas. Several ACROSS Lexington trails loop through a number of conservation areas, most of which have their own networks of trails.

The Trail Guide  to Lexington’s Conservation Land includes color trail maps for Lexington’s 26 walkable conservation areas. (Note that some of the maps may be-out-of-date. Please refer to the maps located on the kiosks at trail entry points.)

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Mass Audubon and Trustees Sites

Mass Audubon Society and The Trustees have many properties in the greater Boston area, although some of them remain closed during the pandemic. Consult their websites for further information about which sites and walking trails are open.

https://www.massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/wildlife-sanctuaries

http://www.thetrustees.org/places-to-visit/

Walking in Arlington

We hope you and your family are staying safe and healthy during these difficult times. While social distancing guidelines remain in place to protect us all from exposure to Covid-19, we also know how important it is to be outdoors and enjoy the bounties of spring in New England.

Arlington residents have two excellent resources for local walks.

  • Arlington Open Space Committee’s Take A Walk maps.
  • Arlington resident George Stephans’ Circumnavigate Arlington maps.

Take A Walk Maps

We wrote about the Talk A Walk initiative in last January’s blog entry. The Take A Walk maps, linked in that entry, will help you safely explore less traveled parts of Arlington that you may never have visited before and may reveal some surprising discoveries, including beautiful front yard gardens, and bears and other creatures in house windows. Have fun! 

Circumnavigate Arlington Maps

Circumnavigate Arlington

An initiative developed by Arlington resident George Stephans offers a walking route that follows the town’s boundaries. He was initially inspired by suggestions to honor Marathon Monday on April 20 by doing a special running/walking event with some charity component. This idea expanded to consider routes that avoid heavy traffic areas such as the bike path and Mass Ave. As it turns out, one can travel very close to the entire Arlington border on roads that are reasonably safe for walking or running and typically are not very busy.

The Circumnavigate Arlington main page explains this project.