Black Swallowwort Pulling Event
Sunday, August 2nd
3:00-4:300pm
Ranger Station
Join the Fresh Pond Rangers for this community invasive pulling event on Sunday, August 2nd from 3:00-4:30pm at 250 Fresh Pond Parkway in Cambridge, MA.
Help us pull invasive Black Swallowwort to protect endangered Monarchs and get ready for the annual Monarch release event at Fresh Pond Reservation!!
This vining plant is a close relative of Milkweed - the sole host plant of the Monarch Butterfly. Adults get confused into laying an egg on Black Swallowwort, which is then doomed to starve and die, because caterpillars can only eat Milkweed.
Wear closed toed shoes and dress for the weather. We will have gloves and bags available as well as tools for digging up the plant! This program meets at the ranger station under the clock tower.
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Monarch Release
Sunday, August 23rd
1:00-2:00pm
Water Treatment Plant & Kingsley Park Bowl
See the butterflies up close, learn about their migration, complete an activity booklet for a Jr. Ranger badge, get your face painted, see storyteller Yumi Izuyama, do some caterpillar and butterfly related crafts outside the Water Treatment Plant along the perimeter road. At 1:45pm, we will walk over to the Kingsley Bowl Meadow to witness the release! See what the flutter’s been about since this program began in 2014.
Migratory monarchs have faced significant threats since the 1990's. The chief factors of their decline are loss of milkweed, logging activity in Mexico, extensive pesticide use in the US, and extreme weather events. Because Monarchs migrate, we need a national effort. As an official “waystation” Fresh Pond is a wonderful place for adult monarchs and their young to grow up!
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Ongoing Volunteer Opportunity:
Garden Work Date
250 Fresh Pond Pkwy
Tuesdays through Fall
10:00am-1:00pm
The Habitat Restoration Area off the perimeter road between the parkway community gardens and Lusitania Meadow.
Come learn from expert naturalists how to restore our native communities by doing hands on work! Help transplant plants, weed invasives, mulch restoration areas, and learn about how a once invasive buckthorn forest has transformed into a native wildlife refuge in just over a decade. Started by the Friends of Fresh Pond in the late 2000's, the area has been transformed to a special hidden refuge and has been carefully curated ever since. Wear closed toed shoes & clothes ready to work in the garden! Drop by and stay for a bit or the whole time.
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Volunteer Stewards
Thursdays through fall
10:00am-12:00 noon
Meets at the Tool Trailer outside the Ranger Station
250 Fresh Pond Pkwy
May through October, give back to the place you love by becoming one of our volunteer weed warriors! This is a weekly, open opportunity to volunteer. We have the tools, we have the training, we just need the hands! Every week is a different target area and a different task depending on the natural calendar’s seasonal needs. To learn more, contact omejia@cambridgema.gov.
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Fresh Pond Biodiversity & Climate Citizen Scientist Volunteering with Earthwise Aware (EwA)
EwA invites volunteers to contribute to national research on how climate change is reshaping the life cycles of plants, insects, and other organisms. We provide training, and no prior experience is needed, only an interest in the natural world. Using a smartphone app, log phenology, insect surveys, and species interactions to document how species shift in response to a changing climate.
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Fresh Pond Nature Walk
Collins Branch Library
Thursday, August 20th
Wednesday, September 16th
10:15 to 11:30 am
Meets at the Ranger Station
250 Fresh Pond Pkwy
Join us for a short walk of Fresh Pond Reservation with Ranger Amanda Garms and Library Associate Michael Roberson. We will observe seasonal changes in our environment, enjoy the fresh air, and get some exercise in nature. This walk is not on a paved path. We will walk on uneven terrain, down hills, and over roots. The meeting location for this walk will be at the Fresh Pond Ranger Station at 250 Fresh Pond Parkway. Registration is required for this event.
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Walter J. Sullivan Water Purification Facility Tour
250 Fresh Pond Pkwy
Monday, August 3rd
6:00-7:30pm
Meets at the Water Treatment Plant Front Door
Come learn how the Water Department purifies drinking water for your tap after it’s conveyed from nearby Fresh Pond into our facility. You’ll have the chance to speak with water treatment staff, see the equipment in action and check out our water quality lab!
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Mindful Mosey
10:30am to 12:00 noon
Meets at the Ranger Station
Wednesday, August 19th
250 Fresh Pond Pkwy
Join us for our next monthly "Mindful Mosey" series at the beautiful Fresh Pond Reservation. Guided by Stefanie Haug, mindful nature guide, and Ranger Amanda, this event is a perfect chance to explore nature, soak in the end of summer vibes, and connect with other earth lovers.
Together we’ll breathe deeply, slow down, and notice the world around us, with quiet walking and moments of shared reflection. Suitable for everyone with accommodations always possible. This is a monthly walking series. Register here: Fresh Pond Event Registration
| | | News From the Reservation | |
Do you know what the rarest resource on planet earth is? It's fresh water.
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Critical Drought Warning
Per City Ordinance:
All nonessential outdoor water uses are banned.
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Aggressively reduce indoor water use by:
- Taking showers and avoiding baths
- Reducing shower length
- Running washing machines & dishwashers only on a full load
- Not letting water run while brushing and shaving
- Replacing old fixtures and appliances with water-efficient ones.
- Make sure toilets, faucets, and showerheads are WaterSense labeled
- Use the MA Home Water Use Calculator tool to evaluate household water use
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2026 Moth Ball was a great success!
With over 300 attendees, the 2026 Moth Ball was an excellent outreach event put on by the Boston Birding Festival. At its core, the Moth Ball is an insect survey. We saw Mantis flies (lacewing moths), Tussock moths, Clover moths, Grass veneer moths, Palthis moths, and Walnut flies. We also saw lots of caddisflies and mayflies, which are not moths, but their larval macroinvertebrate stages are indicative of the excellent water quality we have here at Fresh Pond!
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Macroinvertebrate sampling
Our Watershed Field Surveyors Lindsay and Stephen (left) completed macroinvertebrate sampling in the tributaries feeding our reservoirs Hobbs and Brooks, which eventually lead to Fresh Pond. Many flying insects have aquatic larval stages, and their community composition indicates water quality. We call these species indicator species. For example, mosquito larva can tolerate degraded, still, muddy waters with low oxygen content. Caddisfly, stonefly, and mayfly larva (of which many were found in their adult flying stage at the moth ball!) indicate clear, fresh water with a high dissolved oxygen content, because they require these conditions to thrive.
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Monarch Caterpillars arrived!
Live Monarch caterpillars have arrived from Monarch Watch for us to raise in the Ranger Station and release on August 23rd in Kingsley Bowl. Stop by later in August to check in on their development and metamorphosis! These voracious caterpillars eat milkweed constantly for 2 weeks, increasing their mass thousands of times over and shedding their skin five times before they travel to the top of their enclosure to liquify their bodies inside a chrysalis, emerging as a butterfly. Stop by to witness this amazing feat of nature!
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Spotted Lanternfly - Learn to Spot it!
Spotted Lanternfly is an invasive pest. It is a nuisance, can swarm in large numbers, and has been spotted at Lusitania Meadow and Kingsley Bowl this year in its larval stage (pictured left). If you see a spotted lanternfly, please kill it. It's host tree is the invasive Tree of Heaven. The sap from this tree makes them bitter and unpalatable to birds. They also enjoy grape vines, hops, fruit trees, maple & walnut trees, of which we have many at Fresh Pond. Without the Tree of Heaven to feast on, our woodpecker population can help keep these pests in check.
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Swamp and butterfly milkweed is blooming, and the Monarchs are being sited all around. We make sure to plants lots of milkweed around the reservation to support our local vulnerable species.
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Jewelweed is peeking out, also known as touch-me-nots, named for their projectile seed dispersal method.
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Wild Bergamot, AKA Bee Balm, has fragrant leaves that some folks say smell like Oregano. This plant is in the mint family, and is a bee-magnet!
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Goldenrod is beginning to bloom, heralding the end of summer. Soak it up while it lasts!
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St John's wort is a non-native naturalized plant brought over from Europe by settlers for its many medicinal properties. A compound called hypercin on the leaves can even be used to treat depression!
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Chicory is also a non-native naturalized plant, used as a coffee substitute during coffee shortages in the American Civil War due to its bitter taste. It is still used in coffee today to make it stronger, especially in New Orleans. No caffeine, though!
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Tansy is a third non-native naturalized plant, with very aromatic leaves that have potent medicinal qualities, treating parasites, fever, rheumatism, and skin issues. The plant is poisonous and can be fatal in large quantities.
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Indian Lotus at Black's Nook
Many visitors have expressed concern regarding the exotic Indian Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) overtaking Black's Nook. In fact, the natural process of succession leads wetlands to become wet meadows, meadows, then eventually forested land. However, at Fresh Pond, we manage areas such that our meadows and wetlands remain intact. There are plans to have Black's Nook assessed for manual aquatic vegetation removal and nutrient inactivation to control excessive aquatic vegetation growth. Previously, it was assessed and approved for dredging, which the Water Department continues to pursue funding for.
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Snapping Turtle Cleanup
There were unfortunately some geese this year that developed Angel Wing, which is a disease they get from being fed bread. Their wings develop improperly and they can't fly. There is nothing we can do besides euthanasia for a goose with Angel Wing, so as long as they are eating and swimming properly, the Rangers only monitor them. Rangers Amanda and Omar had been keeping an eye on this goose for a while, but it may have finally succumbed to its injuries and was spotted being eaten by a snapping turtle in Black's Nook. This incredible shot was taken by Aisha Yousuf, @ayousuf11. Snapping turtles are largely scavengers, eating dead carrion which helps to keep our wetlands clean and prevents spread of disease, while recycling nutrients into the ecosystem. Thank you, snappers!
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Grounded Geese
Just because a goose can't fly doesn't mean it has Angel Wing. Geese molt and lose their flight feathers when they have babies, and don't get them back until August. This is an adaptation they have which helps them not to be separated from their young, who also can't fly just yet. Geese without young can start molting as early as June. The Rangers have been assisting geese crossing the fence line throughout June and July and are relieved they get their flight feathers back soon! If you see any wildlife in need of assistance, call the Ranger cell at 617-680-2418.
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Whoever is in your life,
those that harm you,
those that help you;
those whom you know
and those whom you do not know -
let them off the hook,
help them off the hook.
Recognize the hook.
-Leonard Cohen, Book of Longing
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