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Monthly e-news made for advocates.
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Set the Underground Rivers Free |
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In our highly urbanized watershed, it is not uncommon to pass unaware over hidden tributaries of the Charles River. As cities and towns grew, small streams were diverted, culverted, and buried underground. Faneuil Brook in Brighton, Stony Brook in Jamaica Plain, Laundry Brook in Newton; all flow beneath our neighborhoods today.
“Pretty much the worst thing you can do for a stream is to put it in a pipe,” says Deputy Director Julie Wood. Tributaries become polluted, subterranean waterways that fast-track contaminated stormwater from our roads straight into the river untreated.
“When you daylight [a river], you essentially bring it back to life,” says Julie Wood. “It’s going to get sunlight; there’s going to be more oxygen in the river for fish to breathe. Animals, plants, and the local ecosystem can have some hope of living and thriving there.”
Daylighting rivers and streams offers a small sliver of hope; bringing nature back by bringing it to light, and offers an exciting opportunity to improve climate resilience, restore habitat and water quality, and expand public parklands.
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Pursuit of Environmental Justice |
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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This month, we want to take a moment to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and renew our commitment to upholding his legacy in our work. Dr. King’s teachings are the foundation on which the environmental justice movement is built– and our work to use science, advocacy, and the law to protect and preserve the Charles River is meaningless unless we prioritize the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, origin, and income.
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We commit to infusing Dr. King’s teachings into our work; prioritizing environmental justice in the Charles River watershed. This comes with first acknowledging historical inequities in exposure to pollution, unequal access to nature, and disproportionate exposure to climate threats that many residents face. More importantly, it comes with a concerted effort to remedy and heal this history of environmental racism by putting our environmental justice communities first with our climate adaptation, restoration, and education efforts.
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Building Resilience in the Charles River Watershed |
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Climate change isn’t coming—it’s here, and our watershed is increasingly vulnerable to the combined effects of increased precipitation and extreme weather. That’s why we’re leading a collaborative effort involving twenty Charles River Climate Compact communities to plan for and adapt to climate change with the Charles River Flood Model, a watershed-scale modeling tool that provides flood visualizations for the upper and middle watershed.
Adapting to our changing climate also includes expanding public education and outreach to raise awareness about the Charles River Flood Model and climate change. We are launching a public engagement effort that will include virtual events, in-person engagement at community events, flyering, gathering feedback from residents, and expanding multilingual outreach with support from our partners at Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW).
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Advocacy efforts for dam removal and river restoration continue; this month we hosted a discussion about the significant hazard potential of Watertown Dam in light of climate change with Charles River Regional Chamber. In the virtual public meeting, Deputy Director Julie Wood and Climate Resilience Specialist Robert Kearns presented the risks of aging, functionless dams as climate change brings increased precipitation and extreme weather. “The dams that were built were once really useful, they powered our mills and our industry and they served as sort of the basis for our economy for some years,” said Wood. “However, as these dams remain, we know that they were designed for a different climate than the one we are experiencing and a different climate than the one we will experience.” Read more in coverage in the Globe and watch the full presentation. And, be sure to sign up for news alerts about the ongoing push to remove Watertown Dam.
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We are pleased that “An Act relative to the preservation of wetlands and water resources in Chapter 40B applications” (H.2198) has been reported favorably out of the Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government and sent to the House Steering, Policy, and Scheduling! Chapter 40B, designed to break down exclusionary zoning laws and provide opportunities for affordable housing, has unfortunately led to developers pursuing construction of affordable housing in flood-prone, environmentally-sensitive wetland areas. We agree there is a dire need for affordable housing, but are happy to see Chapter 40B amended and wetland protections strengthened to support environmental justice and climate resilience. Read our full written testimony from July.
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Are you enjoying the snow? This adorable mink sure is. Send us your favorite photos from the snowstorm this weekend!
Photo by Maury Eldridge.
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It was the fourth-warmest year on record in the US, and...
In New England, temperatures soared to even more abnormal heights. Maine and New Hampshire both saw their second-warmest year on record. A separate study also found that it was the third warmest year on record for Massachusetts, and that the...
Read more
www.bostonglobe.com
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A recent report from the Globe confirms it was the fourth warmest year on record, with abnormally high temperatures in New England in particular. This, combined with extreme weather, confirms we need to act now to create climate-resilient communities by mitigating flooding risks, fighting the urban heat island effect, expanding tree canopy, and increasing access to public parklands and open space.
"The science is clear, climate change is happening at an accelerated pace and we are seeing the effects manifest in the form of more extreme weather events,” said Reverend Vernon K. Walker, senior program manager at Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW).
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When you see our staff or volunteers in CRWA-branded hats, masks or tees, it’s thanks to our supplier Threadwear!
A local, Black-owned business headed by watershed resident Alvin Taylor, Threadwear provides top-notch custom embroidery, screen printing, and more.
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We have exciting news! CRWA has entered the TikTok universe. That's right, you can find us at @charlesriverwatershed. From watershed facts, to advocacy memes, to snippets of CRWA staff at work, there's something for everyone! Help us go viral.
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Getting to know the NVSA!
#DidYouKnow the Charles River watershed is naturally #climate resilient?? Thanks to the NVSA! 🤩🌟🙌
Read more
www.tiktok.com
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It's VMM Tuesday!
Our volunteers get up bright and early to help us sample 35 sites along the Charles River
Read more
www.tiktok.com
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Have you signed yet for our upcoming virtual event Building Resilience in the Watershed? Join us on February 2, 2022, at 7 PM for a discussion of the ways we are working to make our watershed more climate-resilient! Come learn about how we developed the Charles River Flood Model, what we learned, and what we are working on next. Register here.
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Did you know we rely on individual donations from river lovers like you for over sixty percent of our budget? Your contribution goes directly towards helping CRWA achieve its mission of protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Charles River and its watershed through science, advocacy, and the law.
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