Active Parklands 

Sunday Parkland Games

The Games have begun!  July 10th marked the beginning of this season's Sunday Parkland Games, and a good time was had by all!  If you joined us in past summers you'll no doubt recall a multitude of activities and enough games to keep kids of all ages entertained throughout the afternoon.  If you haven't attended yet, we invite you to bring your friends and family members for bocce, badminton, horse shoes, hula hoops, and much, much more!  And following the Games, don't forget to stay for a free outdoor yoga class, taught by certified instructors.     

Sundays, July 10th-September 25th

Allston's Herter Park

Games & Activities: 2-5pm

Yoga: 5-6pm 

All active parkland activities are FREE and open to the public!

   For additional information, please contact CRC's Director of Outdoor Wellness, Dr. Alexios Monopolis, at anm@thecharles.org.  For more information, visit  www.thecharles.org.  Weekly updates and weather cancellations will be posted on our Facebook page.  

Advocacy 

River Street Bridge/Western Avenue Bridge Rehabilitation Project  

Public Info Meeting - July 18th, 6:30pm 

A Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Public Information Meeting notice has been announced for the River Street Bridge/Western Avenue Bridge Rehabilitation Project.  The meeting has been scheduled for Monday, July 18th at 6:30pm at the Honan-Allston Branch Library, 300 North Harvard St. in Allston.  We urge you to attend the meeting and make your voice heard in support of underpasses!  

Anderson Bridge: Underpasses Looking Upriver by David Smith

Anderson Underpass Update

The list of underpass supporters continues to grow!  29 elected officials, 30 organizations, and over 600 individuals support our underpass advocacy efforts.  The latest organizations to sign on are Bike Newton, BU Student Union, Community Running Association, Institute for Human Centered Design, and the MIT Triathlon Club.  Thank you to our supporters!  Forward this email and encourage family, friends, and colleagues to sign on as well!  Click here to show your support! 

In September, CRC President Renata von Tscharner will present the underpass issue to the MassDOT Board along with fellow underpass advocates, emphasizing the numerous benefits of including underpasses in the bridge renovations.     

Bottle Bill Update

The date and location have been set for the hearing on the Updated Bottle Bill (HB890)!  We hope to see a great turnout of supporters for this long-overdue update, which would expand our containter deposit system to include non-carbonated beverages like water, iced tea, juice, and sports drinks.  Help to decrease litter and increase recycling by supporting the Updated Bottle Bill!    To read more about the Updated Bottle Bill, click here.   

Hearing Details

Wednesday, July 20, 2011, 10am

Gardner Auditorium

State House, Boston   

Massachusetts State Budget Update

On June 30th, the budget conference committee released its FY2012 budget, which Governor Patrick has now signed.  Good news - the environmental priorities fared very well!  Highlights include funding for DCR Urban and State Parks: the final budget amounts to $42.173 million. 

Advocacy efforts require help from concerned citizens like you!  Interested in supporting the Conservancy's efforts?  We urge you to  donate today!

Swimmable Charles Initiative

Thank you to all who came to the CRC Volunteer Recognition Event!  

left to right: Bruce Schwoegler, Nick Gove, Jesse Gawrys (Genzyme Site Environmental Associate-Principal), and Conrad Crawford

If you weren't able to make it, we hope to see

you at a future event.  Conrad Crawford, Director of Partnerships for DCR, spoke about the importance of the Conservancy's Volunteer Program.  Bruce Schwoegler, former meteorologist at WBZ, emceed the event and awarded many standout volunteer groups and individuals, including: State Representatives Marty Walz and Alice Wolf, WilmerHale, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Genzyme, Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, Common Impact, Fidelity Investments, MIT APO, Bunker Hill Community College, Mahoney's Garden Center, CW Taekwondo, Riverside Boat Club, Roger Frymire, and Professor Ferdi Hellweger and Xiaodan Ruan of Northeastern University. Crawford and Nick Gove, North Region Director for DCR were also awarded for their longtime support of the Charles River Conservancy.

Thanks again volunteers!   

We can't accomplish everything that we do on the river without YOUR help!

June has been a very productive time for the Conservancy Volunteers program!   

Many areas along the Charles have received landscaping attention.   WS Development cleared bittersweet vines from a playground in Watertown, and Community Boating removed vegetation blocking the view of boats and increased safety.  Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association, Single Volunteers Boston, Riverside Boat Club, and community members made major headway clearing out a bed at Magazine Beach.  Employees from Google's new employee-driven initiative GoogleServe cleared a pathway in Herter Park West, while Millennium Pharmaceuticals worked to prune trees and beautify a garden near the Herter Center. 

Volunteering is fun for all ages!

Upcoming Open Volunteer Events  

Saturday, August 6th 9:00am - 12:00pm

Join CRC and Single Volunteers Boston for a morning of painting benches and pulling weeds!  Stay tuned - more details to be announced in the coming days.  

Saturday, September 24th 9:00am-12:00pm

CRC has partnered with several organizations for what promises to be a lively volunteer event. Please visit our website in the upcoming weeks for more information about this event.

Thank you to all our volunteers!

For more information or to RSVP for upcoming events, please contact Danielle Stehlik, Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator at dms@thecharles.org. 

Lecture by David Gessner based on new book "My Green Manifesto"  

Thursday, July 14th, 7:30pm 

On July 4th, four years ago, David Gessner took a wild canoe trip down the Charles River with Dan Driscoll, a senior environmental planner for the Department of Conservation and Recreation and a man who has made it his mission to green the banks of the Charles over the course of the last two decades.  Gessner's new book, My Green Manifesto, tells the story of that exhilarating journey, but it's also a lot more: a bracing call for a new environmentalism, one that embraces the virtues of humor, common sense, and a new, living language.  The lecture will be held at the Newton Free Library, 330 Homer Street, Newton Centre.   

Invasive Water Chestnut Removal 

July 16th, 9am-1pm 

Join the Charles River Watershed Association to remove the invasive water chestnut plant from the Newton and Waltham area of the Charles.  This event will be held at Charles River Canoe & Kayak in Newton.  Additional removal events will also be held July 27th and 30th.  For more information or to RSVP, contact Alison at 781-788-0007 x243.   

Evening with Acclaimed Biographer Justin Martin 

July 20th, 5:30-7:30pm

Join the Emerald Necklace Conservancy for an author talk and book signing with Justin Martin, author of "Genius of Place, The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted".  The event will take place at the Boston Public Library.  Visit the Emerald Necklace Conservancy's website for ticket information and to RSVP.  

Want to find out what else is going on at parks throughout Greater Boston?   

Boston Park Advocates has launched a new website to keep you up-to-date on current happenings throughout the city.  Visit  www.bostonparks.org to find out what's happening in a park near you!  And thank you to BPA for its support of the Charles River Conservancy!