Volunteer with Fresh Pond Reservation
There are ways for anyone and everyone to lend a hand! Here are projects we currently have running.
- Volunteer Stewards: volunteer as an individual or group, whether you can help once a week, once a month or even once a year
- Adopt-a-Habitat: a great opportunity for businesses, community and interest groups, or schools to dedicate time to a long-term project, with the guidance and support of the Water Department
- Pond Partners: volunteer day and half-day events for larger groups
- Cambridge Pod Patrol: spread the word not the weed, at Fresh Pond and in your neighborhood!
Many of the plants in Cambridge and the surrounding area are non-native, as a result no animals regularly eat them. This leads to certain European and Asian species taking over the forests and sidewalks. By helping to curb these pests, we make way for plants that help Massachusetts animals eat, hide, build and live.
Where we fit in: every Thursday from 10am to Noon we have an open volunteer opportunity. Between the main parking lot (250 Fresh Pond Parkway, Cambridge) and the physical pond is a trailer hitch that is marked “Volunteer”. Parking passes are available day-by-day for those without a resident sticker. This is our meeting place and where the tools, gloves, bags, and buckets are. We have all the equipment, you just bring work clothes and a water bottle (we have the water too!).
From there, we depart and take on a different area or plant-type each day. We work up a sweat and get dirty for the hour-and-a-half we have outside of setup and transit before bagging what we’ve reaped and packing it all back in at the trailer. It does involve going off-trail, and the risks associated with that can be mitigated by hydration, sunscreen, bug spray, sturdy footwear, long pants, and tick checks.
Have a suggestion for volunteering, or any questions? Contact Ranger Tim at tpuopolo@cambridgeMA.gov or (617) 349-6489.
Check out our volunteer opportunities brochure, and fill out an interest form here if the mood strikes!