Alewife Reservation
Alewife Reservation and District advocacy and restoration work became a core part of Green Cambridge’s mission after acquiring the Friends of Alewife Reservation (FAR) in 2019. Through our programming, we protect and restore this wild area and the surrounding District.
Land Acknowledgement
Driven by passion, grounded by values. We're a team of passionate thinkers and doers, dedicated to building with purpose and clarity. Collaboration and curiosity drive everything we do.
The Alewife District Community
Health Action Plan
At the heart of the District is the Reservation, a park which stretches across the boundaries of five cities and towns (Belmont, Cambridge, Arlington, Somerville, and Medford). It is a rich socio-ecological system providing habitat for wildlife and places for diverse communities of people. Within the Reservation lies the Alewife Brook, a tributary to the Mystic River and part of the larger Mystic River Watershed.
This Alewife District Community Action Plan builds off decades of advocacy and attempts to create a strategic path forward, outlining what steps Green Cambridge and others can take to restore the ecological health of these 136 acres, make it more climate resilient, and ensure that it is an accessible resource. We hope that this document serves as a launching point for collaborative advocacy, and look forward to the continual improvements and enrichment of the Alewife District.
Community Engagement
Volunteer events throughout the year create meaningful experiences that connect the community with this 136 acre outdoor classroom.
Invasive Management
Help us steward the Alewife Reservation!
The Alewife Reservation is Cambridge’s only urban wild. It is overrun with invasive plant species that harm its ecological health. We depend on volunteers to help us take care of this important green space and help its native flora and fauna thrive.
Restore Corps, Restoring a Landscape through Education
Piloted during the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program, Restore Corps is an upcoming paid internship that will train and educate Cambridge teens in urban ecological restoration including invasive plant removal and native plant re-establishment in the Alewife.
Using the Alewife Reservation as an outdoor classroom and workforce training ground, this program will connect youth aged 16-18 to this 136 acre shared landscape.
Seasonal cohorts will focus on removing invasive species, planting natives, working across municipal lines, stakeholder development, mapping and design, and implementation of aspects of projects previously identified in master plans.
Our guiding documents are the Alewife Master Plan and the Alewife District Community Health Action Plan we’ve developed over three years in partnership with the National Park Service, along with local, state, and national partners.
River Restore
In Summer 2021, The banks of Little River served as our outdoor classroom for Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program participants and other volunteers.
Initiated in 2015 by the Friends of Alewife Reservation, this 28,000 square foot site prone to flooding and burdened by pollution is undergoing mitigation via biodiversity plantings that build on the native plantings of the Stormwater Wetland area.
We kicked off this long term project to restore the riverbank between the Alewife Stormwater Wetland and the Little River. Partnering with Parterre Ecological to provide expertise in the field and working in collaboration with Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Cambridge Conservation Commission, we've created new native habitat by removing invasives and planting native shrubs and trees, an effort that Restore Corps will build off of.
