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Friends of Fresh Pond Reservation
Working to protect and enhance the natural environment
of Fresh Pond Reservation
through education and community participation
of Fresh Pond Reservation
through education and community participation
Friends of Fresh Pond Reservation (FFPR) is a volunteer citizens' group that works with the Cambridge Water Department and the Cambridge Public Schools to help fulfill the educational and conservation goals of the Fresh Pond Reservation Masterplan that was implemented in 2001.
Since the winter of 2001-2002, FFPR has offered a variety of activity-based programs designed to develop nature observation skills and build community at the Reservation. Topics include seasonal tree identification, migratory songbirds and waterfowl, wildflowers in bloom, insects, algae, fung, photography, drawing from nature, tours of the watershed, and much more. Inventories of birds, trees, wildflowers and pond life conducted by the group have helped to add to the State of Massachusetts biodiversity data collection. Reservation managers have used information gathered by Friends group members to help make decisions related to invasive plants control.
Stewardship is an important part of the Friends group's mission. During spring and summer the group maintains and monitors bird boxes for tree swallows and owls. We helped set up a successful bio-control project involving the use of beetles to control the spread of purple loosestrife in the Reservation's wetlands. We initiated and helped the Cambridge Water Department set up a program to train teams of volunteers on the removal of invasive weeds from the Reservations woods and restored areas. Members of the Friends group created and maintain the Woodland Restoration Project, a wooded area with a path in it where the public is invited to visit and learn about native plants that can grow in local gardens. We are also involved in a volunteer-run restoration project called the Woodland Habitat Restoration Project, where we are trying to create a diverse native habitat that is protected from dogs and human traffic - a place where native birds and small mammals can live in relative safety. We created and make available in the Ranger Station maps of the Reservation, and informational flyers on birds, native plants, invasive plants, and other topics of interest.
We invite you to join us as we continue our explorations of the land, the water and the plants, animals and people who depend on the Reservation for their lives. All of our programs are free and open to the public. Often participants are asked to register, but there is no fee involved.
You can view announcements of our events, photos from some of those events, inventories, and photo albums on this website. You can also print maps and bird lists.
To learn more, you may e-mail Catherine Pedemonti at FriendsofFreshPond@yahoo.com or call (617) 349-6489 and leave your name and phone number in the message box at the Cambridge Water Department.
MEMBERSHIPS and DONATIONS
FFPR is an all-volunteer organization. We pay professionals to lead some of our programs, we maintain this website, and we buy supplies for our conservation work on the Reservation. You can support our work by becoming a member of the Friends group. Dues are $10 per year per person, retroactive to January 1 of the current year. If you care to make an additional donation, we will put the money to good use. Thank you so much!
You can join via US Mail by clicking HERE.
Friends of Fresh Pond Reservation, March 6, 2017