MAY
PROGRAMS
at Fresh Pond Reservation
These
events are FREE and open to the public. Children are welcome in
the company of an adult.
You will receive information on parking when you register.
Registration information is below.
Birding
by Ear
Date:
Saturday, May 3
Time: 7:30 to 9:30 am
Meeting Place: Neville
Place Driveway
650 Concord Avenue, Cambridge
It's
spring, and birds are singing everywhere. During this walk we
will focus on bird song as a way of identifying and locating birds.
We will use guides to show you pictures of the birds we don't
see. Birders of all experience levels are welcome. We have binoculars
to lend and will show you how to use them. Register for parking
information. Please do not park in the Neville Place lots.
A Geological History Walk at Fresh Pond
Date:
Saturday, May 3
Time: 1:00 to 3:00 pm
Meeting Place: Maynard Ecology Center, Basement of Neville
Place
650 Concord Avenue
Ed
Myskowski, geologist with the Peabody Essex Museum of Salem, will
take us on a geological history tour of the Reservation. We will
start inside where Ed will give us an overview of geological events
from the pre-Cambrian era to the present. He also will describe
and show us the different kinds of rocks found here. Then we will
walk around Fresh Pond to see how Cambridge fits into this whole
picture. Registration is required.
Urban
Scientists:
Investigation of Water Quality at Black's Nook
Date:
Sunday, May 4
Time: 1:00 to 3:30 pm
Meeting Place: Maynard Ecology Center, Basement of Neville
Place
650 Concord Avenue
During
this Cambridge Science Festival program, the Friends group, the
Cambridge Public Schools and the Water Department will work together
with program participants to investigate the water quality of
Black's Nook. We will learn how to use a plankton net to collect
plankton samples, employ field equipment to collect water chemistry
data, and use a variety of nets and buckets to collect aquatic
plants and macroinvertebrate specimens for observation. Indoors,
we will use hand lenses, microscopes, pond guides and dichotomous
keys to identify the species that we collected: then we will discuss
how the information can be used as an indicator of the health
of the environment. Registration is required
Garlic
Mustard "WEED OUT!"
Date:
Saturday, May 10
Time: 1:00 to 4:00 pm
Meeting Place:
Walter J. Sullivan Water Purification Facility
250 Fresh Pond Parkway, Cambridge
Learn
to identify and remove this invasive weed that is stressing entire
ecosystems at Fresh Pond Reservation. Teams with a leader will
leave from the parking lot every hour on the hour and walk
to the weeding areas. You will find it easy and satisfying to
pull out this awful weed that has been spreading everywhere. Gloves,
water, cookies, and steamed garlic mustard (a spring tonic!) will
be provided. Come for as long as you like - fifteen minutes to
all afternoon. Wear old clothes and old shoes or boots.
Migratory
Bird Walk #1
Date:
Sunday, May 11
Time: 7:30 to 9:30 am
Meeting Place:
Neville Place Driveway
650 Concord Avenue, Cambridge
Part
of the thrill of bird watching is that you never know what you
will see. In May it could include a variety of migrating songbirds-some
that are passing through, others that are staying for the summer.
We will help beginners learn to identify birds by sight and song.
We have binoculars to lend. Register for parking information.
Please do not park in the Neville Place parking lots.
An
Evening Walk in the Upper Cambridge Watershed
Date:
Thursday, May 15
Time: 6:00 to 8:30 pm
Meeting Place:
Walter J. Sullivan Water Purification Facility
250 Fresh Pond Parkway, Cambridge
Join
us for a bus trip to a section of the upper Cambridge watershed
in Lexington, where Watershed Manager Chip Norton will lead us
on a 1 1/2 hour walk through some lovely woods owned by the City
of Cambridge. We will visit the site of an old mill and other
old foundations, a nice vantage point of the reservoir at a rocky
outcropping, and a mature stand of pines. Bring insect repellent,
and binoculars if you have them. We will provide (Cambridge) water
and apples. Limit 20 people. Bus leaves the Water Department
lot promptly at 6:10. Registration is required.
Invasive
Plants Identification Workshops
Date:
Saturday, May 17
Time: 10:00 am to12:00 noon
Date:
Monday, May 19
Time: 6:00 to 8:30 pm
Meeting
Place: Walter
J. Sullivan Water Purification Facility
250 Fresh Pond Parkway, Cambridge
To
help volunteers and other interested people learn how to identify
invasive plants, the Water Department is offering two training
sessions. Ted Elliman, a plant specialist from the New England
Wild Flower Society, will lead these workshops. This information
will be of interest to all who care about the natural world and
to homeowners, whether or not you are a gardener. Don't let invasive
weeds use your yard as a staging ground! Registration is required.
Migratory
Bird Walk
#2
Date:
Saturday, May 24
Time: 7:30 to 9:30 am
Meeting Place: Neville
Place Driveway
650 Concord Avenue, Cambridge
Migratory birds such as Baltimore orioles, yellow warblers and
vireos come to Fresh Pond to nest and raise their young. Other
species, including waterfowl and many songbirds, use it as a resting
place while heading farther north. Now is the time to see them
all. Beginners are welcome! If you don't have binoculars you may
borrow a pair from us. Register for parking information. Please
do not park in the Neville Place parking lots.
Please
register for each event that you plan to attend:
You will receive directions and information on parking in response
to your registration.
E-mail Elizabeth Wylde at friendsoffreshpond@yahoo.com
or call (617) 349-4793 and leave your name and phone number.