News

On Sunday, July 11, fourteen hardy people worked on clearing the land around the historic Wellington House on Trapelo Road. Ward 3 City Councillor George Darcy, who is a founding WLT Director, led the effort with WLT steward Betty MacKenzie. The hope is to have a walking path run through the property, with farm fields…

On July 10, thirty plant enthusiasts met at 200 5th Ave to access Prospect Hill Park for a walk focused on plant communities. WLT Director Lesley Sneddon, who wrote a book “A Walk in the Park: Plant Communities of Prospect Hill Park” led the trek, assisted by Barbara Bates. City of Waltham Ranger Adam Green…

On June 27, five awesome WLT stewards, led by Jarek Reihner, were joined by Parterre Ecological’s Ryan Corrigan in the woods along the Charles River next to the Woerd Ave Boat Launch. The WLT is coordinating with the MA DCR and Waltham Conservation Commission to restore this land by removing invasive plants like Japanese knotweed,…

On June 12, 60 snake enthusiasts welcomed The Snake Man (Rick Roth) and the Cape Ann Vernal Pool Team to the Christ Church in Waltham for a special program for children. After introducing the group to about two dozen snakes from New England and the world, participants were invited to come up and handle the…

On National Trails Day, 18 hardy volunteers removed litter and invasive species from along the Mass Central Rail Trail between Lexington and Bacon streets. We observed historical artifacts, which were described by local historians Marie Daly of the WLT and Paul Penfield of Weston (R.I.P.). Large concrete blocks behind the former Boston Bark property remain…

On May 24, a dozen folks meet at Elsie Turner playground for a trek over Mackerel Hill into Beaver Brook North Reservation. The walk had been advertised as a “Fungi Foray,” but the lack of rain greatly lessened the chance of seeing mushrooms, so our expert mycologist didn’t join us. Instead, WLT ED Sonja Wadman…

On May 15, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate Waltham Eagle Scout Tyler Mailman and the trail he built at Smith Point. Smith Point is a small parcel on Hardy Pond owned by the Waltham Land Trust. Over the course of a few months, Tyler and his team of volunteers removed and relocated boulders,…

Twenty-five nature enthusiasts of all ages met on May 2 at 200 5th Ave to go into Prospect Hill Park for a bioblitz! Several of WLT’s volunteer stewards (Dan, Linda, Emily, and Lesley) led the activity, where attendees aimed to document as many species of insects, amphibians, reptiles, and plants as possible. In this annual…

The Waltham Land Trust involved 150 volunteers who beautified open space and collected around 170 bags of trash on two days during eight events. Six of these activities where along the Charles River where we covered roughly six miles. The other two cleanups were along two one-half-mile sections of the Mass Central Rail Trail, the…

On April 6th, 2021, Sam Jaffe of The Caterpillar Lab delivered a deep picture into the world of native caterpillars using a combination of live presentation, digital microscope work, slides, and life history image plates. By exploring complex natural history stories involving caterpillars, their host plants, and their predators and parasitoids, the importance of biodiversity…