Friends of the Fells – Page 5 – Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation, Inc.

Municipal leaders gathered at the Fells to help promote the Be Kind! campaign.

This fall, we collaborated with public officials who represent and serve communities surrounding the forest to share the Be Kind! message, installing physical signage and promoting the campaign through social media channels and op-eds in regional newspapers. We’re grateful for their leadership in advancing the Be Kind! campaign in the Fells.

About Be Kind!

Over the last five years, there’s been a dramatic increase in the public’s use of outdoor nature spaces, including our state parks. We’re glad to see that more people are benefiting from the physical health and mental well-being provided by time spent in nature.

As a conservation organization, we also believe in the intrinsic value of the biodiversity found in the Fells, and promote the protection of nature for its own sake.

By acting with kindness to other visitors, staff, and plants and animals in our state parklands, we can create a more welcoming space for all, and protect our environment. We celebrate everyone acting with kindness in our parklands and encourage everyone to join in!

**Winchester Sustainability Director Ken Pruitt**

Learn more about our 2024 accomplishments in the Fells here!

Volunteers from Verizon remove Glossy buckthorn.

Summer and early fall were a busy and productive time at the Fells! Since July, we’ve engaged ten volunteer groups and hosted five open volunteer opportunities for the community. Across these events, 267 volunteers donated over 524 hours to remove 15 bags and nine large piles of invasive plants and conduct trail work and maintenance. Volunteers removed invasive plants like Glossy buckthorn, Porcelain berry, and Asiatic bittersweet.

This year so far, 569 volunteers have given 1,095 hours to help in the Fells, and they’ve removed 194 bags of invasive plants and trash. We have already surpassed the number of volunteers and projects that we had in 2023!

Volunteers work to fix a culvert by Whitmore Brook to reduce trail erosion.

This summer and fall, we trained nine new Trail Adopters to help us monitor the trails and keep them clear and safe for all to use. These Trail Adopters submitted reports about downed trees, missing blazes, biopollution, and more.

The following groups have joined us since July to help remove invasive plants, pick up trash, and work on trails:

Braskem
Gay for Good
ICE
Live Blue – New England Aquarium Service Corps
Medford Girl Scouts
Patagonia
Paddle Boston
Tufts FOCUS
Verizon
Winchester Girl Scouts

Interested in assisting these efforts? Apply to volunteer here!

Want to volunteer with your group, company, school, or team? Learn more about our group volunteering opportunities here.

Reach out to friends@fells.org if you have any questions or if you’d like to get more involved in these efforts.

Participants traverse Fells trails while making new friends. Photo by Mac Doucette.

For over twenty-five years, Friends of the Fells has welcomed families to our popular weekday hiking program, Babes in the Woods. Hikes are designed for caregivers who carry their children and are offered every week, all year long, weather permitting. For new parents especially, it’s a great way to connect with others in the same stage of life, and get exercise, all while learning about nature. In the last 12 months, 231 families participated in Babes in the Woods hikes, with many enjoying multiple outings.

The program is very simple. Each week, hikers meet at a different trailhead, and then walk, usually moderately paced, for an hour and a half. This is usually about 2.5 to 3 miles. Hike leaders think about incorporating beautiful views or places of interest; such as the overlook at Long Pond or the Silver Mine near Sheepfold. Participants get a chance to learn about local flora and fauna. Sometimes they get treated to the smell of a sassafras leaf or a snapping turtle sighting in the Middle Reservoir. Deer, frogs, crayfish, snakes, bald eagles, and barred owls are just a few of the animals encountered on the hikes.

Dennis, a longtime Babes in the Woods leader and volunteer, points out some cool features of the Fells forest. Photo by Mac Doucette.

Many studies have shown how helpful nature can be for mental health. Because being a parent is difficult enough already, the Babes in the Woods hikes are offered for free—no one suffering from post-partum depression or anxiety should be denied this opportunity.

The hikes go out in all kinds of weather. Snow and light rain do not stop them, but heavy precipitation or poor air quality will. They are also canceled if the heat index is 90°F or above, or the wind chill is 25°F or below. Some people might be surprised that the hikes go out in below-freezing weather, but babies make fantastic personal space heaters.

There are several volunteers available to help, if someone needs to stop for any reason, such as to tie a shoe, to breastfeed, or to adjust a carrier. Hike leaders and assistants check in with each other frequently to make sure the group stays together. Very rarely, a participant will need to turn around and head back home, and there are extra volunteers to help guide them back for this reason. Leaving home with a new baby for the first time can be very daunting, and this gives people peace of mind when it comes to their precious cargo.

Learn more about our 2024 accomplishments in the Fells here!

So far in 2024, Friends of the Fells staff and volunteers have led 112 guided outings in the Fells, not including our popular Babes in the Woods programs. These hikes were attended by more than 700 people and covered a wide variety of topics and mileage around the Fells such as plants, wildlife, seasonal changes, and history.

Twenty-seven volunteer hike leaders donated many hours to scout, prepare, and lead these hikes for the Fells community. A huge thank you goes out to Boot, Jeff, Carol, Tom, Laurie, Dennis, Hobbit, Kyle, Karine, Jill, Audrey, Doug, Alison, Julia, Tinie, Leah, Jac, Jaclyn, Sean, Barbara, Joel, Max, Heather, Jodi, and Charlotte for providing so many incredible ways to explore the Fells for our community!

Take a look at some snapshots from our hikes this year below! Interested in joining us for a hike? Check out our calendar here.

Scroll to the right to see some of our hikes this year!

Photo by Colgan Johnson.

Learn more about our 2024 accomplishments in the Fells here!

MOST students survey Melrose from a rocky outcrop in the Fells.

The first day of the Fells Adventures After-school program began on April 8, 2024, the day of the total eclipse. While Massachusetts was not in the eclipse’s path of totality, students came prepared with eclipse watching glasses, and we got to experience the cool, clamminess of the air as the sky dimmed around us. It was an exciting way to start the 8-week pilot program in which eight students, grades 4-6, from the Malden Out of School Time Program (MOST) experienced new challenges of trail hiking and outdoor exploration.

Many students who participated in Fells Adventures had never been to the Fells before and had never experienced any extended time in a forest. The first day was full of wonder and curiosity, though mingled with their wonder was a palpable dose of uncertainty about what their forest experience was going to be like. It bubbled out of them, mostly in the form of questions. Questions about what creatures lived in the muddy water we passed by, and why there were so many bugs, and if there were bears and snakes! No doubt, there were some new things to get used to and some additional buy-in needed!

When we made it to our first destination – a high, rocky outcropping with views expanding all around us – we felt like we were on top of the world. With the sky gently dimming, we donned our solar eclipse glasses and soaked in the landscape spread out before us. We took time to appreciate the rare beauty of the moment and maybe, just maybe, the buy-in had begun.

In the weeks that followed, the kids settled into the forest. They watched with wonder as an owl took flight from an overhead branch. They spotted red tailed hawks soaring through the sky and frogs peeping out near the water’s muddy edge. When a garter snake startled us, slithering by under the leaf litter, it was met with screeches of excitement and curiosity, rather than with fear.

Using hand lenses, participants had a chance to observe the forest in a unique way. They uncovered, at the micro level, the underbelly of the forest. Simple moss on a stick morphed into a whole city of soft, plush green streets and alleys gently swaying in the breeze. Tiny, hairlike tentacles revealed themselves on a budding flower. On the bark of a tree, insects not visible to the naked eye were hard at work burrowing and finding food.

Kids became noticeably more comfortable being in the forest as the weeks went on. Some participants asked to lead the group, feeling empowered to walk ahead and be the first to experience the trail as it unfurled before them. Students were able to tackle steeper climbs, and they learned to support each other when precarious parts of the trail presented new challenges.

During these eight weeks, participants increased their self-confidence as an intangible connection to nature emerged within them. They traversed rocks, explored waterfalls, streams, and reservoirs, and stood tall on rocky outcroppings, proud of their accomplishments and ready for their next adventure.

The Friends of the Fells is excited to be partnering with the MOST program again this school year and will be offering both fall and spring programming. Many of the students from last spring will be participating for a second round (buy-in complete?) and new students will join in the Adventure!

Learn more about our 2024 accomplishments in the Fells here!

Board member and Trail Adapter extraordinaire Charlie McCabe leads a trail work day to clear a culvert and manage trail drainage.

In 2024, FOF trained 44 volunteers to survey and maintain Fells trails through the Trail Adopter program. We hosted 11 orientations to walk volunteers through the process of reporting trail issues such as downed trees, missing or broken blazes, dog poop bags, trash, heavy erosion, and other trail issues.

Trail Adopters submitted almost 2,000 reports this year. These reports are used not only to provide timely updates for the DCR and FOF teams to address issues, but also to provide project ideas and identify long-term park needs to both teams. Trail Adopters are crucial to maintaining Fells trails and collecting valuable data on the status and health of the forest.

Interested in getting involved? It’s easy! Apply to be a Trail Adopter here and check out our calendar for upcoming orientations.

Learn more about our 2024 accomplishments in the Fells here!

Municipal leaders activate Be Kind! campaign in the Fells

About Be Kind!

Scroll to the right to see some of our hikes this year!