Donor Impact Highlights: 2022-2023

Thank you for supporting a healthy, resilient and accessible Neponset River Watershed.

Our members, donors and volunteers helped to drive some amazing accomplishments around the Watershed over the last year. See below for a few of the highlights, and THANK YOU for making all this and more possible!

Build Climate Resilience

Assembled a coalition of 12 communities from Quincy and Boston all the way to Foxborough, to explore implementation of climate adaptation measures on a regional basis.
Developed a Watershed-wide flood model to identify areas that will flood as the climate continues changing and begin evaluating options to reduce impacts on residents and businesses.
Reviewed land use regulations in 11 communities and recommended changes to advance climate resilience.
Secured funding for continued work with communities on flooding and climate education.
Helped secure funding to study climate-driven water quality problems at Lake Massapoag.

Restore Habitats

Finished removal of the Mill Pond Dam on Traphole Brook and the Canton Avenue Dam on Pine Tree Brook.
Formalized partnerships with Walpole and Foxborough to expand water conservation programs.
Secured partial funding for new salt marsh restoration projects.
Completed design plans for replacing a problem culvert on Traphole Brook in Sharon.

Stop Water Pollution

Helped Dedham adopt new fee-based stormwater funding mechanism, and supported planning in other towns.
Advocated for stronger state and federal stormwater requirements that recognize climate change.
Completed eight new stormwater retrofit designs in four communities.
Helped secure $300,000 to help Walpole clean up stormwater pollution.
Introduced an expanded water quality report card with more data sources.
Began monitoring road salt pollution that impacts drinking water.

Educate Our Youth and Local Residents

Reached some 3,000 fifth graders across 10 towns with our watershed curriculum.
Reached residents in 12 communities, more than 100,000 homes, on how to manage pet waste, fertilizers, yard waste, septic systems, and dumpsters.

Create Greenways and Open Space

Construction started on Tenean Beach to Morrissey Boulevard section of the Greenway.
Trained two summer interns who gained valuable work experience, surveyed Greenway users, and planned for removal of invasive plants.
Completed construction of a new boardwalk on the Quincy RiverWalk with volunteer labor.
Continued collaboration with neighbors of Hyde Park’s Doyle Park and Mattapan’s Edgewater Park, both now almost ready for construction.
Advanced plan for new River access near West Street in Hyde Park.
Partnered with the Greenway Council on trail maintenance, education and informational kiosks.
Brought people together to advocate for connecting the Neponset Greenway to the Blue Hills and collected 1,000+ survey responses.

Leverage Volunteer Power

Rallied 400+ volunteers across 20+ sites for River and park cleanups.
Volunteers collected 1,200+ water quality measurements at 41 sites, to document pollution & waterway health.
Volunteers removed hundreds of pounds of invasive plants.

Prioritize Environmental Justice

Partnered with X-cel Education and KeySteps to provide environmental science training for underserved youth.
Helped EPA organize community outreach meetings for the Lower Neponset Superfund site.
EPA began cleanup of the infamous Lewis Chemical site in Hyde Park.
Successfully killed a second electronic billboard proposal near the River.
Completed 20+ public outreach events, introducing some 2,000 people to the River, with a focus on engaging EJ communities.