Charles River Conservancy

Ever wonder what that floating patch of green in the Charles River is? It’s the Charles River Conservancy’s floating wetland and it’s just returned to its mooring for the season! Learn about how this unique feature helps increase biodiversity and support local ecological changes. And check the link in our bio for more information!

A reminder to get outside and show some love to Boston’s waterfront areas! This past Waterfront Wellness Weekend, I spent the day at @HerterPark helping clean up the @MassDCR Charles River banks as part of the 27th Annual Charles River Earth Day Cleanup. Huge thanks to the @charlesriverconservancy and @bostonwaterfrontcoalition for all they do! Giving back to the places we enjoy every day just hits different. So grab a friend, get outside, and maybe bring a trash bag with you next time 👀 #makebostonhome #thingstodoinboston #CharlesRiverCleanup #WaterfrontWellnessWeekend

BIG NEWS! We’re beyond excited to introduce our 2026 Graffiti/Street Art Artists-in-Residence at Lynch Family Skatepark: Victoria DelValle (@thirteenvicarchive ) and Ananda Toulon (@anandatoulon )! Boston-based visual artists DelValle and Toulon built a strong creative relationship through their shared fellowship at @artists.for.humanity , and the 2026 skatepark residency marks the formal project debut of their work as a duo. Together, DelValle and Toulon bring complementary strengths in visual narrative, spray-paint fluency, and community-centered making—creating work that evolves through presence, dialogue, and participation. You won’t want to miss their visual signatures of saturated color and surreal symbolism emerge and flow on the concrete pillar backdrop of skaters shredding all summer. Come celebrate with us at Lynch on Saturday, May 30 (12–4pm, all ages, free!) for “Double Take: Skate, Paint, Imaginate”. Meet Victoria and Ananda, catch live painting in action, skate, connect, or simply vibe. Coordinated alongside @childish.rayvino , the skatepark will have live DJs, treats, skate and apparel vendors, and perfect summer vibes! Music sets and vendor details to come!! Stay tuned 🛹‼️ 📷: @childish.rayvino #lynchskatepark #freeactivitiesboston #skate #paint #livemusic

Last week the CRC team took a field trip to Watertown to visit the recently redesigned Arsenal Park (celebrating its first spring season following the park’s grand reopening in summer 2025). Staff from the City of Watertown (@watertownmagov ) led our site walk and shared project insights including park upgrades, accessibility, and community feedback. This shiny new version of the park has one of the tallest slides (20 feet high!) in Massachusetts, tennis courts, basketball courts, open fields, pavilions and seating areas, a skatepark (featuring a @crocpaints original piece!), and a community garden. Arsenal Park sits at an important crossroads within a growing network of greenways, paths, and public spaces that connect communities throughout Watertown, Cambridge, and the Charles River Reservation. Positioned near the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway and the DCR Charles River pathways around the “Little Greenough” area, the park helps link together routes for walking, biking, running, and commuting across the region. This patchwork of connected pathways creates safer, more accessible ways for people to move between neighborhoods while also expanding access to nature and recreation within the city. Projects like these continue to transform formerly disconnected spaces into vibrant public resources that strengthen community connectivity and make Greater Boston a more welcoming and accessible place to live. #greenways #watertowncambridgegreenway #charlesriver #arsenalpark

Interested in a FREE way to explore the city safely on a bike? The Guided Ride Series, presented by A Better City TMA (@abctma ), is a free program designed to help people feel confident navigating Greater Boston by bike. Participants will be guided along comfortable, protected bike routes while learning just how easy, convenient, and enjoyable biking in Boston can be. Greater Boston has developed an expanding network of bike infrastructure and through these free guided rides, residents will learn how to combine biking with public transit @thembta to create seamless, flexible transportation options throughout the city, while feeling more comfortable on their bikes. Weekday and weekend rides are available now! Some rides focus on an “urban loop” around downtown Boston, Kendall Square, Back Bay, and the South End, while others focus on key destinations like UMass Boston and the Southwest Corridor. Check out @abctma and reserve your spot using the link in their bio. These Guided Rides are intended for individuals who already know how to ride a bicycle and are interested in becoming more comfortable biking in an urban environment. 📸: @abctma #bikeboston #freeactivitiesinboston #bikehappy #cycling

This Earth Day, our community showed up in an incredible way. Across 26 cleanup locations along the lower Charles River, more than 700 volunteers came together to care for our shared public spaces, collecting an estimated 550 bags of trash (with an estimated 1,000 pounds of litter/trash) through CRC-organized efforts alone. From riverbanks and playgrounds to greenways and skateparks, your time, energy, and dedication made a visible impact along the Charles River. Thank you to every volunteer, partner, coordinator, donor, and supporter who spent their Earth Day Week giving back to the environment and helping create cleaner, healthier, and more welcoming parks. Remember that everyday is Earth day: Let’s keep these cleanup efforts going all year round and join the CRC for upcoming volunteer events! Here's to a clean Charles River and beautiful @massdcr parks. 📸: @ceijay_photography @bosbaka.fc Boston Sakura #earthday2026 #parkcleanup #volunteers #charlesriver

Join the Charles River Conservancy for an engaging conversation on how floating wetlands are strengthening communities and improving urban ecosystems in Boston and across the globe. Featuring leading voices from the Charles River Conservancy, the Wild Mile in Chicago (@urbanrivers ), the National Aquarium in Baltimore (@nationalaquarium ), and Scotland-based Bioengineering firm Biomatrix Water (@biomatrixwatersolutions ), this conversation brings real-world perspectives from the experts who are leading meaningful change. Chris Mancini (@savetheharbor ) will moderate the panel. Event Schedule: 5:00pm - 5:30pm: Refreshments and socializing 5:30pm - 6:30pm: Floating Wetland Panel 6:30pm - 7:00pm: Q&A 📅Tuesday, May 12, 2026 from 5:00pm - 7:00pm. 📍Barr Foundation (@barrfdn ) Offices, 2 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA ✅Attendance is FREE. Pre-registration is REQUIRED. See link in bio for registration form. 📷 (aerial shot): @russlaman #floatingwetland #biomatrix #savetheharborsavethebay #bostonma #wildmile #charlesriver

Each spring, the Charles River becomes a vital spawning ground for fish species such as the Alewife, Blueback Herring, American Shad, and Rainbow Smelt. These fish are key players in the local ecosystem and are a historical representation of Indigenous food sovereignty and cultural ways of life. Interested in volunteering your time to support long-term river health? The @charlesriverwatershed needs your help to collect data on how many fish are able to use the ladder at Watertown Dam! By counting fish, you will play a critical role in the understanding of how dams affect American Shad, Blueback Herring, Alewives, Rainbow Smelt, White Perch, Striped Bass, and American Eel. Learn more about how to volunteer and collect data for the Charles River Herring Count at crwa.org/fish-count #charlesriver #herring #riverecosystems #riverhealth #biodiversity

More fun for your Sundays are now here! A segment of Memorial Drive in @cambridgemass is closed to vehicular traffic from 11am to 7pm from the last Sunday of April through the second Sunday of November, creating a large stretch of open space alongside the parklands to accommodate cycling, skating, running, and a range of other activities. Due to ongoing construction associated with the @massdcr Memorial Drive Greenway Improvements, Phase III project, car-free areas of Memorial Drive on Sundays will be temporarily modified throughout the 2026 season and will extend only from JFK Street to Western Avenue. Learn more by clicking the link in bio! 🔗 #riverbendpark #memorialdrive #cambridgemass #charlesriver

Last week, we joined 5th and 6th grade classrooms at the William Monroe Trotter School (@bostonschools ) to deliver our @mitseagrant STEAM Activity Kits and teach about river ecosystems and the floating wetland alongside @biobus , a partner organization focused on youth STEM education and programming. In the classroom, students explored daphnia (small planktonic crustaceans) and learned about their anatomy and physiology. These tiny organisms will be hatched as part of the STEAM activity kits that BPS students will continue exploring in the coming weeks. STEAM Kits help students understand the importance of the floating wetland, and how this green infrastructure functions, as well as better educating youth on the natural resources they have to explore in the city. Taking a closer look at daphnia using miniscopes and a stereoscope helped students better understand exactly what they’ll be hatching as part of their mock floating wetlands. Building this foundation will help students develop a deeper awareness of the complexities of ecosystems, biology, and multicellular organisms. Thank you to BioBus for partnering with us to bring this hands-on, pop-up lab experience to the Trotter School, and for providing the microscopes and daphnia expertise! Looking to learn more about STEAM activity kits and daphnia? Visit our website to explore the floating wetland, youth education programs, and more. 🔬🚣 #STEAMKits #floatingwetland #biology #charlesriver #bps #STEM

Exciting things are coming to Lynch Family Skatepark this summer! Mark your calendars for an unforgettable “Skate, Paint, Imaginate” event on Saturday, May 30, showcasing the 2026 Graffiti/Street Artist-in-Residence, alongside live music, interactive painting workshops, skating, snacks, and great vibes. Stay tuned for more details! Lynch Family Skatepark - Saturday May 30th East Cambridge, @massdcr Free and open to all Don’t miss it!! 🛹 Photo: @c__visuals_ #publicart #graffti #skate #blading #freecambridgeevents #freebostonevents

@massdcr Park Serve Day turns 20! 🏞️ Come celebrate two decades of community service to benefit public lands by registering to help out at an event near you! Parks make a difference, so show your love and commitment to your community and green spaces by signing up. 🔗Check the link in our bio for details. See you in the parks! 🌱 #parkcleanup #volunteer #massparks #communityservice