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Mystic River Watershed Quest

Welcome to the Watershed Quest!

The Quest is a fun way to explore and discover the wide variety of activities to enjoy in our 22 watershed communities!

The rules are easy: Take part in and log as many activities as possible in the Mystic River Watershed! (see a list of Mystic communities at ​ https://mysticriver.org/faqs) The Quest closes October 1, 2017. Individuals and teams from 2 to 10 people (such as schools, families, Girl/Boy ​ ​ ​ Scout Troops, clubs, etc.) can participate.

Please document your activities by marking off the date you completed the activity, including comments and/or photos. Share your experience via social media by tagging your activity with #MysticQuest – and we might feature you on our social media outlets! Quest winners will be recognized ​ ​ on our website and social media and at our 45th Annual Meeting.

Suggested activities are listed below, arranged by location and type of activity – Arts, History, Engagement, Nature/Wildlife, Landmarks and ​ Recreation. Pick out some of these to enjoy, or add your own in the spaces provided! Just be sure to log the date on which you enjoyed each activity.

See you around the Mystic!

Have questions? Email [email protected] or call Beth at 781-316-3438. ​ ​ ​

MYSTIC RIVER WATERSHED ASSOCIATION, 20 ACADEMY STREET, SUITE 306, ARLINGTON, MA 02476 | (781) 316-3438 | MYSTICRIVER.ORG

Tell us a bit about yourself to be eligible for Quest prizes!

Name: ______Date Submitted: ______

Email: ______

Mailing Address: ______

Team Name (if applicable): ______

Team Members (if applicable): ______

______

Team Captain (if applicable; must be 18 or older): ______

How did you hear about the quest? ______

Experiencing Art

Date City/Town Venue Activity More information Dallin Museum/Jefferson Arlington View Dallin sculptures or another art exhibit www.dallin.org Cutter House View “Menotomy Indian Hunter” statue by Arlington Robbins Town Gardens www.menotomytrail.com/x/id27.htm Cyrus Dallin Attend an Apollinaire Theatre Co. Chelsea Mary O’Malley Park www.apollinairetheatre.com performance (English & Spanish) Visit the wind sculpture by William Wainwright next to the historic granite pier. The park was acquired from the federal government after the closing of the historic https://www.chelseama.gov/parks-p Chelsea Naval Hospital, and has striking Chelsea Mary O’Malley Park laygrounds/pages/mary-omalley-par views of the harbor and the over k the Mystic River. Tennis courts and a large open lawn area for concerts and picnics are also available. The park is open year round, dawn to dusk Attend a festival, concert or outdoor movie www.yelp.com/biz/medford-condon- Medford Condon Shell night right along the Mystic River shell-medford View portraits and military uniforms, as well Medford City Hall www.medfordma.org as rotating art exhibits Sylvester Baxter Riverfront www.somervillerec.com/info/facilitie Somerville Attend a summer movie on the riverfront Park s/details.aspx?FacilityID=14364 View the Mystic Mural on Mystic Ave. in http://www.somervilleartscouncil.org Somerville Mystic Ave Somerville /node/1070

Add your art related Quest item here!

Do Your Part

Date City/Town Venue Activity More information Contact your elected officials, urging them to consider the local environment and water Anywhere Anywhere quality; and/or inviting them to local environmental events Address stormwater runoff by installing a rain Anywhere Anywhere https://www.epa.gov/soakuptherain barrel or planting a rain garden in your yard Arlington, dam/Virtual Volunteer to count fish during the Herring Run https://www.mysticherring.org/ Medford (mysticherring.org) migration in person or via video Tell a friend or a thousand friends on your Various Social media Facebook account about the Mystic River Watershed Attend a Conservation Commission meeting Various City or town hall in your city or town. Attend a meeting or event, such as a cleanup, of one of the many other watershed environmental organizations such as the Chelsea Collaborative, Friends of Alewife Various Various Reservation, Friends of the , Friends of the Mystic River, Friends of Spy Pond Park, Woburn Residents Environmental Network

Add your stewardship related quest item here!

Get Active

Date City/Town Venue Activity More information Mary Cummings Park, Take a walk, find old stone walls, see a sunset across a meadow Burlington, http://marycummingspark.org/nature-wal Whispering Hills or meet up with others on the first Saturday of each month during Woburn ks Conservation Area the 10 a.m. walk that is offered https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/massac Cambridge Fresh Pond Reservation Take a walk on the 2.5 mile Loop Trail husetts/fresh-pond-reservation-loop-trail Tour the Northern Strand Community Path and check out the rain https://www.traillink.com/trail/northern-st Everett bike path gardens along the way! rand-community-trail/ Hike up Waitts Mountain to get a view of Harbor and the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waitt%27s_ Malden Waitts Mountain watershed Mountain Malden, The Fells has something for everyone: hikers, mountain bikers, Medford, Middlesex Fells horseback riders, rock climbers, cross-country skiers and Melrose, Reservation (DCR)- http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/ picnickers as well as natural and cultural history buffs. There are massparks/region-north/middlesex-fells- Stoneham, largest open space in the also a variety of public programs (Babes in the Woods, Senior reservation.html and Mystic! Walk, Treasure Hunt, etc.) Winchester

Revere Take a stroll along Revere Beach

Blessing of the Bay Rent a canoe, kayak or SUP for a Mystic River outing, or sign-up https://www.somervillerec.com/info/facili Somerville Boathouse/PaddleBoston for a crew class with the Gentle Giant Rowing Club. ties/details.aspx?FacilityID=14318 Walk or bike along the Minuteman Trail, a 10-mile paved bike pat Various Various http://minutemanbikeway.org/ through Bedford, Lexington, Arlington and Cambridge.

Shannon Beach, Mystic Go for a swim at this public DCR beach. Explore the surrounding http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/ Winchester massparks/region-boston/mystic-river-re River Reservation park servation.html Get a view of Boston from Horn Pond Mountain/Mount Towanda Horn Pond-Once a site for https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_ Woburn while you hike to site of now “lost” ski area and rare wildflowers Review-g41948-d7142157-Reviews-Hor ice harvesting in spring n_Pond-Woburn_Massachusetts.html

Add your activity related quest item here!

Get Wild With Wildlife

Date City/Town Venue Activity More information various, but could include Find bald eagles (especially at the Mystic Lakes), Anywhere Medford's Brooks Estate, black-crowned night herons, geese, great blue herons, Torbert Macdonald Park. owls, painted turtles, red-tailed hawks, etc... Paddle the pond to view turtles, swans, geese, ducks, http://arlington.wickedlocal.com/article Arlington Spy Pond/Elizabeth Island bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, great blue herons and /20140808/news/140807516 more! Arlington, http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dc Take a walk, look for wildlife, attend a program, or Belmont, Alewife Brook Reservation r/massparks/region-boston/alewife-br explore the constructed wetland. Cambridge ook-reservation.html Mass Audubon Habitat Explore the 88 acre sanctuary or attend one of the http://www.massaudubon.org/get-out Belmont Wildlife Sanctuary exciting programs to learn more about wildlife doors/wildlife-sanctuaries/habitat http://www.massaudubon.org/our-con servation-work/wildlife-research-cons Look for snowy egrets, great egrets and glossy ibises in ervation/statewide-bird-monitoring/ma Belle Isle Marsh breeding season ssachusetts-important-bird-areas-iba/i mportant-bird-area-sites/belle-isle-ma rsh Arlington, Hidden just off the busy thoroughfare of Massachuserrs http://www.foagm.org/ Lexington Avenue is a natural area of over 185 acres in size.

Add your wildlife activity related quest item here!

Discover History

Date City/Town Venue Activity More information Tour the living industrial museum and Arlington Old Schwamb Mill www.oldschwambmill.org woodworking shop USS Constitution & Step aboard “Old Ironsides” then take a virtual Charlestown https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/ Museum voyage Royall House and Tour the 18th century home of the largest Medford www.royallhouse.org Slave Quarters slaveholding family in MA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Ship_Stre Visit the Riverside Avenue and Pleasant Street et_Historic_District Medford Shipbuilding District area where clipper ships were built and shipbuilders lived www.medfordhistorical.org/medford-history/ about-medford/medford-built-sailing-ships/ Grandfather’s House Visit the namesake from the poem “Over the river https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandfather%2 Medford (Paul Curtis House) the through the woods…” 7s_House West Medford Take a self-guided tour of West Medford’s historic Medford Afro-American www.brandeis.edu/projects/westmedford/ Afro-American neighborhood Walking Tour Visit the site of Ten Hills Farm, summer retreat of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Hills,_So Somerville Ten Hills the Bay Colony’s first governor, merville,_Massachusetts Find remnants of the aqueduct that carried the http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.co Wilmington canal over the on the m/middlesex-canal-americas-1st-superhigh aqueduct Wilmington/Billerica town line way/

Add your history related quest item here!

Visit Watershed Landmarks

Date City/Town Venue Activity More information , Port Walk around Chelsea Creek at Port Park and the lower http://www.chelsearecord.com/2014/0 Chelsea Park, Mystic River, Mystic River at Mary O’Malley Park 7/03/port-park-offers-stunning-views/ Tobin Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_E Somerville Dam Observe boats and paddlers go through the locks arhart_Dam Wright’s Tower, Visit Wright's Tower and enjoy views of http://www.wickedcheapboston.com/w Medford Middlesex Fells and Revere Beach rights-tower-medford/ Reservation Climb to the top of the observation tower, take a walk http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dc DCR Torbert Medford on the park's miles of trails, enjoy the new river r/massparks/region-boston/mystic-rive Macdonald Park overlook r-reservation.html Take the T to Wellington Station and explore the Park at River’s Edge along the Malden River. Check out the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malden_R Medford Malden River interpretive panels detailing the site's history and iver transformation! Deer Island Tour the facility or walk around the public walkways https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer_Isla Winthrop Wastewater and trails nd_Waste_Water_Treatment_Plant Treatment Plant Locke Farm Lexington & Conservation https://www.google.com/#q=locke+far Check out the birding and some glacial erratics Winchester Area/Whipple Hill m+conservation+area 120 acres

Add your watershed landmark related quest item here!