About the Marsh

Belle Isle Marsh is nestled within Winthrop, East Boston, and Revere, and is an important place for both wildlife and people!

• It’s a great place for neighbors to walk, enjoy nature, or spend time with friends and family.

• It is the largest remaining salt marsh in Boston Harbor. (Salt marshes are low-lying, coastal areas predominantly made up of grasses that are flooded regularly by the ocean via incoming tides.) It is a home for birds, fish, crabs and mammals. Did you know that lots of endangered birds use Belle Isle Marsh for food, rest, or nesting? Many of them migrate hundreds or thousands of miles to get to Belle Isle!

  • Check out our Belle Isle Assessment here.

  • Ospreys nest on high platforms in the marsh. During the summer, check out Friends of Belle Isle’s Osprey webcam here to see what they’re up to.

  • See many of the bird species found in Belle Isle here.

    In 2021, we completed a study called an “environmental inventory” to assess the plants, wildlife, water, and landscape in the marsh. This will help us understand the current status of the marsh. Click here to learn more!

  • In 2023, we completed a Climate Vulnerability Assessment looking at how to protect communities from sea level rise and coastal storms while preserving the marsh. Read more here.

  • We also surveyed residents from East Boston, Revere, and Winthrop about climate change. See the results here. 

• The marsh is also important in protecting our communities from powerful storms and flooding caused by climate change. Marshes acts like a sponge , sucking up excess water or slowing water from storms and therefore protecting our communities.

Get Involved

Along with the Friends of Belle Isle Marsh, The Nature Conservancy, and MA Department of Conservation and Recreation, we are looking at ways to protect Belle Isle Marsh as open space for communities, a home for wildlife, and a nature based solution to climate change, and we want to hear from you!

Upcoming Opportunities

Check back here for upcoming engagement opportunities, or sign up here for updates!

Past public meetings

June 2024 Public Meeting about Resilient Morton Street, Winthrop | presentation and recording

November 2023 Public Meeting | English presentation and recording | Spanish presentation and recording | Arabic version of presentation

November 2023 Resilient Bennington St & Fredericks Park, Boston/Revere | recording, presentation in English and Spanish

November 2023 Resilient Morton St, Winthrop | presentation and recording

June 2023 Public Meeting | presentation and recording

June 2022 Public Meeting | presentation and recording

Want to get updates sent to your email?

Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Please feel free to contact:

Kannan Thiruvengadam, Friends of Belle Isle Marsh (sillycilantro@gmail.com)

Heather O’Brien, Friends of Belle Isle Marsh (617harbor@gmail.com)

Cat Pedemonti, Mystic River Watershed Association (catherine.pedemonti@mysticriver.org)

Thank you to our funders!

MassBays Healthy Estuaries Program :: MA Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program :: National Fish and Wildlife Federation :: Friends of Belle Isle Marsh :: The Nature Conservancy :: Mystic River Watershed Association