Mystic earth month
Get ready for Earth Month on the Mystic! Inspired by the global Earth Day 2026 theme Our Power, Our Planet, here are some fun and powerful actions you can take around the watershed this month:
VOLUNTEER ALONG THE RIVER
help sample water quality in the mystic:
Join us at the MyRWA office on Saturday, April 11th from 10AM-12PM to learn how to be a part of our baseline water quality monitoring program. Volunteers in this program collect monthly data that inform our advocacy and intervention efforts to improve water quality across the watershed. Details and Registration.
Join a volunteer event and learn about a park near you:
Arlington:
April 22-May 23 | Multiple | Arlington EcoFest | Details
April 18th | 9AM-12PM | Gardening Season Kickoff at the Arlington Reservoir | Arlington Reservoir Committee | Details
Cambridge:
April 24 | Arbor Day City Nature Challenge Bioblitz in the Alewife | Green Cambridge | Details
Charlestown:
May 2 | Love Your Block Cleanup | City of Boston | Details
Chelsea:
April 18 | 9AM-2PM | Earth Day Celebration & Bear Park Ribbon Cutting | GreenRoots & City of Chelsea | Details
April 24 | 9:30AM-3PM | Chelsea Tree Planting Block Party | GreenRoots, City of Chelsea Tree Board, MyRWA | Details
East Boston:
April 18 | 9AM-12:30PM | Signs of Spring BioBlitz at Belle Isle Marsh | DCR & The Trustees of Reservations | Details
May 2 | 10AM-12PM | Park Serve Day at Belle Isle Marsh | DCR & MyRWA | Details
May 2 | Love Your Block Cleanup | City of Boston | Details
Everett:
April 25 | 9:30AM-1PM | Everett Earth Day at Gateway Park — clean up trash and join wetland and bare-root tree planting | City of Everett, Clean Up Everett, MyRWA | Details
Medford:
April 18 | 1PM-4PM | Lower Mystic Lake Cleanup & Potluck | Body & Brain Riverwalk | Details
April 25 | 10AM-12PM | DCR Park Serve Day at Torbert Macdonald Park | DCR & MyRWA | Details
May 2 | 10AM-12:30PM | The Mayor's Citywide Cleanup | Mayor Lungo-Koehn | Details
Malden:
April 12 | 12PM-3:30PM | Spring Malden River Cleanup | Friends of the Malden River, Tisch College, Tufts Athletics, Gentle Giant Rowing, and MyRWA | Details
April 18 | 10AM-12PM | Waitt's Mount Cleanup | City Councilor Ryan O’Malley & Great Malden Outdoors | Details
Somerville:
April 18 | Earth Day Workday & Celebration | Groundwork Somerville | Save the Date
April 18 | Ball Square Cleanup | 11AM | Somerville Cleanups | Details
April 25 | East Somerville Cleanup | 10AM-12PM | East Somerville Main Streets & Assembly Row | Details
May 2 | Davis Square Cleanup | 11AM | Somerville Cleanups | Details
Stoneham:
April 25 | 10AM-1PM | Stoneham Spring Cleanup and Earth Day Celebration | Keep Stoneham Beautiful | Details
Wilmington:
April 19-25 | Multiple | Town of Wilmington Earth Week Cleanups | Details
Woburn:
April 25 | 9AM-11:30AM | Rag Rock Cleanup | City of Woburn, Friends of Horn Pond, Woburn Public Library, MyRWA | Details
Not in the watershed? Check out the other places around MA that are hosting Park Serve Day cleanups with DCR here. You can also participate in the Boston City Nature Challenge from April 24th to May 10th and help collect biodiversity observations on iNaturalist!
ADD YOUR VOICE TO WATERSHED DECISIONS
JOIN THE MALDEN YOUTH CLIMATE SUMMIT:
The Malden River Media Makers invite you to join them at the Malden Youth Climate Summit on Saturday April 18th from 12-4pm at Malden City Hall. The Summit is being organized and hosted by Malden River area youth and will bring together youth to engage and discuss a variety of important climate topics, centered around our region. Topics will include workshops on the environmental impacts of Artificial Intelligence, Environmental Justice, Climate Communications, Ecology, and more!
PARTICIPATE IN WAYFINDING evaluations
How would you upgrade wayfinding in the Mystic River and Alewife Brook Reservations? Wayfinding is about helping people find their way in unfamiliar places and giving people the means to follow new routes and modes of travel (from the MassTrails Bike Wayfinding Design Guide). Join us at two upcoming events in April to identify wayfinding improvements and inform the development of a Mystic Greenways wayfinding plan:
SPREAD THE POWER OF JOY
Experience the many joys of the watershed and share your joy with friends, family, and neighbors!
Click to enlarge.
PAINT RIVER HERRING AT AN UPCOMING GO FISH WORKSHOP
The Mystic River Watershed Association and ArtsArlington are teaming up for GO FISH! — a participatory public art project celebrating the heroic herring of the Mystic River! These free events are open to all ages and levels of experience; all materials are provided. We invite you to speak up — through art — for the importance of environmental stewardship, wildlife protection, and a vibrant, creative, diverse community. With your help, two thousand individually painted fish will swim across the brick walls of East Arlington storefronts this June! Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
30th Herring Run & Paddle tshirt design by MyRWA Artist-in-Residence Andres Duarte
Sign up for our annual herring run & paddle
The Mystic River Herring Run and Paddle runs every May and celebrates the return of the river herring. The event includes a 5K run/walk race, three paddle distances (3 miles, 9 miles or 12 miles), a Wellness Blueprint mobility class, a bike ride with Bike to the Sea, and more. Your participation in Herring Run & Paddle directly supports our organization and raises awareness about the incredible herring migration in our river and the importance of clean water and parks to recreate in.
Participate in our 30k walk/run challenge!
Get ready for our 30th annual Herring Run and Paddle with our 30k walk/run challenge. Join the challenge for the chance to win Patagonia gear! We have FIVE 5k routes around the watershed you can try to train for the final 5k of the challenge at Herring Run & Paddle.
donate to the mystic river watershed association
No matter the size, your donation will move important projects forward right here where we live, and in the communities we love.
Photo Credits: Cover: Ram Subramanian, 1: Angela Rowlings, 2: Karl Alexander, 3: David Mussina
