US EPA to unveil new smartphone app

Please join MyRWA and the US EPA for this special announcement on Friday at 2:00PM at the Upper Mystic Lake dam - let's bring a crowd!

In support of the Fall 2012 launch of the Riverview Project, Below the Surface will embark on a paddle down the Mystic River.  The team will paddle from the Upper Mystic Lake in Medford, MA and paddle downstream to the Little Mystic Access Area near the mouth of the Mystic River in Boston Harbor.  US EPA Administrator Nancy Stoner will join the team for a 2 pm kickoff event officially acknowledging restoration work on the Mystic River, and launching Below the Surface’s Riverview Project Mobile App as a crowdsourced tool to engage citizens in enjoying and protecting rivers and coastline.

Show your support of the Mystic & send-off the paddlers!

Arlington To Get Two new rain gardens!

Hardy School before rain garden implementation.

MyRWA and the Town of Arlington have settled on two rain garden locations:

• Hurd Field

• Hardy School

Your input is needed!

Please attend the final Community Meeting to review the designs and help select plants on Thurs. Oct. 11, 7pm, at 27 Maple St., ground floor conference room, Arlington. Free and open to the public.

Excavation and plantings are being scheduled for Oct. 2012. Check back for more updates! The Hardy School Rain Garden design was generously provided by Fay, Spofford & Thorndike (FST).

18th annual Mystic River Fall Cleanup Announced

Friends of the Mystic River will hold its 18th annual Mystic River Fall Cleanup from 9:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012. For more information see: http://www.fomr.org/

Check-in is at the Condon Band Shell park on Mystic Valley Parkway (Route 16), east of Winthrop Street across from St. Joseph's Church. Volunteers are invited to collect trash and debris in the Condon Shell Park/Route 16 area, or at any other location of their choosing between the Lower Mystic Lake and Torbert MacDonald Park.

The Friends will supply bags, gloves and pokers. Refreshments also will be provided.

Volunteers also are needed to help staff the check-in table.

In the event of heavy rain on Sept. 29, the cleanup will be canceled.

Friends of the Mystic River (www.fomr.org) is a Medford-based community organization focused on the enjoyment, protection and enhancement of the Mystic River in Medford.

For more information, call 781-391-2604 or e-mail Mystic02155@hotmail.com.

Somerville Depaving Project Oct. 13

Sponsored by Somerville Climate Action:

DePAVE the WAY to a sustainable future

Take part in the greening of Somerville

Cador & Lenni from Somerville Climate Action are organizing a Depaving Party:

* * Saturday October 13 from noon to 4pm * *

Esther Kim's house at 109 Rogers Ave. (Ball Square)

Rain date: Sunday, Oct. 14 from noon to 4pm

If you haven't already, please sign up on this Google Groups form to let us know you'll be there.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFFZbE1OS05XblFXYl9EQUc2UzVKcmc6MQ

For safety, we ask all active participants to be at least 14 years old.

Younger children must be supervised by a parent at all times at the event.

See the TEDxSomerville DePAVE the WAY video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlTG0Y_zknc

Check out the time-lapse Depaving Maple Avenue video:

http://somerville.patch.com/articles/residents-rip-up-18000-pounds-of-asphalt#video-2291440

For a high-energy party we need:

* Hands-on work:

- Wield a sledgehammer and pick axe to pry up the asphalt

- Haul chunks of asphalt in a wheelbarrow to the dumpster

* Tasty food

* Energizing music

* Help in organizing volunteers

* Help organize publicity

* Organize clean-up

A Kayak Trip: The History, Birds, and Environment of the Mystic River

Please join us on Saturday, October 13, 9am-12pm for an informative paddling trip on the Mystic River in Medford.

Starting and ending at the Condon Band Shell, Route 16, Medford.

Join the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) to explore the Mystic and Malden Rivers and hear from leader Rick Beinecke and MyRWA staff about the rich history, natural life, and environmental issues on these local rivers. The trip will start and end at the Condon Bandshell put-in on Route 16 and is limited to 15 boats. Bring your own boat and PFD.

Fee: $10 suggested donation. Rain date October 14.

Register today by emailing Beth@MysticRiver.org

This is part of the 2012 Medford on the Mystic Arts Festival.

Ethanol Transport Community Forum 9/13

Sponsored by the Chelsea Collaborative

You are invited to an important community forum where we will discuss and inform residents of Chelsea, East Boston, Everett, Revere and other affected communities about an egregious proposal to bring 280+ million gallons of high flammable ethanol through our community by rail.   

The meeting will map out steps to stop the ethanol trains. It will take place on September 13, 2012 at 6pm at the Williams Community School, 180 Walnut Street Chelsea (please enter on the Arlington St. side).

 As you may remember, Global Oil located in Revere, MA, proposes to bring freight trains carrying ethanol to its facility along the Chelsea River.  Ethanol is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid that burns at extremely high temperatures.  Global is proposing to bring 187,200,000 - 280,800,000 gallons of ethanol through the communities of Fitchburg, Leominster, Ayer, Littleton, Acton, Concord, Lincoln, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Boston and Chelsea to their final destination in Revere.                         

A 2011 study commissioned by the state Department of Environmental Protection found ethanol is now the largest volume of hazardous material being transported by rail.   

 Alcohol-resistant foam is necessary to extinguish ethanol fires along with specially trained fire-fighters. 

 Just a few weeks ago, the public witnessed the derailment of a commuter rail train in Belmont, MA; and an accident where a car was crushed by a train in Medford, MA.  An accident involving these proposed ethanol trains could decimate entire neighborhoods throughout the Commonwealth.

We need your help to stop the "bomb trains!"

Join us on September 13th at 6pm
Williams Community School
180 Walnut Street, Chelsea MA 02150

Meet Me At the Mystic Draws Paddlers, Artists, Musicians, Families to the Banks of the Mystic

Photo by David Mussina.

On a sunny and gusty day, over 30 paddlers took to the Mystic Lakes along with bicyclists, walkers and others to enjoy art and live music. The day celebrated all the Mystic has to offer as part of this 40th Anniversary event, and brought together approximately 150 people. MyRWA would like to thank everyone who joined in the festivities and especially the volunteers who planned the event, Charles River Canoe and Kayak, Dunkin Donuts, Whole Foods of Medford, the Medford Boat Club and all of the wonderful artists and musicians!

Musicians:

• Ceol Maidin ag an Abhainn

• The Pennies

• Leftist Marching Band

• Katya Popova

• Miller’s English

• Ryan Stapler, Lowbred Watts

• Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure

• Society Brass Band

• Dan Blakeslee

• Chris Nauman

• Anthony Leva

Dancers:

• Red Herring Morris Dancers

En Plein Air Artists: Marilyn Davidson,

Cambia Davis, Jenn DesAutels, Peg Kane,

Massoudeh Edmond, Tina Riedel, Karen Wibhey.

Call for Volunteers to Paint A Mural at the Mystic Lakes Dam, Medford

Help paint a mural!

The mural will be on the parking lot, located in a no-parking area near the Medford Boat Club. Volunteers should wear old clothes, and bring along knee pads if you have them as well as a bottle of water.

Painting Date: Sunday: October 14th, 9 am to 6 pm

Rain Date: Sunday: October 21st, 9 am to 6 pm  

Artist seeking two or three assistants to copy a mural design onto the site at the Mystic Lakes Dam in Medford. Assistants need to be able to draw well and have the ability to scale a design up by hand. This is an opportunity for artists to learn about the process of transferring a design for a large scale image, and to learn about the craft of mural making with an experienced muralist.

We will work a full day on Saturday, October 13th.

Community painting day will be on Sunday, October 14th.

RSVP to Beth@MysticRiver.org and include any art experience you may have.

Calling All Artists for Meet Me at the Mystic, 9/8!

Beginners or professionals, join artists on the banks of the Mystic River to draw, paint, sketch en plein air with a core group of accomplished artists as part of the Meet Me at the Mystic event.  Bring your own easel and materials.   Appropriate for children - simply bring a sketch pad and chair or blanket along with markers, pencils or crayons.  Whether your art involves nature, light, trees, people, water, come find inspiration with a morning en plein air!  

Meeting time and location:
Saturday, September 8th 10-12
The field on the banks of the Mystic River
Mystic Valley Parkway, Medford
(North of High Street, near the intersection of Kilgore Ave & the Parkway)
On street parking available.

Bike Tour As Part of Meet Me at the Mystic, 9/8

Meet Me at the Mystic - A Special 40th Anniversary Celebration!

Saturday, September 8th, 9AM - Noon

Paddling, art, music - and now a bicycle tour as well!

Join the fun of this movable festival along the Mystic River. Cyclists will meet near the canoe launch at the Mystic Lakes Dam, Medford at 9:00 am.  We will wave the paddlers off at 9:30 as they voyage across the lake. Cyclists will then follow the course of the river at a leisurely pace stopping to listen to the musicians along the way and sharing camaraderie with the paddlers in the river. The cyclists will then proceed further along the river exploring the new Alewife Brook Bike Trail to the Alewife T station and farther, time permitting. Cyclists will them loop back along the same route and rejoin the paddlers on the river as they return up stream to the Mystic Lakes Dam, for refreshments and more music at noon.  This is a fun, leisure paced ride for the whole family. Art bikes, fun bikes and fat tired cruisers recommended.