Take Action
Volunteer
MyRWA depends on you to keep our parks and paths clean! Check out these opportunities to volunteer independently or for larger groups or corporations click here! To see all upcoming events, visit our calendar.
river and park cleanups
We all see places that can use some TLC. Nominate a park or path for a trash cleanup to help inform our cleanup locations this year.
Get outside and enjoy the many parks and paths in the Mystic while cleaning up litter. You can find all the maps for self-guided cleanups here (English and Spanish) and the safety protocols here (English and Spanish).
Check out our Trash-Free Mystic initiative to learn more about reducing trash in the watershed.
INVASIVE PLANT REMOVAL
Join us for community volunteer days to remove invasive plants on land in the spring and fall and on the water in the summer! Volunteer dates will be posted to our calendar and sent out in our monthly eNewsletter.
BASELINE WATER QUALITY MONITORING
Volunteers in this program collect monthly data for our Mystic River EPA water quality grades. To get involved, sign up for our Water Quality Monitor Training Interest Form. No prior experience is necessary.
For more information, email our Watershed Field Scientist Jennifer Delgado at jennifer.delgado@mysticriver.org.
COUNT HERRING ONLINE
Each spring (April-June), around 500,000 river herring migrate up the Mystic River. You can help us document the herring migration by counting fish online! Learn more about online herring counting here.
Become a River Rep
Help connect your community to the Mystic River! Complete a brief training to learn about Mystic River Watershed Association programs and volunteer to be a MyRWA River Representative at a community event near you. Interest form here.
support Myrwa education programs
Interested in learning how you can volunteer to support MyRWA's educational programs in communities throughout our watershed? Reach out to our Watershed Educator Natalia Bayona at natalia.bayona@mysticriver.org.
Credits: 1-2) Daria Santollani, 3) Marissa Zampino, 4) Natalia Bayona
Small Actions that Make a Big Difference
ADOPT-A-DRAIN
Help prevent stormwater pollution and flooding by adopting a local storm drain! All you need to do is check on that drain and remove any excess trash/build up before and after heavy rain, wind, or snow. Check out this webpage to learn more and to sign up through your town’s adopt-a-drain platform.
Stormwater-friendly practices
Stormwater pollution occurs when rain or snowmelt washes pollutants such as oil, fertilizers, pet waste, and trash over land and into the nearest catch basin, which flows directly to the nearest water body. You can reduce this pollution by picking up after your pet, using phosphorus-free fertilizer, keeping leaves and trash out of storm drains, and more!
Looking for an environmentally-friendly landscaper? These local companies have taken our pledge to use slow-release, non-phosphorus fertilizer!
Sign up to receive emails about volunteer opportunities and action alerts:
(Write a note about what you are interested in).
Corporate Volunteers
Since 2010 we have worked with corporations and local businesses to offer fun and rewarding community service opportunities along the Mystic River. Our efforts began by tackling water chestnut, an aquatic invasive weed, and has since expanded to make additional park improvements. Project partners include Biogen Idec, MathWorks, Agero, BNY Mellon, Takeda Pharmaceuticals and many more.
MIT Sloan
Team Building Opportunity
An event with groups of up to 100 has a tremendous, visible effect.
Dyne Therapeutics
Make a difference
Remove invasive plants from our parks and rives to improve the environment.
Point 32 Health
Boost employee morale
Provide a fun and rewarding day for your employees.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Work with us to schedule a volunteer event for your team of 10 to 100. Events run approximately 2-3 hours and include an orientation, time on the river/in the park, clean up. All supplies are provided.
Groups can choose to organize one of two events:
Park Improvements - Volunteers remove litter, paint benches or even pull land-based invasive plants. Many of the projects happen in Macdonald Park in Medford, though our Trash Free efforts can happen throughout the watershed. Projects run May-September.
Water Chestnut Removal - Volunteers get in canoes and hand-pull these aquatic weeds in various locations in Medford, Somerville or Arlington. Projects run July-September.
The Dyne Therapeutics team helping with water chestnut removal at the Arlington Reservoir in 2024. Credit: Daria Santollani
COSTS
We ask that corporate and for-profit groups make a donation to MyRWA to support our volunteer program. Water Chestnut events have a fixed fee of $2,000. For park improvement projects fees are based on event size.
2-25 person event $1,500
26-50 person event $2,500
51-75 person event $4,000
76-100 person event $5,000
This fully tax-deductible donation helps to cover the costs of planning and executing our volunteer events (staff time, rentals, material removal and permitting) as well as sustaining the overall program. We are grateful for the work of our corporate volunteer groups. Thank you!
CONTACT US
For more information and to schedule your event contact Michelle.Liebetreu@mysticriver.org or (781) 316-3438.
