Mother Brook Community Group Conducts Annual Cleanup

From the Mother Brook Community Group:

Continuing with a 10 year tradition, the Mother Brook Community Group will be conducting their annual cleanup of Mother Brook on Saturday, April 30, from 9 a.m. until noon. Volunteers should meet with rakes, gloves, and other appropriate tools at Condon Park. Long pants and shirts with long sleeves are recommended; t-shirts, water, and snacks will be provided courtesy of the Charles River Watershed Association.

Dan Megan and Rita Mae Cushman, the coordinators of the annual event for the Community Group, will greet volunteers and assign them to a portion of the Brook between Maverick Street and the Mother Brook condos on Milton Street. The Brook has become noticeably cleaner in the last decade, and with the additions of Mill Pond Park and other improvements, it has increasingly shone like the jewel of the town that it is.

"This is our emerald necklace," said Joe Heisler, chairman of the Mother Brook Community Group. "One of our goals is to help restore the luster of this historic waterway. This year marks the 375th anniversary of the opening of the canal that created the Mother Brook. This clean up is just the start of a whole host of activities this year celebrating the history and natural beauty of the Brook and its significance to the town of Dedham. Please come and join us."

The clean up of Mother Brook is part of a town-wide clean up that day conducted in cooperation with the Town of Dedham's Environment Department and Department of Public Works, along with other groups around town. The Mother Brook 375th Anniversary Committee, established by Town Meeting last year, is also working to highlight and improve the Brook.