Incredible Team Effort

Hi Friends,Just wanted to thank the work of my LCWC-BHLF Trail Buddies (Carole Berkowitz, Jill Macglaflin, Tom Lally), Sara Hana, Chair of the Natick Trails Maintenance Committee, family members (especially my daughter-in-law, Rhonda Garvin Conaway), and event photographer, Buz Bragdon (also a great veteran Trail Buddy) for all your help this past week on the Fisk Pond, Middlesex Path, Rte 135 Project.  From Mon., 6/2 - Wed., 6/4) together with nearly 100 incredible volunteers from Mathworks Corp we were able to transform one of the trashiest roadways and waterways in MetroWest into something beautiful again.  The heavy footprint of traffic and commercial development along this stretch is typical of much of our Lake Cochituate watershed.  So the results won't last; but we'll keep at it.  Among other things, these crews succeeded in getting most of the man-made trash out of Fisk Pond, plus 60 - 80 emerging water chestnut plants, pick up most of the roadway trash, clean out the nasty little settling pond near Roche Bros Plaza, and cut back and yank out some terrible bittersweet and knotweed infestations along Middlesex Path.  Outstanding job and inspiring TEAM effort.  Thanks to Buz, many good photos will be available soon; and I'll send them along.  BTW, this effort gets us a lot closer to our goal of Natick: The First Trash Free Community in Massachusetts by 2014.  Come get involved if you can; love to have you join us.  Plus, Brian, Maureen, and Phil, and my friends at NatickPatch: quite a story here about Corporate responsibility: giving back to the community.  We ought to get more of this in the MWDN and Patch.  Thanks, Pat