Save the Alewife Brook

environmental health is community health

Save the Alewife Brook

environmental health is community health

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Alewife Earth Day 2026

HUGE SUCCESS – our best Earth Day cleanup!

In collaboration with Department of Conservation & Recreation, the Mystic River Watershed Association, and Green Cambridge.

213 volunteers removed 150 bags of trash, 2 car bumpers, a hub cap, & 2 abandoned campsites. All of which filled 4 full DCR truckloads & required the HAZMAT unit!

Thank you to ACMi & Josh Guicherit for his awesome news coverage.

The event proves that area residents from Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington, Medford and beyond care about Alewife Brook. Now MWRA must do its part to cleanup our little brook.

For only $46 more annually per household, MWRA can eliminate sewage in all three rivers – the Alewife, Mystic, & Charles. Yet MWRA’s new plan is to use our rivers as open sewers, even the flood-prone Alewife Brook.

Because MWRA’s new combined sewer overflow (CSO) plan is so crappy, we created the Alewife Community plan. Our plan ends sewage pollution through sewer separation, green stormwater infrastructure, storage, and an existing 90-page engineering solution, at a reasonable cost to households, without causing widespread socio-economic harm. 

Download the Alewife Community Plan here.

Opening rally & introduction to the Community Plan.

A man in a plaid shirt and baseball cap is pointing at a map displayed on a stand, while another man in a camouflage jacket and sunglasses looks on attentively. The scene is set outdoors with other people visible in the background.
Eppa Rixey of Green Cambridge, Save the Alewife Brook, and Alewife Study Group discusses details in the Alewife Community CSO Elimination Plan. Photo by Dave Shrewsbury
A woman in a bright yellow jacket shakes hands with a man in a dark vest during an outdoor event, with a crowd of people and tables in the background.
Mystic River Watershed Association’s Isaia Johnson says hello to Representative Sean Garballey. Photo by Dave Shrewsbury
A large group of people gathered outdoors, with some individuals signing documents at a table while others listen to a speaker using a megaphone. Many participants are wearing hats and casual clothing, and there are trees and a building visible in the background.
Michael Lonetto and Ann McDonald collect petition signatures and hand out tshirts. Photo by Jimmy Johnson.
A crowd of people gathered outdoors for an event, with several individuals wearing red shirts. Some participants are seated at tables with cardboard boxes. One person is speaking into a megaphone, capturing the attention of the audience.
Photo of opening remarks by Eppa Rixey.
A group of people gathered outdoors, with some in conversation. One elderly woman in a red jacket is holding papers, surrounded by various individuals in casual attire. Trees are visible in the background.
An organizer at heart, Cambridge City Councilor Patty Nolan helps collect signatures on DCR waiver forms. Photo by Aakash Patel.
Group of five people standing near a creek surrounded by trees, with a drainage pipe visible in the background.
Arlington Select Board member Diane Mahon, state Rep. Dave Rogers, Save the Alewife Brook’s Kristin Anderson, Cambridge City Councilor Patty Nolan, and state Rep. Sean Garballey, pause near one of the six combined sewer overflow (CSO) outfalls. Photo by Dave Shrewsbury.

The Cleanup.

An elderly woman wearing a bright yellow safety vest and glasses stands in a park, holding a sharps container and a red trash bag. She is smiling and promoting environmental cleaning.
Great Old Broads for Wilderness came out with safety gear to cleanup sharps in the park. Photo by Dave Shrewsbury.
A group of three individuals, including an adult male and two children, engaging in a community cleanup activity in a park. The adult male, wearing a backpack and gloves, holds a trash bag while the children, one in a blue outfit and the other in a brown animal costume, use a litter picker.
Arthur (left) and Penelope (in the kangaroo suit) help clean up the Alewife area. Photo by Dave Shrewsbury
Three volunteers smiling and posing for a photo while participating in a community clean-up event, wearing matching red t-shirts with fish designs and holding a trash bag, set in a park with trees in the background.
Sofia, Harper, and Aidan made the trip from Dorchester after seeing an online post about the event. Photo by Dave Shrewsbury.
Two individuals participating in a community cleanup by a stream, collecting litter in bags among fallen leaves and trees.
Cleanup photo by Aakash Patel.

Heading south to the garden and to the worst raw CSO outfall in the Greater Boston Area: the Alewife MBTA Station CSO – CAM401A.

A group of volunteers walking together in a park, carrying trash bags and wearing gloves, engaged in a community cleanup effort.
Eppa Rixey leads a group of volunteers heads south to clean up the Alewife Showcase Pollinator Garden. Photo by Dave Shrewsbury.
Three individuals participating in a community cleanup, picking up trash near a stream in a wooded area.
Sofia, Harper, and Aidan work to cleanup the park. Photo by Dave Shrewsbury.
A person stands on the edge of a concrete drainage culvert, overlooking stagnant water. The individual holds a clipboard and is surrounded by greenery and debris.
Representative Dave Rogers pauses at the worst untreated CSO outfall in all of Greater Boston, the Alewife MBTA CSO in Cambridge, aka CAM 401A. Photo by Jimmy Johnson.
A group of people participating in a community cleanup event in a park, with one person in the foreground smiling at the camera. Several volunteers are seen collecting debris and working in the background, while a wheelbarrow is placed nearby.
Volunteers work on preparing the Alewife Showcase Pollinator Garden for the growing season. Selfie by Eppa Rixey.
Text graphic reading 'Thanks to DCR!' in a stylized font.

Thank you to Matt Perry, Rick Reynolds, DCR Commissioner Nicole LaChapelle and the entire staff of the Department of Conservation & Recreation who made the cleanup possible.

A man standing next to a black dump truck loaded with garbage bags, parked on a gravel road. In the background, there are tall grasses and bare trees.

Give this man a raise! DCR’s Rick Reynolds collects his first truckload from the cleanup. Photo by Kristin Anderson.

Text graphic that says 'Thanks to our Leaders!' in a cursive font.

Arlington Selectboard member Diane Mahon, State Representatives Dave Rogers and Sean Garballey, Cambridge City Councillors Patty Nolan and Marc McGovern, Arlington Town Manager Jim Feeney and Deputy Town Manager / Finance Director Julie Wayman.

Text graphic expressing gratitude towards volunteers, featuring the phrases 'Most importantly...' and 'Thanks to the Volunteers!' styled in decorative fonts.

Great Old Broads For Wilderness, Joe LaRoche from Metrosexual Moving Company brought the muscle, Paulo Nieto, Kendra Martin, Rachel DeLucas, Sarah Balian, Leonardo Drake, Robin Johnson, Susan Keane, Erica Frank, Robbie Hooke, Melis Gokalp, Ethan Smith, Bennett Smith, Peter Kim, Jake Tomlinson, Jack Sobczynski, Amanda Brown, Jim Campen, Catherine Lebel, Kathryne Lovell, Ulzhalgas Seidaliyeva, Aaron Barthold, Katherine Hall, Jackson Elmore, Judith Garber, Millie LaFontaine, Emily Ping, Oren Walker-Gilmore, Alev Cansever, Drine Gaspar, Steve Rapp, Ulli Rapp, Julia McClellan, Shauna Lo, Sarah Spitz, Rohan Press, John Williams, Linnea Kirby, Ana Teixeira, Suzannah Trainer, David Lough, Zenas Lu, Joel Snider, Abe Laxague, Samuel Murphy, Sydney Ruggles, Liam Carolan, Chuka Nwokolo, Todd Elmore, Marc Richardson, Anika Stumpf, Dana Hoglund, Asa Brandyberry, Ani Fafinski, Kelly Cartagena, Narong Chan, Maya Chin, Daniel Place, Jeffrey Noonan, Charles Thorburn, Colleen Kirby, John Cho, Julia Gubarchuk, Gilbert Martin, Beth Melofchik, Raymond Jenks, Diana Edwards, Jonathan Yeadon, Aidan McGinnis, Sujatha Ramanan, Arunachalam Ramanan, Nicole Cotton, Kaili Chen, Ellie Wolf, Avalon Owens, Gay Sheldon, Emma Lauder, Ellis K, Arlene Olivero, H H, Molly Taylor, Martha Donoghue, Michelle Gulen, Andrew Rademacher, Nikki Ruiz, Drew Croke, Katerina Cooper, Jason Cooper, Thomas Stracensky, Sanya Mittal, Trina Lorigan, Mark Foster, Kevin Roche, Leah Birch, Cheryl Marceau, Matthew Moody, Thomas Walker, Audrey Lee, Adrian Pforzheimer, Aidan Doherty, Eline Bakker, Marvin Mao, Carly Ristaino, Abby Fessler, Jessica Strzempko, Rebecca Behizadeh, Michael Cerone, Max Maxwell, Cynthia Devereux, wendy whoriskey, Michael Fitman, Elaina Bliss, Nikita Kiriy, Grace Losso, Zach Valenti, Edwin Lim, Hannah Jun, Aaron Bennett, Lena Bradley, Adam Sigel, Aakash Patel, Veronique Bailly, Shelby Redfield, Margaret McKeehan, Eric Walton, Matti Koponen-Robotham, Ann Schlesinger, Alaina Patzer, Elizabeth Thomason, Kathleen McNerney, Christine Johnson, Catherine Luke, Brett Beitzel, Sam Wilkinson, Mary Shetterly, Zachary Quinn, Hal Tepfer, Nadege Guilbault, Molly Park, Ben Hoffman, Mark Jewell, Constance Martin, Jane Philbrick, Andy Forbes, Jack Resnik, Maisam Dadgar, Andrew O’Hagan, Kelly Becker, Alessandria Schumacher, Betty Trembly, Max Heller, Joseph Poirier, Emiko Kurosawa, Ashley Holtgraver, Christine Metzler, Micah Yannatos, Grace Gallagher, Susan Gould, Mark Paglierani, Preston Gutelius, Carissa Myre, Ethan Gerber, Brian McBride, Marina Wagner, Connor Smith, Kristin Anderson, Eppa Rixey, George Laite, David White, Michael Lonetto, Ann McDonald, Maeve Huddy, Maddy Webster, Scott Levine, Naomi Altman, Daniel Baird, Pam Blittersdorf, Rachel DeLucs, Madeline Sovie, Pavlo Niete, Luija Munoz, Anell Triplty, Robin Johnson, Ethan Gerber, Carissa Myre, Chandler Ekins, Qannar Rilnann, Harper Meares, Drew Croke, Isaiah Johnson, Kate Fractal, Josh Guchenit, Thalies Pereira, Hannah Duerner, Ann Schlesinger, Veronique Bailly, Alev Cans, Michael Lass, Margaret Morse, Amanda Brown, Jake Tomlinson, Annie Thompson, Philip Thompson, John Tortelli, Laura Bereisky, Sujatha Ranlance, John Aelamo, Amy Hadley, Erica Frank, Luke Nawrocki, Ilana Brownstein, Robert Hooke, Sofia Bailey, David Stoff, Jennifer Ingram 

Thanks also to ACMi for covering the event!

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