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!

Credit: Daria Clark

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

Water Chestnut - Next summer, check out our calendar for opportunities to hop in a canoe and remove invasive water chestnut from the Mystic River.

Bittersweet: Join us for a community volunteer event to remove invasive Bittersweet vines from local parks. 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. Join our training on October 28th to learn more. No prior experience is necessary.

RIVER HERRING MONITORING

Every spring, we recruit volunteers to monitor the important herring run. This work is done in-person, and virtually using our underwater “fish cam”. Generally spots fill up by late-March. Learn more and sign up here. Missed your chance — you can still help us document this run size using our underwater “fish cam” and counting platform, check back for 2024 videos!

Volunteer at the 28th Annual Herring Run and Paddle

Help out at our 28th Annual Herring Run and Paddle race! Volunteers can assist with the registration table, help out on the course, be a part of the set-up or clean-up teams, and more. Interest form 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.

policy committee 

If you're interested in reducing plastic, advocating for climate resiliency efforts, saving conservation space and more, the policy committee may be for you.  Members draft letters to endorse or oppose legislation or in response to environmental permits, testify at public hearings, etc. Read more.

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!

Your Garden Curator

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.

Volunteers from Perkin Elmer helped remove water chestnuts in 2018.

Volunteers from Perkin Elmer helped remove water chestnuts in 2018.

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.