Category: Park Profile

This is the second of a continuing series of Profiles that paint a picture of who we are and the public lands and resources we have cared for every day and have for generations. The first profile is available here. A Walk in the Woods - Early Spring By Patricia Bergeron “I get no kick from champagne,” Cole Porter famously wrote, although friends of the songwriter would probably doubt that claim. This verse is more to the point: “I get no kick in a planeFlying too highWith some guy in the sky is my idea of nothing to do…” Even in this nearly-post-pandemic, almost-universally-vaccinated year, you can skip the plane ticket and still experience the novelty, beauty and fascination of a different place. You won’t need a passport, and the experience is sure to enhance your physical and mental well-being. Plus, it might be less than a tank of gas away. Here is a brief guide to one such destination, Willard Brook State Forest, a 2,597-acre...

This is the first of a continuing series of Profiles that paint a picture of who we are and the public lands and resources we have cared for every day and have for generations. A Park Grows in Dorchester, Again By Patricia Bergeron At the intersection of Adams and Bowdoin streets in Dorchester’s Meetinghouse Hill neighborhood is a small kidney-shaped area of unkempt grass, a few trees, and a disconnected three-tier fountain dwarfed by the large basin in which it sits. The basin is the sole remnant of the Lyman Fountain, once a Victorian tourist attraction, later damaged and replaced by the smaller fountain, which was ultimately disconnected in the early 1970’s for lack of funding and, to be frank, lack of interest to keep it operating. Welcome to Coppens Square Park. Like many neglected urban parks, Coppens Square is not much to look at. But the story of the park and its stakeholders is one of persistence. It is a story about the...