Working together in the Lord's name we can move mountains (of leaves)

Today, with the wind blowing hard and the sun shining, a few people started to gather, and then more and eventually we had a crowd gathered together. As Mathew wrote,

"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20

The Lord was certainly there in our midst as we toiled and labored to clean up Wright's Pond.  We had an amazing showing from Grace Church, the community of Medford and beyond.  In the short span of a few hours, a few more than 75 people (21 from Grace) collected 113 bags of lawn waste, a half dozen big bags of garbage and several bags of recyclables from around the pond and along the trails.  We also cleaned, scraped and painted three picnic tables, the Wright's Pond letters and the main gate, not to mention all the planting and weeding done in the various flower beds.

In addition to the amazing outcomes from today's work, including some statements like "I have to check that Grace place out" and "Maybe I'll switch teams to Catholic lite," we also experienced some miraculous generosity from the parish and community.  I have been pleasantly shocked by how generous our local businesses have been for this worthy cause.  We had a wonderful lunch today thanks to Kelly's Roast Beef, Mayor Michael J. McGlynn & Whole Foods Medford.  The City of Medford provided tons of tools and supplies as well as access to the parking and bathrooms at Wright's Pond.  We had delicious coffee thanks to the Magnificent Muffin & Bagel Shoppe as well as numerous individual contributors that helped make this amazing day possible.  The Friends of Wright's Pond helped to organize and publicize today's event and we had gloves and pokers thanks to the Friends of the Mystic River.  Thank you to everyone else who volunteered today and help make it happen.

And we are not stopping here.  Next Saturday, we are doubling the stakes and taking on the cleanup of two parks:

Saturday, May 22nd 9-11am

• Barry Park (Chris DesAutels)
• Carr Park (Linda Rogers)

Join us and sign up to volunteer or donate something for GreenUp CleanUp!

Enjoy the slideshow from the event:

Adding 2 More Parks to GreenUp CleanUp

The Cummings Park cleanup on May 1st was amazing with over 50 people working hard to make the park a better place for our community.  They filled 41 lawn waste bags and made countless other improvements.  Stay tuned to hear about the wonderful time from Ann.

As a result of the success at Cummings Park, new leaders from the community have stepped forward and offered to organize additional GreenUp CleanUp events at two other Medford Parks:

• Barry Park on Saturday, May 22nd from 9am-11am (same time as Carr Park on other side of Medford)
• Capen Street Park on Saturday, June 5th from 9am-12noon

Stay tuned for more details about these and other upcoming GreenUp CleanUp events.  For the full list of events and to sign up to help by donating refreshments, equipment and/or your time visit

GreenUp CleanUp

Amazing things happen when you get the community organized around such a wonderful and positive thing.

Discounted Rain Barrels Available in Medford

If you've ever considered a rain barrel to collect rain water and water plants and garden, now is a great time.  The Mystic River Watershed Association has teamed up with the New England Rain Barrel Company to offer 55 gallon rain barrels for $75.  Orders must be placed by May 27, 2010 and pickup for all orders will be Thursday, June 3rd between 4-7pm at the WholeFoods in Medford (2151 Mystic Valley Parkway).

We [The Hunts] have a pair of these rain barrels from the New England Rain Barrel Company and love them.  Rain water is better for the plants than the chlorine treated tap water and good for the environment by savings treated drinking water and lessening the runoff that goes into the sewer system. Here are some more photos - the blue ones are the NE Rain Barrel ones. - Jonathan Hunt

 To get more details or order your own for pickup on June 3rd, visit the MyRWA site or the New England Rain Barrel Company.

Here is a little video about rain water collection featuring a couple of our youth:



And you only need a few minutes of rain to fill these, not 40 days.