The Updated Bottle Bill is now before the State Senate

In the next few days, the State Senate will be voting on a measure that would update the state’s Bottle bill. In order for this bill to pass, we are asking you to contact your State Senator today and tell them “vote yes on the Bottle Bill Amendment.”

We’ve included background on the bill (provided by the Sierra Club) and a sample letter below.  If you don’t know your legislator, go to www.wheredoivotema.com.

Background: The Updated Bottle bill has been filed as an amendment to the State Budget. The amendment [...]

A Long View of a Wide Horizon By Daniel Byrnes

I was just stepping onto the blue trail behind Houghton’s Pond when we first heard the news about the bombing. It was an impossibly beautiful Marathon Monday. For once, the unofficial start of spring in Boston actually felt like spring. With the day off, some of my friends and I decided we should spend it hiking up to Buck Hill. Like most of you, I carry the modern world in my pocket with me wherever I go.  Phones of debatable intelligence buzz and chirp and tweet and [...]

Last Saturday Friends of the Blue Hills partnered with the New England Mountain Bike Association to build a new trail up Buck Hill.  Thirty volunteers from 20 towns cut brush, raked and shoveled dirt to build a new path that’s ideal for mountain biking and hiking.

Trail maintenance is a great way to give back to the park we all enjoy.  The next trail maintenance event is May 18th.  For details, see our calendar of events in the Blue Hills.

Many of the birds that breed on Blue Hills hilltops are uncommon anywhere else in the area.  Experienced birder, Evan Lipton, shares some Blue Hills’ stories and tips for new birders.  Thanks to Evan Lipton for this article and photo.

On a trip to Buck Hill last May, I was lucky enough to locate a Prairie Warbler nest: a small cup no more than four inches across of tightly woven thin sticks. It was located near the top of a very short scrub oak, but still hidden from view by a few leaves. It proved somewhat difficult to relocate though [...]

Who made the ‘Seasons of the Blue Hills’ poster and contest possible?  We’re thankful to all the Blue Hills admirers who participated by submitting photos and voting for their favorites.  Learn about how you can get a free poster by joining the Friends of the Blue Hills.

We’d also like to thank for the folks at Middlesex Savings Bank for all their support and help in designing and developing the poster.  We’re grateful to contest sponsors: Dedham Savings Bank, REI, LLBean and Blue Hills Bank.

We’re indebted to the artists who contributed their photos to the poster.  (Click on the links [...]

Saturday,  April 27 (NEW DATE), 9:00 am -1:00 pm – Join the DCR and the Friends of the Blue Hills to help maintain the trails and lend a hand in our park clean-up.  In addition to trail maintenance, you can help garden at Brookwood Community Farm or remove weeds at Ponkapoag Pond.  Bring gloves if you have them and plenty of water.  For all activities, meet at Houghton’s Pond main parking lot 9:00 am.

The DCR Commissioner has postponed Park Serve.  The new date is April 27, 9:00 am.  (We’re still meeting at Houghton’s Pond.)

This event has been rescheduled.

Saturday,  April 27, 9:00 am -1:00 pm – Join the DCR and the Friends of the Blue Hills to help maintain the trails and lend a hand in our park clean-up.  In addition to trail maintenance, you can help garden at Brookwood Community Farm or remove weeds at Ponkapoag Pond.  Bring gloves if you have them and plenty of water.  Meet at Houghton’s Pond main parking lot at 9:00 am.

You are invited to join the Friends of the Blue Hills for a spring festival of stewardship and fun.  The annual Green Up will be held on Sunday, June 2, from 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Ponkapoag AMC Cabins.  Volunteers will enjoy music, face painting, crafts and a scavenger hunt while helping with an essential task: pulling up invasive weeds that threaten the Blue Hills.  Volunteers should park at Temple Beth David, 1060 Randolph St. in Canton and walk the ½ mile to the cabins. The event is rain or shine, and volunteers are encouraged to bring their own [...]

The Friends of the Blue Hills testified last week in support of Rep Walter Timilty’s bills to protect a well-loved part of the Blue Hills.

All wetlands help prevent flooding and purify storm water.  Not all wetlands, however, have as devoted a following as the Fowl Meadow wetlands in the Blue Hills.  When a 276-unit development was proposed right next to Fowl Meadow on Brush Hill Road in Milton, the leadership and members of the Friends of the Blue Hills understood this threatened what the state calls an Area of Critical Environmental Concern.  This ‘critical’ forested land where the [...]

If you live in Milton, please attend the Milton Board of Selectman meeting, this Thursday, March 21st at 6:30 pm.  We need a strong presence at the meeting to show  community support for Fowl Meadow and the Blue Hills.

Selectman Meeting Thursday, March 21st at 6:30pm Council of Aging  10 Walnut Street, Milton (in back of town hall) For background on how Fowl Meadow is threatened and what you can do about it, see our Action Alert.