Photo by Ryan Hutton/DCR
From left, DCR Visitor Services Supervisor Maggi Brown, DCR Ecologist Ale Echandi, State Senator Walter Timility, DCR Commissioner Jim Montgomery, Friends of the Blue Hills Board President Matt Panucci, Friends of the Blue Hills Executive Director Judy Lehrer Jacobs, DCR Assistant Regional Supervisor Stephen Doody, and DCR District Ranger Tom Bender pose with the new interpretive sign installed with the help of a REI grant at the site of the old Civilian Conservation Corps camp at the Blue Hills Reservation on January 13.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Friends of the Blue Hills are honoring the history and contributions of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Blue Hills Reservation by installing a new interpretive sign mounted at the site of the former Civilian Conservation Corps Camp in Milton. The sign reveals the fascinating 1930’s history of Roosevelt’s “Tree Army.”
“The Blue Hills Reservation is a priceless natural resource rich with history and just a stones-throw away from the Boston metro area,” said DCR Commissioner Jim Montgomery. “The new interpretive sign at the former Civilian Conservation Camp is a welcome addition to the educational repertoire of the park and DCR is pleased to continue its partnership with the Friends of the Blue Hills to benefit this popular green space.”
Friends of the Blue Hills received a stewardship grant from REI Co-op to fund the initial clearing of invasive plants and a new interpretive panel to commemorate the hard work and contributions of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Over the past year, volunteers and staff from the Friends of the Blue Hills and the Department of Conservation and Recreation have improved the trails and cleared invasive species to uncover some of the hidden camp features.
The recently mounted sign highlights historic photos and descriptions of camp residents and their lives. The Civilian Conservation Corps was a work program initiated by President Franklin Roosevelt when America was in the grip of the Great Depression. Residents camped at the site while they worked on projects in the Blue Hills, like constructing stone observation towers at Chickatawbut Overlook and Great Blue Hill as well as stone steps up Buck Hill, Nahanton Hill, and Great Blue Hill.
For more information about the Civilian Conservation Corps and their work in the Blue Hills, as well as directions to the new sign and historic site, click here.
Photo by Ryan Hutton
Blue Hills Reservation Visitor Services Supervisor Maggi Brown, right, and Friends of the Blue Hills Executive Director Judy Lehrer Jacobs, left, lead a group of state and local officials to the site of the old Civilian Conservation Corps camp at the DCR property on January 13 to celebrate restoration work being done at the site including a new interpretive sign.
