Our Blog
125-Mile Club
What is the125-Mile Club?It’s the ultimate Blue Hills challenge. Hike, bike or run every trail — all 125 miles, at your own pace, on your own timeline — within the Blue Hills Reservation. (Of course you can only bike on the trails permissible for biking -- you can...
Birds and Climate Change
Although the rise of sea levels due to climate change have fairly direct impacts on coastal bird populations, changes in temperature and precipitation patterns also raise less obvious challenges for breeding birds in the Blue Hills and Massachusetts as a whole. This...
Blue Hills Member Challenge Fund
Today, your gift will care for the Blue Hills.. and inspire others to give. Donate now, and your gift, along with each dollar raised in response to this letter, will be pooled to form the Blue Hills Member Challenge Fund. During the spring campaign, we’ll ask others...
Blue Hills Photo Contest 2021
During the pandemic, more people than ever have visited… and fallen in love with the Blue Hills. Enter this year’s photo contest to show why we all love the Blue Hills! Submit a photo to the FREE Blue Hills Photo Contest! Even if you don't want to submit a photo, you...
Farming in the Blue Hills: A Local Farm’s Approach to Climate Change
How most food is grown and transported has significant impacts on the climate and global warming. Approximately 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions is directly related to food production. Learn how you can reduce your carbon footprint by eating locally and...
David Hodgdon, Founder, President, and Executive Director
Although you may not know it, your experience of the Blue Hills has been influenced by David Hodgdon, the Friends’ first president who passed away this February at the age of 78. Those numbers on the intersections of trails that help you find your way… Dave designed...
David Morse, former President and Secretary
For his entire life, David Morse loved hiking the Blue Hills and being in the outdoors. He grew up in the heart of the Blue Hills on Hillside Street in Milton and hiked the park throughout his childhood. As an adult, he lived in the same house where he grew up,...
Blue Hills Noise Pollution Increases During Pandemic
COVID-19 makes two Boston urban parks quieter, but another is noisier When the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown reduced human activity across the United States last spring, Boston University researchers expected a similar decrease in noise pollution in Boston’s parks. While...
Recording Blue Hills Weather: What do the Climate Trends Tell Us?
Recording Blue Hills Weather: What do the Climate Trends Tell Us? The Blue Hill Observatory is the longest continually operating weather observatory in the entire country. This makes it an excellent climate study resource. Don McCasland, Program Director at...
Remembering Stuart Dearborn Babb
Stuart Dearborn Babb, 55, of Milton, passed away peacefully on February 9, 2021. Stuart was an exceptionally kind man with a big heart and a deep love for bad dad jokes and playing pranks on his daughters. He loved all animals (except cats) but his heart belonged to...
Two love stories – a horse and a man with hearts of gold
My two love stories began in the Blue Hills. seven years ago, I met Cody, a handsome chestnut with a heart of gold. The two of us explored Blue Hills trails year-round most weeks until his work was done on January 30, 2019. Cody literally and figuratively carried...
Climate Change in the Blue Hills
Sponsored by the Blue Hills Climate Action Coalition How will climate change alter the Blue Hills over your lifetime… and beyond? How has the park – and the climate - already changed and what can we do to address it? Watch the videos from the 'Climate Change in the...
Where to Cross Country Ski in the Blue Hills
Find Your Way on Cross Country Skis in the Blue Hills By Sue Christensen of Jamaica Plain Friends of the Blue Hills According to FBH members Allen Lapey of Milton and Barbara Meyer’s of Medfield, the Blue Hills offers cross country skiing experiences for everyone,...
Birds of Winter
Thanks for joining us! Many thanks to all our friends who joined us for our Birds of Winter presentation on January 20th! Just in case you wanted to see our beautiful winged friends again... we are sharing the presentation below! Please enjoy and keep learning about...
New Interpretive Sign in the Blue Hills Reservation Honoring the 1930’s Civilian Conservation Corps
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...
Climate Legislation: What’s New and What You Can Do
In the last of the winter lecture series 'Your Climate Crisis,' sponsored by the Blue Hills Climate Action Coalition, Jacob Stern discusses what policies are on the table for the next two years, how the legislative process works, and what residents can do to advocate...
Enduring Love of the Blue Hills Inspired Romantic Courtship and Support for the Blue Hills
Enduring Love of the Blue Hills Inspired Romantic Courtship and Support for the Blue Hills By Mary Ellen C. Welch The late Rev. Dr. Theodore “Ted” Klein considered the Blue Hills an extremely fine and dear friend. He left this life quite unexpectedly but also left his...
Climate Danger in the Fore River Basin
Alice Arena discusses the connections between local efforts to reduce the development of fossil fuel infrastructure, public health… and damage to our climate and natural open spaces like the Blue Hills. Alice Arena is the founder and president of the Fore River...
New Interpretive Sign in the Blue Hills Reservation Honors the 1930’s Civilian Conservation Corp
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 with a new interpretive sign mounted at the site of the former Civilian...
Winter Children’s Programs 2020
Don't Miss the Last Program of the Session! Winter Survival! Thursday, February 18, 4:00 pm Register here Winter can be a time of scarcity. Many animals face the challenges of reduced food, limited water, and exposure to the cold. We’ll explore the adaptations of...
Video: Climate Justice and Covid-19 with Rebecca Herst
Climate Justice and Covid-19: What Can We Learn From These Intersecting Crises? Blue Hills Climate Action Coalition Rebecca Herst, Director of the Sustainable Solutions Lab at UMass Boston, discusses how climate change and Covid-19 are disproportionately impacting...
Honoring Our Community Partners
This year's Community Partner Honorees included two Department of Conservation and Recreation veterans who have devoted their careers to our parks... and have been tremendous advocates for the Blue Hills.
Derick Lugo: 2020 Annual Celebration Keynote Speaker
We were thrilled that Derick Lugo, author of The Unlikely Thru-Hiker, could join us for this year's Annual Celebration. Derick Lugo had never hiked or camped a day in his life. This Brooklyn-born, New York City urbanite hopped a train to Georgia, grabbed a taxi at the...
Keep it Local, Keep it Clean
Keep it Local and #OptOutside. Hike the Abigail Adams Trail Enjoy the Abigail Adams Trail, a 2-mile round-trip, moderately steep hike with striking views of Boston and the Blue Hills. A sign along the way celebrates the accomplishments of the First Lady and reveals...