Little River Nature Poetry Walk

Come join us for a winter
nature walk and poetry readings along Little
River in Cambridge and Belmont.  We will stop along the way to
read short poems, each voicing their own perspective on emerging from a long winter.  We will
travel along the river, meadow, and forest habitat which is home to wildlife
such as deer, red fox, coyote, river otter, mink,
cottontail rabbit, voles, mice, and many
residential birds such as wild turkey, blue heron, red-tailed hawks, hooded mergansers, mallard ducks, swans,
robins, and woodpeckers.

The area and
inhabitants around Little River and Alewife have been inspiring birders,
naturalists, and, yes, poets for centuries.  
Come listen to outdoor readings of nature poetry of late winter and very early spring from America, Germany, Russia,
Japan, Canada, and elsewhere.  Find your own
inspiration from poems about winter landscapes and adventures in centuries past as well as in more modern times.  Consider how glaciers played a key role in shaping this place;  how centuries of man-made disruptions to annual migrations and hibernation patterns have changed winter in the wild; how the central roles of ice houses and skating ponds influenced the economic and social dynamics we still live with today. Use the quiet of winter to reflect on how our own experience of this season has changed, to take stock of where we are today, and to look towards a stable future for this area.  Bring
your own poetic contribution to a very human dialog with and about this nearby
land during its stark but very active cold season.

Walking Directions from Alewife T station, take a right, cross
the bridge over Little River, a left onto DCR’s “Alewife Park Greenway”,
stop at the end (10 minutes from Alewife)

Driving directions from
Belmont:  take a right at the end of Cross St onto Lake St, 1st 
right onto the Route 2 access road, 1st right onto Acorn Park Drive (before
Route 2), stop at the end.

We will make our way
past cattail marshes, tributaries, and maples to an idyllic view of Little Pond in Belmont.  Bundle up for the cold, bring sturdy boots and, optionally, a walking stick. The walk is one mile to Little Pond and one mile back, and will take place rain, snow or shine.  Dangerously icy or blizzard conditions will cancel.

This walk is
co-sponsored by: 

Belmont Citizens Forum

Friends of Alewife Reservation

Mystic River Watershed Association

Coalition to Preserve the Belmont Uplands