Welcome to Fresh Pond Reservation

Fresh Pond Reservation consists of 162 acres of open space surrounding and protecting the 155 acre Fresh Pond Reservoir. Fresh Pond Reservoir is part of the drinking water supply system for the City of Cambridge which includes Hobbs Brook Reservoir in Lincoln, Lexington and Waltham, and Stony Brook Reservoir in Weston and Waltham.  Water from the drinking water supply system is purified at the Walter J. Sullivan Water Treatment Facility adjacent to Fresh Pond Reservoir, and pumped to Payson Park Reservoir in Belmont. From there it flows back to the City by gravity, providing drinking water to residents and businesses of Cambridge. 

 Join Us! 

We are always looking for volunteers to help out with weeding, planting, and monitoring at the Reservation.  Volunteering gives you a chance to learn about the unique ecosystems on the reservation while also meeting other Fresh Pond Reservation visiters!  Contact Deb fpr@cambridgema.gov to help out on Monday evenings from 5:30 - 7pm or on Thursday afternoons from 2 - 4, or contact Ranger Jean jrodgers@cambridgema.gov to register your community group for a volunteer day. Click here to learn more.

 Restoration Projects at Fresh Pond Reservation

Blacks Nook The City of Cambridge has contracted with the Bioengineering Group to develop and implement a plan to improve access and landscaping to the eastern side of  Black's Nook Pond. The restoration plan has been designed in accordance with the Fresh Pond Master Plan.  The Black's Nook Restoration Plan aims to improve the environment around this small pond, improving degraded areas, eliminating invasives, and fostering native plant growth, while preserving the sense of wildness that makes Black's Nook unique. The restoration project will improve the use of the pond as a resource/study area for children, and allow for universal accessibility, while minimizing user conflict. Black's Nook Project presentation 

 

Glacken Slope Improvement Project Glacken Slope, located behind the Fresh Pond clubhouse and sloping down to the perimeter pond road, has become severely degraded over the years due to compacted soil, erosion, and ack of plant diversity, negatively impacting water quality, as runoff from the slope drains to Fresh Pond. The plan addresses severe erosion and compaction, with the aim of stabilizing the slope, improving soil infiltration and drainage, controlling runoff, planting native species, and enhancing views from the top of the slope. Completed work includes removing invasive plants, removing the degraded walkway, and building infiltration trenches with level spreaders, biodetention basins, and vegetated swales. Glacken Slope presentation

Purple Loosestrife Bio-control Project The invasive wetland plant purple loosestrife was first observed at Fresh Pond Reservation over 5 years ago.  Since then, it has spread to inhabit shoreline space along every waterbody on the Reservation, as well as in several of the wetland bioswales.  Friends of Fresh Pond Reservation and the Cambridge Water Department are working cooperatively to implement a biocontrol project at Fresh Pond Reservation that will limit purple loosestrife populations and allow native species to reclaim areas currently inundated with the invasive plant. more>>

Fresh Pond Reservation Access and Circulation Plan During the fall and winter of 2006/2007, the Cambridge Water Department worked to form the Fresh Pond Reservation Circulation and Access Plan.  Current conditions at Fresh Pond Reservation were mapped, such as pathways and access points.  more>> 

 
Completed Restoration Projects at Fresh Pond Reservation

Little Fresh Pond Shoreline Restoration and Drainage Improvement Project Located along the western shoreline of Fresh Pond and adjacent to the municipal golf course, the Little Fresh Pond project was identified within the Fresh Pond Master Plan as a very high priority project and has been a joint endeavor between the City of Cambridge Water, Public Works, and Recreation Departments. Hired as consultants, The Bioengineering Group, Inc., and MWH Americas, Inc. collaborated to provide design and engineering services for the project. Funding has been provided in part through the Open Space Community Preservation Act (CPA).  more>>

Fresh Pond Reservation Drainage and Habitat Improvements The Fresh Pond Reservation Drainage and Habitat Improvements project focused on the southern watershed of Little Fresh Pond.  Enhancements to the golf course, Perimeter Road, and woodlands complemented the Little Fresh Pond Shoreline Restoration and Drainage Improvement Project, which was completed during the summer of 2007. more>>

Northeast Sector Project The City of Cambridge has completed and implemented a natural resource restoration and management plan for the areas of Lusitania Meadow, Neville Place, and the surrounding slopes.  The Northeast Sector Project  was based on recommendations from the Fresh Pond Reservation Master Plan as well as the preceding Fresh Pond Reservation Natural Resource Inventory and Natural Resource Stewardship Plan. This project has been funded jointly by the Community Preservation Act and the City of Cambridge. more>>