VISION
We believe everyone deserves a core memory on the Charles.
MISSION
The Charles River Conservancy works to amplify community voice and catalyze bold solutions, to make the Lower Charles River and its parks more vibrant, healthy, and welcoming now and in the future. Our work aligns with 3 “C”s:
- Celebrate the river and its parks and the intersection of people and nature to inspire involvement.
- Connect organizations, people, and communities to each other and the river and its parks.
- Create bold, impactful solutions that elevate and strengthen the river and its parks as an essential ecological foundation and cultural asset for Greater Boston.
GOALS
PEOPLE
Community Resilience
Cultivate public engagement and advocacy
Long-term Outcome: The CRC is an organization that invites joy, discovery, and new connections to the Charles Riverfront through education, arts, and culture.
PLACES
Climate Resilience
Advance river and park health
Long-term Outcome: The CRC involves the widest possible range of stakeholders and convenes experts to push bold solutions for climate adaptation.
PROCESS
Organizational Resilience
Invest in our capacity and culture
Long-term Outcome: The CRC is where all feel safe, earning the respect and trust of our partners and the communities in which we operate.
VALUES
Leadership through Collaboration: Engaging across sectors, actively listening, enabling collective action and involving diverse stakeholders creates better, more inclusive, equitable solutions, leads to better social and environmental outcomes and earns the respect and trust of our partners and the communities in which we operate.
Equity through Access: Removing barriers to create welcoming spaces by the river enables belonging, enjoyment, awareness, appreciation – and ultimately greater equity; this in turn fosters increased ownership, stewardship, and support for conservation.
Connection through Discovery: The river and its parks hold enormous potential to enable celebration, joy, connection, and learning for individuals, organizations, and communities.
Innovation through Experimentation: Just as the river continues to evolve and adapt, we must work differently–trying new, entrepreneurial approaches and pushing data-driven decision making to get to better outcomes for the river and its parks, and the communities that surround it.
Progress through Possibility: We must embrace the challenge and urgency of improving and protecting the ecology and health of the river and its parks from a positive perspective and by pursuing the intentional, sustainable growth and development needed for communities to thrive.
Founded in 2000, the mission of the Charles River Conservancy (CRC) is to amplify community voice and catalyze bold solutions to make the Lower Charles River and its parks more vibrant, healthy, and welcoming now and in the future. In partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and other stakeholders, we connect communities to the river and its parks, create impactful solutions, and celebrate the intersection of people and nature. Because everyone deserves a core memory on the Charles, we provide programming that connects people to the river, projects that enhance the river’s wellbeing as a natural urban space, and advocacy that centers community participation. Our work to steward and activate the Charles River Reservation spans 10 miles of riverfront in Boston, Cambridge, and Watertown, MA. This vital network of open space is within walking distance of more than 300,000 urban residents and visited by 1 million+ people.
Charles River Conservancy, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We work in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), the managing agency of the parks and parkways, as well as the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), the managing agency of the historic bridges that traverse the Charles.