by Jaden Perry
Boston Globe
Since the 1980s, Save the Harbor, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring and protecting the Boston Harbor, has pushed for a cleaner waterway for Bostonians to enjoy. Now that the harbor is clean, Emilly Schutt, a staff scientist with Save the Harbor, sees the new wetland, along with outdoor seating and communal space, as another way to attract locals back to the channel.
“It’s going to draw people here so people are aware of the resources that are available to them,” Schutt said.
The benefits of the waterway aren’t just hopeful projections — a successful pilot project for another wetland can be observed on the Charles River.
About the size of a standard apartment, what floats in the Charles River is Biomatrix’s first wetland raft in the Boston area. With support from the Charles River Conservancy, the nearly $40,000 structure, paid for by sponsors, was built in 2020 and has flourished ever since.
“We’re really excited to see another wetland in Boston, and kind of grow this practice overall,” conservancy executive director Laura Jasinski said.