In 2025, Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) is organizing two community science environmental surveys to understand baseline conditions along Cheesecake Brook compared to the restored Fuller Brook in Wellesley.
Join CRWA staff and Newton Conservators for a guided walk along Albemarle Rd by Cheesecake Brook. You’ll learn how to use iNaturalist to catalog flora and fauna, collecting vital community science data for our “Bioblitz” biological survey. Explore the impact of river restoration projects on the ecosystem and its biodiversity! Don’t miss out on this fun, family-friendly event.
This child-friendly event is appropriate for adults and children accompanied by an adult. These BioBlitz events are part of a larger effort by the Newton Conservators to document, and raise awareness about the great diversity of plants and animals that inhabit Newton’s open spaces. At the beginning of the event, we will give a brief tutorial on the iNaturalist app, which we use to document species and as an identification aid.
Learn how to use the iNaturalist app to take pictures for documenting what lives in and around Crystal Lake. Download this free and useful identification app to your phone or tablet beforehand from the Apple App Store for iOS or the Google Play Store for Android. HERE is an interesting article on iNaturalist from our Fall 2019 Newton Conservators Newsletter, another article HERE from our Summer 2025 newsletter, and HERE is a webinar video primer on its usage by Jon Regosin.
The co-sponsors of the event are Newton Conservators and the Charles River Watershed Association. For questions, please email trip leader Jonathan Regosin: jonathan.regosin@gmail.com. The event will start at the Gath Pool at 256 Albemarle Rd Newton MA 02460. You can find parking along Albemarle Rd near the Gath Pool.
Registration: Registration is required and is being done on CRWA’s website. Click HERE for the link to the CRWA registration page, or copy the following URL:
https://www.crwa.org/events/tale-of-two-brooks-cheesecake-brook-bioblitz
