Wintry? Not really. With temperatures in the forties, it felt more like mid-spring. But WinterFEST’s Cold Spring Park winter walk on January 29 was festive. About 120 adults, small children, infants, and dogs gathered Sunday morning for a nature hike put on by Newton Community Pride. Gloria Gavris of Newton Community Pride offered everyone free hot cocoa, donuts, and coffee. The only snow to be seen anywhere on that late-January morning was the costume of Olaf the snowman, an invited guest of Newton Community Pride.
The one and one-half mile hike was led by Barbara Bates and Samantha Corbin of Newton Conservators, with Ms. Bates entertaining the group with evocative mimicry of frog and bird calls. She spoke about the history of Cold Spring Park, including its time as a movie studio over a century ago, and described some of the animals that can be seen in the park, especially near dawn and dusk: coyotes, foxes, owls, weasels, and voles.
Ms. Bates also highlighted the ongoing work done by the Friends of Cold Spring Park to try to rid the park of invasive species. Plants such as glossy buckthorn, have been able to outcompete native species in many North American forests and wetlands. (See the Newton Conservators’ 7-minute video of highlights of the Guided Winter Walk.)
