On July 5, Elena Guarente, a Newton North High School graduate and rising junior at Brandeis University, hosted a cleanup at Cold Spring Park. In collaboration with Newton Conservators, Guarente also organized a “Bioblitz” walk during the event, which allowed participants of all ages to assist in identifying local species of flora and fauna. Bioblitz gives people the opportunity to learn about the ecosystem around them by documenting and recording plants and animals through iPhone apps. Bioblitz events are frequently hosted by the Newton Conservators.
The event began with attendees picking up trash around frequently visited areas of the park. Then they helped document local biodiversity through the iNaturalist app.
Guarente, who always has had a desire to protect and preserve the Earth, said that she would get distressed witnessing habitat destruction and the effects it has on global warming. She became interested in Bioblitz events after taking a class on Conservation Biology, in which she was introduced to iNaturalist and the concept of the general public documenting biodiversity. “I thought to myself, ‘What would be an option that would get more out of people’s time and provide a fun, educational aspect to it?’ That’s when I thought about doing a Bioblitz,” she said.
Although the cleanup turned out to be a success, Guarente encountered some difficulties in organizing and executing the event.
As a full-time student working in a lab, Guarente grappled with time constraints while promoting the event. Additionally, Guarente had originally planned for attendees to be documenting various species while simultaneously cleaning, but this proved to be challenging while participants were wearing gloves and handling trash.
Guarente was also tasked with promoting her event. As part of the advertising process, she set up a table at the Cold Spring Park Farmers’ Market. Nancy Scammon, who runs the market, approached Guarente and suggested that she collaborate with the Newton Conservators.
Katherine Howard, president of Newton Conservators, was more than willing to help, giving other volunteers insight about invasive species around Cold Spring Park while they were documenting. She enjoyed getting to know Guarente and the other volunteers. “I definitely want to collaborate with Elena to do more events and outreach going forward,” she said. “I was also very interested to learn that her research at Brandeis is about the effects of microplastics pollution; our ‘trash pickup’ was simple but important!”
Although she was familiar with the invasive species in Cold Spring Park, Howard enjoyed educating others about them. “All of the invasive species we found pose a major threat to the health of Cold Spring Park,” she said. Using iNaturalist’s identification tools along with Massachusetts’ classifications of invasive species, Howard is able to determine whether or not a species is invasive or simply non-native. “Keeping the less invaded parts of the park free from further invasion and tackling the more invaded areas in a strategic way will help preserve and improve the biodiversity of the wooded and swamp areas of the park,” she said.
As previously announced, Newton Conservators has hosted numerous Bioblitz events in other parts of Newton for years, seeing them as a way for residents to actively engage with the environment. Howard hopes to get more people involved in future Bioblitz events. “The more people who become aware of what’s around them, the better,” she said. “[I enjoy] the excitement that people have when they have learned a new skill and developed a new awareness.”
While many of those who attended Guarente’s event had never been to a Bioblitz event before, Guarente’s work also sparked their interest in other future Bioblitz events.
Borislava (Bori) Stoyanova, a Newton resident of 20 years, and Guarente’s mother, heard about the event through her daughter. She assisted Guarente in printing flyers and providing volunteer support throughout the cleanup. As long-time human resources professional in MIT’s School of Engineering, Stoyanova has shared with her daughter a love for environmental science since Guarente was young. “I am proud of my daughter: her values and our common passion about the well-being of planet Earth, the environment, and nature,” she said. “I am glad that there are similar minded people in Newton we can relate to in our admiration of nature and in our selfless efforts to preserve it.” Stoyanova plans to attend future Bioblitz events so that she can contribute to preserving and protecting the environment as well as assist her daughter in the planning and execution of future events.
Don Ross, a Newton resident of 42 years, has participated in other cleanups in Hemlock Gorge, but this was the first Bioblitz event he had attended. He originally heard about the event through a friend who works for The Friends of Cold Spring Park. At this event, Ross enjoyed walking around Cold Spring Park and exploring the species within the swamp area.
Farid Suleyman, a Newton resident of eight years, also attended and said that he first heard about the event after seeing an advertisement while walking outside. He has been a Boy Scout since the age of 17 and was interested in the event. “It’s always good to know that there are people around Newton who care for the environment,” he said.
Kevin, who has been a resident of Newton for five years, brought his daughter Lucy to the event so that she could cherish and learn more about the environment around her. This was his family’s first Bioblitz event, having heard about the cleanup at the Farmer’s Market. Kevin said the event taught him more about biodiversity in Cold Spring Park. “I was surprised to learn just how much of Cold Spring Park is covered by invasive plants,” he said. Kevin enjoyed seeing how excited his daughter was about the cleanup and Bioblitz. “I could tell [Lucy] felt good about helping out. She has a book about Wonder Woman and Poison Ivy working together to clean up the environment, so it was also fun to see her pretend to be Poison Ivy, one of her favorite fictional characters.” He looks forward to being able to attend more Bioblitz events in the future so that his family can have more opportunities to serve Newton’s community.
Elena plans to continue her collaboration with Newton Conservators by promoting and attending future Bioblitz events, such as the upcoming Newton Conservators Bioblitz event along Cheesecake Brooke on July 29. She is also hosting another clean up August 2 at The Cove in Auburndale.
“A love of nature brings people together from all walks of life,” Guarente said. “It’s really important to teach young minds about nature and let them cultivate that appreciation as they grow, especially with the way the world is going right now. We need a generation of people who care about the environment.”
Chloe Yu is a Fig City News summer intern and a rising junior at Cornell University.
Ed. Note: We corrected the role of Borislava Stoyanova at MIT.
