Sawmill Park Pollinator Pathway

Under sunny skies on August 19, community members joined town and state officials to celebrate the grand opening of the Sawmill Lane Pollinator Pathway with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The project, located at 21 Sawmill Lane on a town-owned parcel adjacent to Mother Brook, was funded through the Massachusetts Department of Fish & Game's Community Biodiversity Grant. Improvements included the removal of invasive species, construction of a new stone-dust pathway, and the planting of hundreds of native perennials, shrubs, and trees to create valuable habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. The grant also supported a biodiversity-themed public art installation along the bridge and the construction of a community seed-sharing library. Dedham was one of just 12 communities selected from more than 200 applicants during the inaugural year of the Community Biodiversity Grant program.

During the ceremony, Conservation Agent Meredith Confrey recognized key partners, including the Department of Fish & Game; the Department of Public Works under Director Joe Flanagan; Eagle Scout Malachi Reed and Dedham Troop 3; Mother Brook Arts & Community Center; and neighborhood volunteers.

State Representative Paul McMurtry applauded the project’s collaborative spirit and highlighted the value of creating welcoming natural spaces for East Dedham residents. Select Board Chair Jim MacDonald, joined by members Michelle Perrson Reilly and Stephen Acosta, praised the community effort and noted that selecting only 40 pieces of public art from more than 100 submissions was a welcome challenge.

Attendees also heard from Erin Becker, Executive Director of the Mother Brook Arts & Community Center, who spoke about the important role public art plays in fostering environmental awareness and celebrating biodiversity. Conservation Commission Chair Erik DeAvila, who grew up in East Dedham, reflected on how meaningful it was to see the once-overlooked property transformed into a welcoming public space for the neighborhood.

The ceremony concluded with remarks from Colleen Scully, Chief Biodiversity Officer for the Massachusetts Department of Fish & Game. She emphasized that every effort to support biodiversity helps protect Massachusetts' natural resources. As this was the first year of the Community Biodiversity Grant program, she expressed her excitement at seeing one of its first projects successfully completed.

The Sawmill Lane Pollinator Pathway is open to the public and visitors are encouraged to stroll the pathway, enjoy the native plantings, browse the biodiversity-inspired artwork along the Sawmill Lane Bridge, and visit the community seed library to take home seeds for their own gardens. Educational signage will be installed in the coming weeks, and additional native seed planting along the riverbank is planned for the Fall.

The Town of Dedham is happy to announce that a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Sawmill Lane Pollinator Pathway will be held on Wednesday, August 19 at 5PM. This project was completed by the Dedham Department of Public Works and funded through a Massachusetts Community Biodiversity Grant through the Department of Fish & Game. Over the last six months, DPW has been hard at work transforming this parcel from an area overrun with invasive plants and impacted by litter into a vibrant community space that provides valuable habitat for the plants and wildlife that thrive along Mother Brook.

The project also includes a new community seed library, designed and installed by Eagle Scout Malachi Reed of Dedham Troop 3, and a biodiversity-themed public art installation on the bridge, organized by the Mother Brook Community Arts Center. Join us to celebrate this achievement, explore the new space, and hear from the partners whose collaboration helped bring this vision to life.

Note: This event will be held rain or shine.

Family walks down new accessible path at Sawmill Park

Please be advised, the small wooden bridge next to the seed library will be closed on Thursday, July 16 for repairs. There will be no access across this bridge during the repairs.

Over the last few months, local Eagle Scout Candidate Malachi Reed (Troop 3, Dedham) has been hard at work designing, constructing, and installing a community native seed library as part of the Sawmill Lane Pollinator Pathway. The seed library, which was inspired by the "Little Free Libraries" seen around town, will be place for residents to access native seeds to plant in their own backyards. The motto of the library is "take a seed, leave a seed", and we hope this is a community resource that will enhance biodiversity across our town.

Members of Troop 3 in Dedham during the construction of the Seed Library.

Many native seeds require some preparation and/or germination before they can be planted in the ground. All of the seeds stocked in the library come from Prairie Moon Nursery, and each seed packet is labeled with the specific species. Using the Prairie Moon plant finder, you can look up specific instructions on how to make sure your little seed turns into a thriving native plant! The plant search is available on the top right corner of the main page, located at https://www.prairiemoon.com/.

Don't have seeds to share? Don't worry! Still feel free to take a few seed packets! Once the native plants are established, you can follow guidelines for seed saving to collect your own and eventually restock the library. The Dedham Conservation Commission plans to host a seminar on seed saving this coming Fall. This presentation from Virginia Tech also offers comprehensive guidelines on saving seeds.

The fully-stocked seed library - filled with native seeds from Prairie Moon Nursery.

Malachi Reed, Eagle Scout candidate from Troop 3 Dedham, with the newly-installed library.

We are pleased to announce that 40 pieces of original, local artwork have been selected by the Select Board at its June 18 meeting to be placed along Sawmill Lane Bridge as part of the Biodiversity Art Walk! The response to the call for artwork was wonderful, as we received applications from more than 60 local artists of all ages, totaling over 100 individual artworks! These images will be printed as 2 ft. x 2 ft. waterproof vinyl stickers, spaced out along the bridge, and will be on view beginning this summer. To view the full list of accepted artists and artworks, please visit https://www.motherbrook.org/features/2026-artwalk-selections.

Thank you to all who participated in the call for artwork and thank you to the Mother Brook Arts & Community Center for partnering with us to collect this local art!

It's been a busy spring season over in the Conservation Division! We were very grateful to receive the Fish & Wildlife Community Biodiversity Grant, which was announced in late March. With a deadline of June 30 to complete our project, we will be accelerating our original timeline to construct the park. Time to get to work!

Here's what we have accomplished so far:

• Survey of Property
• Engineered Site Plans
• Select Board Acceptance of Grant (at April 16 public meeting)
• Conservation Commission issuance of Order of Conditions for work on Riverfront Area (at April 16 public meeting)

The DPW plans to begin work the week of May 11, and expects the project to take approximately 5 weeks to construct. This work will include:

• This will consist of removing invasive vegetation, mulching removed brush and vegetation, removing hazardous & dead trees, installing a sediment and erosion control barrier, grading and excavating for the rain garden installation, installing stone-dust pathway, and planting native shrubs, plants, and wildflowers. We will continue to post updates to this page as work gets underway!

To subscribe to project updates, please use this link and sign up for "General News".

Calling all artists!

Part of the grant funds for the Pollinator Pathway Project will be used to install a nature-themed art walk along the Sawmill Lane Bridge. Mother Brook Arts & Community Center (MBACC) is currently facilitating a Call for Art, where people of all ages can submit up to 3 of their favorite nature-themed artworks. Any medium is accepted, such as photograph, painting, collage, quilt, sculpture, or drawing, and all you need to do is upload a high quality photo of your work.

The call for artwork has been extended by a week, and the deadline is now May 14 at 5 pm!

For the final art walk, 40 art pieces will be selected and reproduced on high-quality weather-proof vinyl stickers to be installed along the pedestrian sidewalk over Mother Brook on the Sawmill Lane Bridge. The end result will be a walkable art exhibit showcasing a diverse array of artwork from members of the Dedham community. (The art walk was inspired by the West Concord Art Loop.)

Final selections will be made in coordination with MBACC and the Select Board. Selected artists will receive a $125 gift card to Mother Brook Arts. We can't wait to see your submissions!

To learn more about the Call for Art, visit the Mother Brook Arts & Community Center website at this link.