$35K grant to help Dedham build ‘water trail’ along Charles River

With a $35,251 state grant secured, Dedham can begin construction on a canoe and kayak water trail along the Charles River.

As part of Gov. Deval Patrick’s commitment to the environment, the Department of Conservation and Recreation recently awarded $1.17 million in grants to local communities to fund 41 trail projects. Dedham was awarded $35,251 to fund the water trail, which is set to open late spring or early summer of next year.

The funds were originally scheduled to be awarded to the town last year, but were put on hold until the Department of Conservation and Recreation received additional information from other communities, said Virgina LeClair, Dedham’s environmental coordinator and co-author of the grant.

The department wanted to verify that the project the communities proposed would not impact priority habitats as identified by the Natural Heritage Endangered Species Program, LeClair wrote in a recent e-mail.

In addition to the state funds, the town must also provide a 20 percent match of the total value of the project —approximately $8,812, according to LeClair. The Dedham Land Trust generously donated $4,000 and an anonymous donor provided $1,000, she said. The town is also looking at other sources of funding for the remaining amount, LeClair said.

With funding in place, LeClair and Jonathan Briggs, co-author of the grant, Conservation Commissioner, Open Space and Recreation Committee member and Sustainability Advisory Committee member will start meeting with contractors.

“We are just gathering information at this point,” LeClair said.

The proposed water trail, much like a hiking trail, will guide outdoorsmen on a 3-hour loop along the Charles River and connecting waterways through markers and informational signs. The town plans to build canoe launches along the perimeter of the trail.

LeClair said the town will start constructing a canoe launch at the landing off of Bullard Street this fall. To prepare the water trail LeClair said the town will remove Japanese knotweed and other invasive plants and put down permeable pavers, which allow rainwater to percolate through the paving and into the ground before it runs off into the river.

LeClair explained that the permeable pavers reduce the amount of storm water runoff and keeps “pollutants away from local waterways.”

The town will also put in a picnic bench and granite stepping to make it easier for one to get into the canoe, she said.

The idea for a water trail came about during public meetings for the town’s open space and recreation plan, LeClair said. The open space and recreation five-year plan follows certain state guidelines regarding management and preservation of the town’s open space.

During Open Space Committee public meetings on the Open Space and Recreation Plan this spring, many residents voiced their desire for access to the Charles River for canoeing and kayaking. Currently, there are limited access points open to the public, said LeClair. The Dedham Community House has a private access point to the river on Ames Street. The only other access point that is safe and provides parking is at Needham Street.

The planned public launching point at Bullard Street will have on-street parking and a few additional parking spaces, LeClair said. The town is also in discussion with the Massachusetts Office of Fishing and Boating Access in regards to constructing a launch site for car top boats at 269 Common St. LeClair hopes that the Common Street launching point would be ready by the time the water trail opens.

The water trail will have many benefits, according to LeClair. It will provide many “educational and recreational opportunities,” she said.

The water trail will also provide access to downtown Dedham and attract visitors to merchants in the Square, she said. Local stores and restaurants will provide waterproof maps of the river’s history and ecology, said LeClair, hopefully giving people another reason to visit downtown Dedham.

LeClair also hopes that getting people out on the Charles River will inspire them to protect the river.

“It’s (the water trail) enabling them to experience the natural resources and that way they become stewards of the river,” LeClair said.

View Dedham Water Trail in a larger map