Sherrin Woods Urban Wild
Boston MA 02136 (Hyde Park)
DATE – SAT. JUNE. 14, 2024
TIME – 8:00-9:30 AM ET
GPS 98-2 Marston St.
Meet at the corner of Martson and Austin Streets. If you get lost, use the GPS address above or navigate to the southwest corner of the main section of the park.
Avoid driving on Marston St and Sherrin St due to poor conditions.
PLEASE NOTE: If you put “Sherrin Woods” into the GPS you will not find the meeting spot.
This event is free, but you must register in advance. Spaces are limited. You’ll receive an email with additional info after you register.
By registering you are also agreeing to our terms of service. We also request a signed release form, which you can print, sign, and bring or complete onsite. If you have questions, please ask! Thanks!
See map. Meet at the Sherrin Woods entrance on the corner of Austin St and Marston St. (Avoid driving on Marston St and Sherrin St due to poor conditions.)
Public Transportation
The closest stop is MBTA 50 bus on West Street.
Driving and Parking
If you are driving, consider carpooling. Parking is usually available on the side streets around the entrance to the park. There is also a garage nearby at 1045 Hyde Park Ave. A free parking lot at McGann Playground is about an 8-minute walk away.
Sherrin Street Woods Urban Wild is the third largest City-owned urban wild site, It is managed by the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston and the DCR. This pocket of lush green space is often overlooked and doesn’t yet rank its own ebird list—but it’s a great place to see migrants in spring. It’s a perfect example of how birders can contribute to the protection of urban wilds by sharing their local discoveries.
This pocket wild was once overrun with invasive plants, but bit by bit those plants have been removed by the city and by community volunteers allowing native plants and pollinators to return and making these woods and wetlands very attractive to birds once again. There’s more work to do and if you’re interested, we’ll share info on how you can get involved after the trip.
We’ll keep a careful count and add the data to the evolving checklist for the Walking City Trail survey project (more on that here—LINK). A collaborative effort that includes hikers, local conservation leaders, birders, and nature lovers, the survey walks along the Walking City Trail celebrate urban wilds and greenspace and invite participants to engage in some much-needed community science.
The more data we have about the biodiversity of city parks, the better these areas can be protected.
New birders are welcome, and we do have some binoculars to lend. Email us after registering.
Spaces are limited. Free.
Special thanks to the Boston Parks Department, Urban Wilds.
PHOTO: Baltimore Oriole, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Cedar Waxwing, Black-Throated Green Warbler, Baltimore Oriole. Getty Images.
TRAILS
This walk is easy-moderate. We’ll follow a loop walk through the forests and wetlands. This walk is 1.1 miles on a mix of rugged dirt paths and groomed gravel paths. It’s mostly level, save for a few brief ups and downs. Most of this walk follows the Walking City Trail route.
CHALLENGES
Sometimes there is an outdoor toilet located at the playground at the north end of the urban wild.
JOIN YOUR LOCAL BIRD CLUB
There are a million reasons to join your local bird club! Here’s our take… [LINK]
USEFUL LINKS
All Trails
Please note: this map is for the whole first section of the trail (8+ miles) We’re only covering 1.1 miles—the Sherrin woods section for this walk.
The Brookline Bird Club (BBC) is America’s most active bird club and one of the oldest in the nation. Membership is open to all who are interested in birds and nature.
The BBC offers an extensive program of year-round field trips, covering the entire state of Massachusetts from the Berkshires to Stellwagen Bank, New England, and beyond. Guests are welcome on Club walks and at talks and Club meetings.
Connecting 17 Boston neighborhoods from the Neponset River Reservation to Bunker Hill Monument, the Walking City Trail is a 27-mile urban hiking path through some of Boston’s most scenically immersive parks, urban wilds, gardens, and residential neighborhoods.
It was created in 2022 by a hearty crew of Boston ramblers.
As cities expand their multi-use trails, it’s time to expand our idea of where hiking can happen. The city is a rustling, fragrant, and historically loaded ecosystem in which pathways and street walks can be connected to create long-distance hiking routes. What better way to discover urban hiking than by hiking Boston, where visionaries like Frederick Law Olmsted brought the natural world to the city with the Emerald Necklace linear parks? Or where thousands of people walk the Freedom Trail each year?
Visit our website and bring your hiking shoes.
Founded in 2001, Southwest Boston CDC has worked with community partners in Hyde Park and Roslindale to create and preserve affordable housing. SWBCDC’s Green Initiative Program works with neighborhood associations and city-wide coalitions to advocate for policies to protect all remaining urban woodlands from being clear-cut, and to follow and advise on evaluation and clean-up of the Neponset River, as key strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation, especially as building density increases.
Over the past 16 years, our Green Team, Youth Job Readiness and Environmental Stewardship Program has employed over 200 Boston youth to restore Hyde Park’s protected Urban Wilds by building and maintaining walking trails, planting and pruning native species, and removing invasive species. At Sherrin Woods, the largest city-owned Urban Wild, the Green Team’s work has resulted in an increase in Park users by families from Hyde Park and surrounding neighborhoods. Through the Green Team, Boston teens learn to become environmental stewards & educators, understand the role of urban woodlands in climate resiliency & biodiversity, and acquire and model job skills that prepare them for future success.