Earth Day Open Streets & Greenways Event

EARTH DAY OPEN STREETS & GREENWAYS EVENT
Wednesday, April 22, from 2-6PM on MACPHERSON ROAD, DEVENS

Whether you run, bike, hike, roll, scoot, or stroll this is your dedicated, safe space for Earth Day play in a beautiful natural area!

Submitted announcement. See flyers at bottom of page.

Ayer, Devens, and the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge will again host the Open Street and Greenway Earth Day Event on Wednesday, April 22nd, from 2pm-6pm on MacPherson Road. This will be the 5th annual open streets event, celebrating Earth Day by opening the streets to people for recreational activities and the opportunity to experience the beautiful Wild and Scenic Nashua River and Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge in a safe and peaceful manner.

The event will be on MacPherson Road in Devens, accessible from Bishop Road in Ayer, MA. There will be no access from West Main Street.

Feel free to bring any manner of non-motorized wheels—bicycles, scooters, skateboards, etc. Picnics are also welcome; however, no food or drinks will be sold at the event. Please carry in and carry out all trash.

Displays will be set up and tours will start from the intersection where Bishop and MacPherson Roads meet. There will be guided walks featuring local trails, birds, and a pollinator meadow, as well as nearly 20 environmental organizations offering information and activities for visitors of all ages.

Hands-on activities such as bird box making, mural painting, and a nature-based scavenger hunt will also be offered.

This year as part of the Devens Climate Resiliency Project (MVP 2.0), team members will be conducting outreach at the festival to learn about community concerns in preparation of utilizing a state grant to address community issues and increase community resiliency. To participate in the survey, visit https://tinyurl.com/DevensMVPSurvey.

You can choose your level of activity, you may come get active and count your steps or sit, relax, and enjoy the beauty of the Nashua River and Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge. Either way, this is an opportunity to take a break, unplug from the stresses of daily life and reconnect with our natural surroundings. See this natural local treasure from a new vantage point and demonstrate how nice it is to leave the car behind and get around the city on foot or bike.

See https://www.devensec.com/news.html for information and updates or contact bethsuedmeyer@devensec.com.

What are Open Streets?

Open Streets are programs that temporarily open streets to people and close them to cars. People traffic replaces vehicular traffic and the streets become ‘paved parks’, where people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds can come out and improve their health.

Why offer the Open Streets Earth Day Event?

Our communities are home to phenomenal protected, natural places, but often they are difficult to access. In this unique situation opening MacPherson Road allows you to experience so much more than an Open Street, as you can experience the Nashua Wild and Scenic River and the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge in a safe and comfortable manner while engaging in physical activity.

We need to encourage new ways for our citizens to get active. Many consider Massachusetts to be a healthy state, but

• 22% of adults in Massachusetts met the federal physical activity guidelines in the past 30 days. (The guidelines are 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity and two days of muscle strengthening per week.)

• 30% of Massachusetts children ages 10- 17 years are overweight or obese. This number has been rising since 2003.

As Open Streets are on the street, they are also very accessible to people with mobility devices and challenges because the surface is flat and smooth.

Click to see page 1 and page 2 of the flyer or click on the images.