The Friends of Lake Quannapowitt invited all community members to join us at our Annual Meeting and Dinner at Bear Hill Golf Club in Stoneham on Wednesday, May 29th, 2024. Guests enjoyed dinner and participated in the business meeting, followed by an educational presentation and discussion. This year’s educational presentation featured two experts in their field. James Joyce from the...
FOLQ is pleased to share an update related to the development at 200 Quannapowitt Parkway. Cabot Cabot and Forbes (CC&F), the developers of that property, have donated $1.3 million for water quality improvements that will directly impact the Lake. This donation was negotiated by the Friends of Lake Quannapowitt, in a signed and binding agreement. The funds will support new...
FOLQ is sharing this important information, which was announced by the Town of Wakefield on May 28, 2024. The Basic Information A fish consumption advisory has been issued for Lake Quannapowitt by the MA Department of Public Health. The full announcement and very helpful additional information provided by the MA Department of Public Health can be found here. Why was...
Just in time for Earth Day, Friends of Lake Quannapowitt was joined by 16 volunteers from Weston & Sampson to help clean up the Gertrude Spaulding Park lakeshore and remove invasive species. Volunteers focused their efforts on removing ❌ Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), ❌ Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora), ❌ Crownvetch (Securigera varia), ❌ Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and ❌ Orange...
Dear Friends of Lake Quannapowitt, The Wakefield Planning Board recently voted against supporting the citizen petition request for a zoning by-law amendment for 50 Quannapowitt Parkway for a self-storage facility. The Friends of Lake Quannapowitt Board had considered options for this site, and the Board of Directors voted unanimously to support the amendment. As such, FOLQ sent a letter to...
Have you noticed the two bioretention areas on the Lake? Bioretention areas, also known as rain gardens, are one way the Town of Wakefield and FOLQ are helping to manage stormwater runoff into the Lake. This bioretention area, at the north end of the Lake, takes in much of the stormwater runoff from the surrounding area before it enters the...
In Wakefield, a lot of rain and snow (or “stormwater”) flows directly, untreated, into our town’s bodies of water. Any water that cannot be absorbed where it falls flows into the town’s drainage systems, which travels to our streams and wetlands, such as Lake Quannapowitt, Mill River, Saugus River, Mystic River, Reedy Meadow, Crystal Lake and many others. And if...
You may have heard about the Great Horned Owl at Lake Quannapowitt earlier this month. Here’s more info on how to enjoy “Owl Season” at Lake Q and how to keep wildlife safe. “January is owl season in Massachusetts,” according to Mass Audubon in a recent WBUR interview, with many of the birds courting and nesting this time of year....
Congratulations to this year’s Gertrude Spaulding award winner, Laurel Perkins, who has been a member of FOLQ’s Col. Connelly Park Committee. In particular, Laurel’s incredibly hard work on the program to install memorial bricks around the Connelly Park Flagpole has made a lasting impression on our Lake and our organization. Thank you, Laurel! Learn more about the Bricks by the...
In 2023, FOLQ invited Dominic Meringolo, Environmental Engineer for Solitude Lake Management, Inc., to our annual business meeting to present and discuss possible in-lake solutions being used to reduce persistent algae blooms and improve water quality in lakes and ponds. These solutions would complement and provide additional impact to the Town’s current efforts to limit nutrients and pollutants from entering...
