Founded in 2012, The Friends of the Malden River (FoMR) is still going strong with around 100 active members. Today, the organization cleans and tests the water of the 2.3 mile long Malden River. The team also raises awareness for and supports local wildlife conservation efforts.
This year, the FoMR has created its first-ever picture contest, a new tradition the group would like to keep for next year, and many years to come.
The FoMR has decided to reward the first place winners in three categories $20 and the second-place winners $15. The categories are: views of the Malden River, people enjoying the Malden River, and wildlife in and around the Malden River. Keep in mind that your pictures must not be taken in a way that disturbs wildlife or people. Interested photographers can submit their photos to friendsofthemaldenriver@gmail.com.
Creator and sponsor for the photo contest, Paul Buckley has been in the organization for seven years and discussed the idea before, but it only managed to come to fruition this year after Buckley offered to pay the prize money. “The big thing is to try to get folks down to the river,” Buckley explained. He says that many people do not even know the river exists.
Initially, the photo contest had a deadline of November 15th. However, the group has since changed the deadline to December 1st, to give participating photographers more time to cull through and edit their photos.
According to a Wikipedia article on the Malden River, the Malden River’s “water quality is worse than most local waters, including the Mystic River.” However, Paul Buckley, who has run along the edges of the Malden River, frequently says that the river “has improved quite a bit.” He remembers the Malden River as being “an eyesore” when he was a kid. He says, “you could see the oil floating on top of the river, junk cars in the river, and tires.”
On top of cleaning the Malden River, the Friends of the Malden River are currently developing buildings and activities around the river. These plans include a new boathouse for the Malden High Schools Crew team, a new dock, stormwater retention systems, and flooding controls. “The concept is all done … and the engineering is now in process,” Buck explained. It is expected to be completed in 2025.
For anybody wishing to sign up for the organization. Karen Buck recommends sending an email to friendsofthemaldenriver@gmail.com. This will place you on the mailing list which will give reminders to you of any upcoming events and meetings. The next meeting will be on January 6th from 6:30 to 7:30 over Zoom.
More information can be found on the FoMR’s Facebook page; https://www.facebook.com/FriendsoftheMaldenRiver and on their website; https://maldenriver.wordpress.com/.
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