Waitts Mountain in Malden is a local treasure preserved by community effort. The park prioritizes not only outdoor fun but also accessibility and conservation of the park. They encourage the community to get outdoors, keep the space clean, and, most importantly, take pride in it. On April 5th, Malden residents came together for an environmental clean-up of Waitts Mt., followed by an after-party at Idle Hands Craft Ales.
“We hold annual cleanups here at Waitts Mt. in the spring; sometimes we do it in the fall too, depending on different events. This has been going on for decades, I took it on in 2016. We try to be stewards to the park, cleaning up the glass, covering graffiti, and picking up trash,” Ryan O’Malley, Ward Four City Councillor, shared.
One of their main goals is to “encourage Malden’s youth and the users of the park to take care of it. Don’t smash bottles, have fun up here, do whatever you want to do, just try not to destroy the park. We try to lead by example. I partner with The Great Malden Outdoors and Darren Josey, who have their own mission,” O’Malley continued.
Josey introduced himself as a “Malden resident and a lover of the outdoors. I created The Great Malden Outdoors, a campaign to get all Maldonians outside because in my time recreating here, I didn’t see a lot of Maldonians rock climbing, hiking, bird-watching, and fishing. I didn’t see a lot of Malden residents recreating outside.”
He saw many residents from neighboring towns like Melrose, Somerville, and Medford, but he wanted to see more representation of his own community. “As someone who is Black and Puerto Rican, I know that People Of Color are underrepresented when it comes to outdoor recreation because we have such a diverse community here from people of different ethnicities and ability levels.”
Their goal with the campaign is to build awareness around outdoor activities, creating a more inclusive and welcoming space for all Maldonians. “One of the other most underrepresented groups are people with disabilities and special needs,” so they seek to “build a program that helps build awareness and a step-by-step resource guide, do programming at the Recreation Department, and collaborate with wonderful City Councillors like O’Malley that clean up areas that are not being used to their full potential,” stated Josey.
“We also partner with local businesses, Rock Spot and Idle Hands, to bring more awareness. Rockspot does guiding, and when I started working with them, they said that they didn’t have many Malden Residents reaching out to them to do rock climbing, guiding, and teaching here, and as you can see today, there are multiple groups that are rock climbing here right now,” Josey said. Through these collaborations, Josey has witnessed how local businesses and the community can revitalize public spaces.
Josey explained that Waitts Mt. offers something special. With the only ADA-accessible rock-climbing area in the Eastern part of the state, it is a space designed for people of all abilities to enjoy, “whether it’s the parking lot or a short paved walk to get to the climbing area. Every time I climb here, I see residents that come by and ask, ‘What are you doing? How do I do this?’”
“I love bringing my family and friends to rock climb here,” Josey said. So, next time you are in Malden, check out Waitts Mt.. Whether you are hiking, climbing, or enjoying the view, you are helping support efforts to improve this local spot. It is a community effort focused on both preserving the park and strengthening connections.
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