Urban Wilds: Dorchester

OWNERSHIP

Boston Conservation Commission 

NEIGHBORHOOD

Dorchester

Description

Fernald Terrace Rock is the smallest city-owned urban wild. It is located at the corner of Fernald Terrace and Quincy Street and consists of a puddingstone outcrop surrounded by sparse cover of grass and weedy vegetation. The rock is bordered by a retaining wall along the Quincy Street sidewalk and has a rundown stairway traversing a moderate slope up to Fernald Terrace. 

OWNERSHIP

Boston Conservation Commission

NEIGHBORHOOD

Dorchester

Description

Geneva Avenue Cliffs is located at the intersection of Geneva Avenue and Bowdoin Street. The site is mostly wooded and contains a rocky ledge rising about forty feet above Bowdoin Street. Small dips and rises of topography lend interest to the site. One small area along Bowdoin Street has some fairly large oaks and maples, but the majority of the site is dominated by non-native, invasive tree species, such as tree-of-heaven and Norway maple. These trees are all small, indicating that this overgrown state has developed only in the past 15-20 years.

The site has experienced serious dumping over the years and most of the ground surface is covered with broken concrete, pavement, construction and demolition rubble, and other trash. However, the City, in partnership with NSTAR and the Geneva Avenue Working Group, has recently initiated plans to restore this site so it can serve as an important open space amenity for the Geneva/Bowdoin Street neighborhood.

OWNERSHIP

Boston Conservation Commission

NEIGHBORHOOD

Dorchester

Description

Willowwood Rock urban wild is a small parcel of land surrounded by housing to the south, north, and east and bordered by Willowwood Road to the west. A wooded mudstone outcrop lines the eastern boundary of the site while the remaining western section of the site is covered with meadow grasses. Mudstone, also called Cambridge argyllite, is normally found north of Boston as its name indicates. The presence of mudstone in this area is extremely unusual and seems to indicate that this area was once covered by water. In the more recent past, this area experienced extensive dumping of everything from household devices to abandoned cars. A chain-link fence erected along Willowwood Road provides the site with improved, but incomplete, protection from this type of abuse. Positioned in an area of almost continuous housing, Willowwood Rock urban wild has the potential of serving as an important area for passive recreation. Unlike many urban wilds that lie at the periphery of neighborhoods, Willowwood Rock is in the heart of a housing development.