After almost six months of repair work, a like-new stretch of boardwalk in Cutler Park is complete. The project is the result of a four-way collaboration with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), the New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA), community volunteers and Boy Scouts.
A quarter-mile section of boardwalk was successfully restored over the summer in partnership between the DCR and the Student Conservation Association, but work was paused before the half-mile section was complete.
With limited resources at its disposal, DCR contacted NEMBA in September. The local mountain biking enthusiast group that specializes in trail building agreed to organize manpower and bring in its experts.
“This past Saturday was one of two work days it took to complete,” said Abe Ringer, Needham resident and NEMBA representative for Cutler Park. “It was a long-overdue repair. In years past, we’ve only been able to patch the boardwalk with new boards.”
Volunteers were recruited through social media, NEMBA chapter communications and word of mouth. Needham resident Stephen Frail learned about the project through a biking buddy and volunteered with his son from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. one of the workdays. The boardwalks, he said, are a resource he and his son have enjoyed for years.
“It gets a little bit sketchy sometimes when you’re riding a bike over broken boards,” said Frail. “So for me and for my son, I was like, ‘Oh, this is a great opportunity for us to give back and volunteer.’”
Boy Scouts from Troop 10, under the supervision of Scoutmaster Tony Mattacchione, also participated. Boardwalk repairs serve as an annual service project for the Scouts, but typically projects are simpler and are completed start to finish by the troop.
“When I contacted the DCR for our annual project, they mentioned that there was also going to be (NEMBA),” Mattacchione said. “So I coordinated with them, and we worked out a plan that would be good for the skill sets that the Scouts have, as well as supporting the more physical and demanding work that NEMBA was doing.”
Fifteen to 20 volunteers gathered in Cutler Park Nov. 8 and Dec. 6. DCR dropped off boards and power tools, and volunteers were asked to begin where they felt comfortable.
Of the six similar projects Ringer has been a part of over the past few years, this one, he said, was “by far” the most involved. Cutler’s boardwalk, which hadn’t seen significant repairs since its construction in the 1990s, needed more than a crew of five to 10 volunteers, half a day’s work and the typical replacement of top boards.
“The demolition of the old boardwalk was really the challenging part, because generations of people have maintained that boardwalk,” Ringer said. “You’ve got all kinds of different fasteners and screws and bolts and nails, and so getting all that old stuff up and then replacing with the new stuff is really the kind of technical, challenging part.”
Frail and his son started the day by cutting wood to size before joining a team tearing out rotten boards and nailing down new ones. One of the most significant moments of the day, Frail said, was watching the Boy Scouts give back to their community.
“This young man, he was 10, was hauling in the 16-foot beams like everybody else,” said Frail. “He was hammering nails like everybody else. I mean, he didn’t complain, he didn’t take breaks, he just did the work. I was so impressed with him.”
Mattacchione said the project offered Scouts a unique opportunity to learn a new skill while receiving encouragement from individuals passing by on Cutler’s trails.
“People that are using the boardwalk while we’re repairing it are giving them real-time feedback in terms of the value that they’re putting on to it — and (the Scouts are learning) safety with the mountain bikers that use it as well,” Mattacchione said. “They’re also learning key life skills in terms of that community service, but also how to work with basic physics, with fulcrums and levers, and how to do things without really exerting unnecessary strength and hurting themselves.”
When everyone else went home at the end of the second workday, Ringer made a point of walking the restored boardwalk one last time.
“I think what we’ve done with this project is we’ve made it much safer, we’ve made it much more accessible and we’ve really kind of extended the life of it,” he said. “Because the work we’ve done here, you know, will last for a decade or two.”
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