Louis Pierro
The Mattapan Milton Neponset Community (MMNC) gathers as neighbors along the Neponset River to explore how to make the Greenway Trail Extension an opportunity to forge stronger relationships among residents of Mattapan and Milton based on mutual respect, understanding,and a common love of the beautiful river and greenway. Our long term goal is to understand, confront and eliminate structural racism and other forces that divide and disempower our Neponset Valley communities. Sustainable Milton is proud to be an Event Champion of the MMNC and we invite other organizations to helpsponsor this group as well, whether financially or just by lending your names and logos to their events.
For years the Neponset Riverstood as a landmark reminding us of the class and racial differences that divided our communities. But now, after many years of struggle, the Neponset River Extension pathway runs from Mattapan Square to Central Ave in Milton joining those two areas together into one community that celebrates our commonalities while embracing our differences.
MMNC hopes to do this through a series of upcoming fun and educational events that will bring individuals and families from both sides of the river together on the pathway to celebrate the river, the path and ourselves.
Two of those events are coming up soon. The first on Saturday April 28 will be a cleanup of the pathway. As part of the Town of Milton Spring Clean Up being led by Milton Department of Public Works (DPW), MMNC will meet at Ryan Playground from 9:00 until noon and clean the Neponset River Extension in either direction. The same day MMNC in conjunction with the Neponset Water Resource Authority (NepWRA), Edgewater Neighborhood Association,and the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will meet atKennedy Playground on the Mattapan side of the river from 9:00-1:00 and clean the pathway there. You can sign up to help in either location by contacting Louis Pierro of MMNC and Sustainable Milton atlouis.pierro5@gmail.com.
Sustainable Milton has always supported clean up days and has often taken the lead to make them a success inthe past. We applaud the Milton DPW for the work it is doing town-wide on this, as well as the Edgewater Neighborhood Association, DCR and NepWRA. And we encourage our members to join in if they can. The second very exciting event will be the official opening and celebration of the Neponset Greenway Extension on Saturday May 12, from noon until 3:00. MMNC will join together with Governor Baker’s office at Ryan Playground once again for a ribbon cutting, bike riding, walking, music, art, activities for children, information tables and much more. Everyone is welcome.
Look for other Mattapan Milton Community events coming in the near future. Sustainable Milton is happy to be an Event Champion of the Mattapan Milton Neponset Community in all the work they are doing to bring our two communities together into one, and in their fight to overcome divisions and confront and eliminate racism.