Nature & Environment

Featured

A pocket-sized forest in Malden brightens a neighborhood

December 6, 2024 NeighborhoodView 1

By Christian Carapucci Amid the hustle and bustle of everyday Malden citizens getting to work, school, or going out on the town, and the naturally ingrained on-the-go mindset of city living, it’s nice to stop, breathe, and commune with nature. And where better to do that than in the newly created “pocket forest” on Goodwin Avenue? A pocket forest is a small densely planted area of native trees and shrubs. Malden’s first pocket forest was created with the planting of 21 trees on a vacant lot on Goodwin Avenue in the Forestdale section of the city in October. This is the first one in the state paid for by a new Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) grant from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The idea originated on January 5, 2024, when Malden resident Ashley Kolodziej reached out to newly appointed City Council member of three days, Ari Taylor, saying she would like to see a community garden on a small piece of city-owned land that abuts her property. However, some […]

Education

From the Streets to the River – Litter’s Effect on Malden

August 8, 2024 MHS Eco-Club 1

By Merari Flores and Nora Hounain One of the biggest problems in today’s society is acknowledging environmental issues without taking any action to address them. Walking down the street, it is easy to spot trash; however, not much is being done in order to clean it up or, at the very least, prevent the amount of litter present.  In the United States alone, according to Keep America Beautiful, there are about 50 billion pieces of trash along waterways and roadways. In Malden, Massachusetts, the problem of litter is no exception. 124568 In April 2023, Friends of the Malden River (FoMR), held a clean-up event where they were able to fill up 70 bags plus miscellaneous materials like mattress springs, bicycles, and UFO’s with riverside waste.  In 2024 alone, 4,390 pounds of trash has been collected in the Malden River Watershed as well as 4,124 pounds from trash clean-up events.  Friends of the Malden River is one of many organizations in Malden that actively push and advocate to keep the environment clean. They focus on problem-solving and […]

Featured

The Great Malden Outdoors: Making outdoor recreation more accessible to communities of color

November 9, 2023 Nia Harmon 1

By Nia Harmon Cities across the United States saw an increased use of outdoor spaces during the COVID-19 Pandemic, including the Greater Boston area. However, these outdoor spaces have not been maximized by all communities based on what is called “The Adventure Gap,” which measures the percentage between different groups that participate in outdoor activities in comparison to their makeup of the U.S. population. Working towards bridging that gap in the city of Malden is Darren Josey, founder and CEO of First Seed Sown, a sales and marketing company, and the new outdoor education and empowerment campaign, The Great Malden Outdoors. The campaign is designed to help break down barriers of entry to outdoor sporting for communities of color. With 14 years of experience working in the outdoor industry, Josey is encouraging members of his community to appreciate the city’s natural beauty. “I think Malden is a great example of a very diverse town ethnically and socioeconomically, that has amazing outdoor recreation that the residents here are not using because they don’t know it exists,” […]

Business

Plans for new behavioral health facility move forward

June 21, 2023 Shannon Garrido 0

Shannon A. Garrido It’s been over two decades since Hallmark Health officially closed Malden Hospital, effectively leaving residents on the Medford line to deal with the vacant property. After years of failed plans aiming to finally develop the former hospital, Tufts Medicine and Acadia Healthcare Company announced on June 30, 2022 that they are planning a behavioral health facility on the site. The joint venture is set to build a 144-bed inpatient facility that will address the critical need for accessible behavioral health services for patients of all ages in the Greater Boston area. Amanda Linehan, city council representative for Ward 3, where the site is located, explains that the residents are keen on developing the site as well as preserving part of the land.  “When I was going door to door asking folks what ‘would you like to see there?’ It was a mixture of preservation,” says Linehan. “[Others] would say, ‘it was great having a community hospital there, I wish we could have some type of health care or public health use.” Mayor […]

Education

Growing for Malden: behind the high school community garden that could

May 30, 2023 Bryan Liu 2

By Bryan Liu In an empire of sawdust, a jungle blooms. Malden High School’s makerspace is a warehouse-sized engineering classroom that doubles as a fully-stocked workshop for hands-on STEM-based extracurriculars — but against the windowsill, a row of lush hydroponics sticks out like a sore thumb — a green one.  This is where Malden’s Youth Community Garden trains in the off-season.  Malden High School Senior, Jadelini Mora, explains that the makerspace is the perfect nursery for plants to mature indoors during the colder months until it’s warm enough for them to be moved into one of 23 planting beds that make up the garden outside. To expand their planting space, the club built a greenhouse in April. It’s somewhere between professional and DIY.  The thermal ‘greenhouse effect’ owes its namesake to the sheets of UV-resistant plastic affixed with only a mile of duct tape and several elbows’ worth of elbow grease. The layers of tarp are just translucent enough to glimpse the sun-kissed gloss of green-ish horticulture from a distance.  Now the club can garden […]

Featured

Turf battle heats up: An update on Roosevelt Park

May 12, 2023 Colette Lauture 0

Four years later, where is the project headed? By Colette Lauture A debate over the use of artificial turf has stalled the proposed redesign of Malden’s Roosevelt Park. The ongoing conversation is vast, covering everything from environmental concerns to sports teams wanting more playing time.  Since its inception nearly four years ago, the project has experienced support and pushback. Malden residents have voiced their apprehension and excitement alike for the field’s redesign, the back-and-forth causing confusion about its trajectory. Debbie Burke, Executive Director of the city’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, said that the city is eager to complete the project. With hazardous soil removed, flood storage capacity would be set to improve, and the number of residents who will be able to play on the field will increase. Youth athletic groups, Salemwood School students, and the surrounding neighborhood would experience these benefits. “The project also responds to climate change by increasing stormwater capacity in a floodplain, increasing resiliency on the field and in the neighborhood…It also reduces water use and increases access […]

Events

MTEC Brings Malden Teens to Cardigan Lodge

May 1, 2023 NeighborhoodView 4

By Zhi Zhu Nineteen lucky Malden teens were in for a treat last February as the Malden Teen Enrichment Center (MTEC) took them on a three-day excursion to Cardigan Lodge in Alexandria, New Hampshire. MTEC had announced in January that they were organizing a trip for the winter break. Due to high interest, the center chose teens on a first-come-first-served basis. Those selected were Allison Yu, Nikki Blue, Nasuh Kacmaz, Jelani Tah, Matteo Tah, Jason Chen, Emilee Tortorella, Slade Harding, Francis Doza, Julianna Lin, Archer Ou, Makeila Scott, Darian O’Brien, Kaneli Kaukko, Sabrina Dangervil, Cheryl Pidakala, Gurudit Thakur, Hasnaat Khan, and Zhi Zhu. MTEC has organized many trips before, bringing teens camping in the summer and hiking during the spring. MTEC is able to provide teens the opportunity to go on trips like these through their ties with the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) which provides training and outdoor gear. Jacob Mullin-Bernstein of the MTEC staff mentioned that AMC is a “huge organization, but they have a specific section of their organization known as ‘OLT’, Outdoor […]

Education

The vote for “the Voke” has led to a surprising twist

February 21, 2023 NeighborhoodView 0

Selected site for the Northeast Vocational High School building draws opposition By Karen Buck A $317,422-million dollar plan to rebuild the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School sounded promising to many when first proposed. “The Voke” hadn’t been significantly renovated since it was built nearly 50 years ago. It was time for a rebuild with updated technology.  However, the project has now sparked fierce opposition, even among those who voted in favor of it on Jan. 25, 2022.  The controversy is not about rebuilding the Voke, but what would be sacrificed for the new construction.  The 1/25/2022 ballot question approving the construction costs of $317,422,620 did not specify the location of the new building site other than to note the current school address of 100 Hemlock Drive. A low turnout of 9,043 residents voted on the issue of funding the new school building, with 7,471 in favor of rebuilding the Voke. However, some voters from the communities served – Wakefield, Chelsea, Malden, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Revere, Saugus, Stoneham, Winchester, Winthrop, and Woburn – were later […]