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The town of Wellesley’s milestone project to restore historic Fuller Brook Park, the two-and-a-half mile linear park winding through the center of the community, is coming to an end. Planning and design work began in 2009, and actual construction in the park, which most town residents refer to as the “brook path” because it follows the stream paths of Caroline and Fuller Brooks, started in 2014. Wellesley’s Department of Public Works (DPW) will assume long-term management of the park in late fall.
Major renovations were needed to preserve the more than 100-year-old park, which was designed by the Olmsted firm and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Project collaborators included the Wellesley Natural Resources Commission (NRC), DPW, Board of Selectmen, Community Preservation Committee, Planning Department, Historical Commission, and the Fuller Brook Park Preservation Committee – a citizens group of town residents and park abutters. The more than $5.5 million project was funded by town appropriations, including multiple allocations from the Community Preservation Committee, and state and federal grants. Learn more at http://wellesleyma.gov/330/Fuller-Brook-Park-Project.
Pictured left from right are Bates project team Jim Learned (manager), Joe Milton, Paul Guadagnoli, Riley Ballou, and Kevin Coughlin (site superintendent), with Wellesley DWP project manager Peter Jackson. Missing from the photo is Tim Ballou of the Bates team.
Some of the park’s most notable improvements include:
• A wider pathway with curb cuts, formal street crossings and a less than five percent grade to make it universally accessible.
• Restored stream beds to better support aquatic and wild life.
• Shored-up stream banks to prevent erosion and bio-retention basins to better manage storm water runoff and park drainage.
• The dredging and re-configuring of State Street pond near Wellesley High School to improve stream flow and water carrying capacity.
• Invasive plant removal and the planting of more than 60 species of native trees, shrubs and perennials.
• Educational signage and specially-designed granite trail markers.
Paul DePhillips, DPW landscape foreman, who will be providing the day-to-day maintenance of Fuller Brook Park.
R. Bates & Sons, a private contractor from Sterling, MA, performed most of the construction work, under the supervision of DPW Project Manager Peter Jackson. Once the project is completed, Paul DePhillips, an eight-year DPW employee and Massachusetts Certified Landscape Professional (MCLP) will provide the day-to-day maintenance, which will include ongoing invasive plant removal and managing the park without chemicals in accordance with the town’s organic integrated pest management plan. “The work that’s been done to restore the park is beautiful,” DePhillips said. “Now I’m looking forward to making my mark.”
Wellesley has also engaged horticultural specialists from Parterre Ecological Services who will be supplementing the DPW crews one day each week for the next year, removing and clearing away non-native trees and shrubs. The majority of this work will be done by hand to prevent disrupting the sensitive eco-system of the park.
The town is planning an official grand re-opening of the park in early November to thank residents for their patience during this project and to invite them to explore the crown jewel of Wellesley’s conservation land. Details will be announced at a later date.
