High School Student Evaluated the Bay Colony Rail

Photographs and comments by Andrew Noble, who trekked the proposed bike trail to evaluate obstructions and concerns. 


These pictures were taken along the proposed Bay Colony Rail Trail path, starting at the end near Needham center and heading away finishing near Charles River Street. Overall the main issues with the path at this point are obstructions: trees, downed limbs, shrub growth, etc. The growth becomes denser the further it is from the Needham end (most likely due to less foot traffic). The growth will most likely need to be cleaned out before any construction of the path can be started. Most of this growth is small scale though, and should be easy to remove with a few exceptions that may call for the usage of equipment. Furthermore, there are many houses along the proposed path which may cause some friction with town residents. Many of the houses are set back and away from the trail, but a few are close to the trail and would be able to clearly see the trail. None the less there should be no problem with the land itself. With the exception of a few slightly sloped parts, the trail would have fourteen feet (seven on both sides from center of flat land for construction. (There is one stretch that could cause concern with the width as immediately at seven feet from center the land steeply drops off on both sides)

High Rock Overpass

Nearby Residences

Fallen Branches Obstructing Trail

Pollard Book Drive

Over several weeks and along with seven other 8th grade students, this student collected, sorted, packed, and delivered over 3,000 gently used books donated by the Pollard Middle School community. This project fulfilled what the students needed to do as part of the Grade 8 Community Service Learning Program.  The social issue that these students focused on during this project was illiteracy.  They researched and read articles about illiteracy and then focused on an action plan of how they could do their part to help stop illiteracy by collecting books for schools who were in need of these resources.  As seen here, she read some of the books she delivered to the students at Kennedy Elementary School in Brockton, MA.

Pollard Middle School students have just finished carrying in all the boxes of gently used books that they will be donating to Dearborn Middle School in Roxbury, MA.  Here they stand in Dearborn Middle School's library.  This school receives books from us on an annual basis and the books are read by students both in and outside of school.

Two eighth grade students read to kindergarteners at Winthrop Elementary School in Dorchester, MA.  As a result of their book drive, hundreds of books were donated to this school to help to fill up their new library.