WalkMassachusetts and GreenRoots Caminatas Verdes participants gather for a photo prior to embarking on a 1 mile walk along the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway.

On Tuesday, August 6, WalkMassachusetts and GreenRoots co-hosted a one-mile walk through East Boston, joining Caminatas Verdes (“Green Walks”), a group of local residents who gather weekly to be physically active and create community. 

This was our first-ever bilingual community walk, with English interpretation provided by GreenRoots. It was an opportunity to highlight a partnership with GreenRoots that has been made possible by a grant from Boston Children’s Hospital.

The event began in the amphitheater of the Bremen Street Community Park, where WalkMass’ bilingual Program Manager Jonny Gomez-Pereira welcomed participants and highlighted some of the topics that would be discussed along the walk. Noemy Rodriguez, a 2024 WalkMassachusetts Golden Shoe Recipient, described how the Caminatas reflect some of East Boston’s rich cultural diversity, with multiple languages and nationalities represented and participants of different ages and abilities.

Attendees of this walk then had the opportunity to hear from Sandra Nijjar, the Founder and Executive of the East Boston Community Soup Kitchen, which operates twice a week in order to provide families in East Boston with nutritious food. Sandra’s current work highlights the need that exists within the community and some of the challenges that families face when trying to access food.

After hearing from opening speakers, participants embarked on the walk along the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway which connects the Jeffries Point neighborhood in East Boston to Orient Heights via a car-free shared use path. During the first stop of our walk along the Gove St. entrance of the Greenway we were able to hear from Caminata participant and East Boston resident Beatrice who bravely shared some of her experience with the Caminatas. She has participated in the walk for over 8 years, and found the community she built in this space empowering as she recovered from COVID-19 complications. Beatrice spoke to the power of moving together and being in community and affirmed her participation going forward.

As the walk made its way further south toward the coast, participants had the opportunity to hear from another Caminata participant and Eastie Resident, Rina, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years. Rina shared some of her memories of what the East Boston coastline used to be and how it has rapidly transformed in recent years. She noted some of the challenges that have come along with the rapid development of the coast including the exponential growth of housing costs in the once affordable neighborhood and the resulting displacement that Caminatas participants organize around. She noted that organizations such as City Life / Vida Urbana work with residents in the area to challenge displacement, which has become common.

Lastly, the group made its way towards Piers Park, walking through the recent expansion of the MassPort property where attendees had the opportunity to hear from John Walkey, GreenRoots’ Director of Climate Justice & Waterfront Initiatives. John was able to provide some context of some of the programmatic work that GreenRoots achieves throughout East Boston. He shared a brief history lesson on how chapter 91 has evolved from providing access to colonial era subjects to the harbor to fish and clam, to its current existing form where new developments along the Boston Harbor provide public amenities to the communities that host them such as public restrooms. John also noted that green spaces such as Piers Park are essential, especially as Boston Logan Airport abuts the community and negatively impacts air quality. 

Learn more about:

• GreenRoots environmental justice work in East Boston and Chelsea
• Amenities provided through Chapter 91 (from Boston Harbor Now, with an interactive map) 
• City Life/Vida Urbana housing justice and anti-displacement work