Mystic River Needs To Cool Off

ARLINGTON, MA — Arlington was recently awarded $186,200 from the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program for the Wicked Hot Mystic Project. The project, led by Arlington in conjunction with the Resilient Mystic Collaborative and the Museum of Science, seeks to mitigate extreme heat throughout the Mystic River Watershed.

The Wicked Hot Mystic Project consists of three parts. Citizen science efforts will measure and map ground-level heat and humidity data through community data collection. Using this data, public education materials will be created and public engagement events will be held to inform the communities within the watershed of the most vulnerable areas. Finally, participating communities will work with local artists to create public art, such as poetry, stories, photos, and other visual representations to engage more residents impacted by extreme heat events.

"The Greater Boston Region endured multiple extreme heat events this summer, so Arlington greatly appreciates the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ dedication to mitigate extreme heat impacts across the Commonwealth," Emily Sullivan, Arlington's environmental planner and conservation agent, said in a statement. "By coordinating data collection and standardizing heat metrics, the watershed will be able to better understand its most vulnerable areas and more effectively coordinate resources to build resilience to extreme heat."

The Resilient Mystic Collaborative is a partnership between 20 of the 21 cities and towns within the Mystic River Watershed, facilitated by the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA). The Collaborative works on projects of regional significance to decrease collective risk of harm from flooding, drought, extreme temperatures, storms, sea level rise and other climate-intensified risks.

"Through funding projects like Wicked Hot Mystic, the Commonwealth is choosing to prioritize the effect of extreme summer heat on environmental justice communities, something that has too long flown under the radar," Melanie Gárate, MyRWA's climate resiliency project manager, said in a statement.

The Museum of Science will coordinate the data collection, much like the successful Wicked Hot Boston project, during which the museum worked with Cambridge, Brookline and Boston in 2019. The data collected through the Wicked Hot Mystic project will help guide all participating municipalities in regional heat mitigation coordinated response efforts and allocation of regional extreme heat reduction infrastructure, such as cooling centers.

Read more about the Resilient Mystic Collaborative at https://resilient.mysticriver.org/ and the Wicked Hot Boston project at https://blog.scistarter.com/2019/08/wicked-hot-boston-urban-heat-island-uhi-mapping/. To learn more about the Wicked Hot Mystic project, contact Emily Sullivan, Environmental Planner and Conservation Agent, at 781-316-3012 or [email protected].