2023 Lantern Walk

Join us and celebrate the lives of loved ones, friends, classmates, and family who have left this earth. Lanterns will be available for a donation. Suggested donation is anywhere from $5 to $20. All donations go to benefit the Friends of Mary Cummings Park. Please join us for the Lantern Walk, you are welcome to walk, sit on a bench and watch the lights around the pond or light a candle and be with us in spirit. Please forward an invitation along to others you think may appreciate this opportunity.

We meet at the pump station parking lot at the south end of Horn Pond. Lanterns will be available, dogs on leashes are welcome. The walk around the pond is a lovely walk, taking less than an hour. The glowing lanterns are wonderful to behold.







Evening Walk With Boot Boutwell

On Tuesday, July 18, 2023  from 6:30 – 8:30 pm a group of lucky people joined Boot for a great late afternoon nature walk. As it got dark we DID we fireflies in the woods!







While we can’t guarantee fireflies, but they might be seen when it gets dark. Here is a video of Mary Cummings Fireflies from a few years ago.

Annual Destruction Party 2023

Once again a group of students from Woburnh High School has trashed an area within Whispering Hill Woods with bottles and cans and this year threw an American flag on the ground along with their trash. As always, The Friends of Mary Cummings Park goes out and picks up all the trash, filling multiple trash bags. As often happens, the kids look for things to vandalize: they went into Mary Cummings Park and yanked one of the Trustees signs from the ground and tossed it aside.

Each year we inform the Woburn Police and school system; every year they ignore the situation. If you live in Woburn please contact various departments and let them know if you dislike how this has become an annual ritual of vandalism.

Bluebirds!

We installed 8 birdhouses five years ago to encourage bluebirds to live at Central Field in Mary Cummings Park. And finally, five years later, we have our first pair of these lovely birds. In the meantime, tree swallows and other so-far-unidentified birds have been using the bird houses. But now… BLUEBIRDS!

Lantern Walk for 2022

This wonderful tradition is a great event where people walked all the way around lovely Horn Pond, with lanterns, to remember people who have been lost – and the proceeds benefited The Friends of Mary Cummings Park who worked hard to save both Mary Cummings Park and Whispering Hill Woods in Woburn.

The walk took place on Sunday, October 9th, and we thank the organizers for the event and the donation.

See you next year!

Black Eyed Susans

Mid July of 2022 has been a great one for black eyed susans in Central Field. In spite of the drought, many stands of these flowers are quite stunning. If you don’t want to walk a long way, park at Northeastern and look for the openable gate near the park (behind the main building).

Boot Boutwell Walk on May 7th

May 7th, 2022, was a bit windy and cool, but Boot led us on a long, splendid walk with lots to see, including a guest appearance by a red salamander (see last two photos in the gallery.) In view of the annual appearance of the wonderful dandelions, I wrote a song to honor them.

Rod Flynn Honored by Woburn

Rod Flynn, who with Woburn Resident’s Environmental Network, helped to get our organization launched, was recently honored by the Woburn City Council. Below is the text of their official resolution, which gives you some idea of the depth and breadth of Rod’s contributions to Woburn and beyond. He is a wonderful man. And we could not find a portrait of Rod because he never looks for the limelight so there are few photos of him alone. But here you see him in a series of the endless work projects that he organized and/or participated in to improve the Horn Pond area and Woburn in general.

RESOLVED Whereas, Woburn resident, Rodney W. Flynn, is an active member of the Woburn community; and

Whereas, Rodney W. Flynn is an Angel Volunteer; and

Whereas, Rodney W. Flynn, as a member of the Woburn Residents Environmental Network (WREN), organizes and participates in Horn Pond clean up walks, as well as many other sites throughout Woburn; and

Whereas, Rodney W. Flynn is a member of the Medeiros Recycling group which donates to many Woburn organizations; and

Whereas, Rodney W. Flynn collects money and puts together holiday baskets for Thanksgiving and Christmas and donates them to the Woburn Council of Social Concern, Inc., which serves individuals and families from Woburn and Winchester; and

Whereas, Rodney W. Flynn supports Boy Scout Troop 519 with collection of returnable cans and bottles to donate the money to the troop; and

Whereas, Rodney W. Flynn is a local historian; and

Whereas, the City Council of the City of Woburn seeks to publicly recognize Rodney W. Flynn for his commitment, dedication, and many contributions to the City of Woburn;

Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved by the City Council of the City of Woburn that the Woburn City Council recognizes the achievements and accomplishments of Rodney W. Flynn, and extends the best wishes in hopes for continued future success.

President Tedesco, Councilor Concannon, Councilor Ferullo, Councilor Campbell, Councilor Gately, Councilor Dillon, Councilor Demers, Councilor Mercer-Bruen, and Councilor Lannan