Sustainable Arlington

09/06/2026

Cleaning up your garden for the winter? How about leaving the leaves and protecting their inhabitants for future generations?

08/14/2026

West Nile killed these crows. Non-pesticide solutions manage mosquito populations that carry West Nile by supporting bird and insect species that eat mosquitoes. Read more at the link provided.

Save Arlington Wildlife has been getting a lot of reports of very sick crows in town lately, and they have all passed away before we can do much about it. Most of these crows are dying from West Nile virus, which is also felling a lot of hawks and owls in the area as well (including a baby Cooper's hawk in Arlington). West Nile is transmitted via a mosquito bite to the bird. Humans can get it as well. Here's some things you can do to help:

- After a rain, please empty any puddles that have accrued on your property in stacked tires, left out children toys, pet bowls, etc.
If you have a standing bird bath or leave pans of water out for wildlife during heat waves, please dump the water at dusk every night and at least every other day, swab with white vinegar and rinse well before refilling (the vinegar kills stubborn leftover mosquito eggs). The bonus is standing water overnight also attracts rats so dumping water at night can reduce likelihood of rats visiting or burrowing in your yard.
- If you have a marshy yard and live next to or near one of Arlington's many water bodies, you can consider planting (or buying outdoor potted plants) that attract dragonflies like Black-Eyed Susan, White Yarrow, Swamp/Rose milkweed, and Echinacea as dragonflies are adept mosquito predators.
- Also, if you live right next to or near one of Arlington's ponds, consider getting a "Slot Box" swallow nest box on your property next season. Tree Swallows eat a lot of mosquitoes--but they have lost a lot of the mature trees that serve as their critical nesting habitat and their numbers in Arlington have decreased considerably in recent years as a result. This means more mosquitoes and more West Nile mortalities of crows and raptors in our town. Save Arlington Wildlife is glad to collaborate on that with anyone potentially interested and is hoping to get a grant for this purpose.
- If you want to take bird habitat offerings even farther, consider setting up a "dummy chimney" on your rooftop to attract Chimney Swifts--who also are big bug eaters but have lost a lot of habitat.

07/01/2026

Prepping for Hotter Days in the Mystic River Watershed ...

It’s getting HOT this summer. Explore how and why we’re addressing extreme heat in the watershed.

06/23/2026

It's costly for Arlington to pay to incinerate wet, organic matter.

Reducing food scraps from your trash will reduce the weight, and cost of hauling our trash.

Learn more at www.arlingtonma.gov/recycle

06/16/2026

[new] ... Smart Mosquito Management at Home ...

This brochure discusses the risks posed by backyard mosquito sprays and covers simple and environmentally friendly practices to effectively manage mosquitoes instead of using insecticides.

06/03/2026

MA native plants/pollinators calendar ... Great talks, films, in-person events for Pollinator Month

At this Pop-Up market, we will be joined by several growers from our native nursery network, all small businesses who specialize in sustainably-grown native plants.

05/18/2026

5/19: ***Mosquito Control: Science, Risks, and Solutions*** 12-1 pm, EDT, zoom ... Webinarhttps://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/5c9mxsu/lp/6b771c74-1efb-4d22-bb71-7fdd7d79fd78

You’ll notice many mosquito control companies offering to spray your yard this time of year. Though this may seem like a quick and easy way to deal with mosquitoes, it’s often an ineffective control strategy. These insecticides are toxic to pollinators and other beneficial insects and may pose a...

05/09/2026

5/9, 2-5 PM: EcoFest Summit 2026: Greening Our Neighborhoods Together ...

The Town of Arlington is excited to announce this year’s EcoFest Summit, a vibrant in-person event dedicated to greening Arlington, neighborhood by neighborhood. This free event will take place on Saturday, May 9, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in the large Main Hall at the Arlington Community Cent...

04/28/2026

4/28, 7 pm (zoom) Climate Change and the Future Flora of New England ...

Climate change is emerging as a top threat to biodiversity in the 21st century. For plants there are alarming projections of species declines, range shifts, and the disruption of important biotic interactions such as with pollinators and mycorrhizal fungi. Understanding the nature and magnitude of t...

04/22/2026

Alewife Brook National News Story

Environmental organizations in Massachusetts are urging water officials to keep sewage out of waterways in several Boston-area communities by committing to a more modern sewer system with separate pipes for waste and storm runoff.