Improvements to Mattahunt Woods

The City of Boston manages and takes care of 29 urban wilds across Boston’s neighborhoods comprised of 176 acres. These urban wilds offer natural space for passive recreation and serve as outdoor classrooms for children and adults to learn about nature. They also provide habitat to native plants and animals.

The Mattahunt Woods Urban Wild is owned by the Boston Conservation Commission and maintained by staff from the Parks Department’s Urban Wilds Program. 

Mattahunt Woods is approximately 8 ¼  acres of secluded forested wetlands in Mattapan. 

The Mattahunt Woods Urban Wild was permanently protected in 2008 through a citizen petition.

The scope of this project includes:

• Remove hazardous trees and invasive species and increase native vegetation;
• Preserve and enhance on-site wetlands;
• Create a trail system throughout the property;
• Improve site access and wayfinding/signage; and
• Enhance the connection of the property to the nearby Mattahunt Elementary School.

The project is led by the City of Boston Environment Department and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. The project team includes staff from the Climate Ready Boston initiative, the Boston Conservation Commission, and the Urban Wilds Program. The project team also includes landscape architects and designers from Crowley Cottrell Landscape Architecture.

All project materials, such as flyers, social media content, and meeting presentations, are translated into English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. Live interpretation in Spanish and Haitian Creole is provided at the virtual open houses and can be available for other events upon request.

All project materials are uploaded to the project website, including meeting presentations and recordings in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.

Visit the project website at boston.gov/mattahunt or email Catherine McCandless (Project Manager) at catherine.mccandless2@boston.gov or Paul Sutton (Urban Wilds Program Manager) at paul.sutton@boston.gov. 

Today, portions of Mattahunt Woods contain construction debris, automobile parts, and invasive plants, but there are still healthy plant communities and wetlands. There is a perpendicular trail through the property on Canaan Street and Colorado Street. Site entrances are not clearly marked and there is no signage on the property to direct visitors or provide education.

There are four entrances to the property, as marked with red circles on the map below.

• Canaan Street East Entry;
• Canaan Street West Entry;
• Colorado Street Entry; and
• Mattahunt Elementary Entry.

The project will explore adding new entrances at Alabama Street and Itasca Street, as marked with red circles on the map below. The project seeks to create a trail network of gravel pathways and boardwalks connecting all entrances.

Currently, the project area is not accessible for wheelchairs and walkers. The project will explore opportunities to enhance accessibility for people of all ages and abilities.

Yes, the project will add new signage. This will include informational signage at site entrances about property use rules and educational signage throughout the property specific to the Mattahunt Woods Urban Wild.

The project will explore adding benches to entrances and in appropriate locations within the property. The project will not add lighting since the property is an urban wild and lighting can disturb wildlife. The project will not add trash cans because the City’s policy is that visitors to urban wilds must “carry in and carry out” trash. The project will not add security cameras because urban wilds do not include electrical infrastructure. The project will explore adding bike racks where appropriate.

There are sub-grade sewer and stormwater drain lines located within the Mattahunt Woods Urban Wild and beneath several surrounding roadways. There are no electrical, lighting, plumbing, and irrigation systems within the property.

Members of the community identified many types of wildlife at the Mattahunt Woods Urban Wild, including squirrels, chipmunks, turkeys, coyotes, deer, raccoons, and multiple species of birds.

Urban wilds and wetlands provide many environmental benefits, such as storing floodwater (coastal, riverine, and precipitation-based flooding), filtering stormwater run-off, producing oxygen, improving air quality, and reducing the “urban heat island” effect.” They provide habitat for plants and animals and passive recreation for people to enjoy nature.