New Sudbury Rain Garden To Be Unveiled Along Rail Trail

SUDBURY, MA — A new rain and pollinator garden along the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail will be formally unveiled during a ribbon cutting next week.

The ceremony is scheduled for Friday, June 12, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail near Morse Road at approximately 62 Morse Rd. in Sudbury. OARS 3 Rivers is hosting the event with the Town of Sudbury, Sudbury Conservation Department, A Yard & A Half and community volunteers.

The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail is a 25-mile route between Lowell and Framingham, with about 4.5 miles running through Sudbury.

The garden is designed to reduce stormwater runoff, improve water quality, recharge groundwater and support native pollinators, organizers said. The event will include brief remarks from project partners, a ribbon-cutting and information on how rain gardens help protect local rivers and ecosystems.

The garden was planted in Jun. 2025 at the trail’s intersection with Morse Road next to the Broadacres Farm parking lot, according to OARS. OARS said A Yard & A Half designed the garden, which includes native plants such as swamp milkweed, blue flag iris, joe-pye weed, winterberry, anise hyssop, New England asters and butterfly milkweed.

Rain gardens use plants and soil to filter pollutants from stormwater, reduce runoff and increase groundwater recharge, according to UMass Amherst.

OARS is a Concord-based nonprofit watershed organization focused on protecting the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord rivers and watershed, according to the organization. The SuAsCo watershed covers 399 square miles and includes 33 towns and three cities, OARS says.

See Also:

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