Hidden Histories of Brookline’s Green Spaces
Ann Frechette, Co-President of Friends of Hall’s Pond, presented a talk on March 4, 2026 at an event organized by Brookline GreenSpace Alliance, the Brookline Historical Society, the Public Libraries of Brookline and several park friends groups. The event was called “Hidden Histories of Brookline’s Green Spaces” and Ann’s talk was entitled “Water Infrastructure in the Establishment of Hall’s Pond Sanctuary.”
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2025 December Newsletter
IN JUNE 2025, the Friends of Hall’s Pond gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Brookline’s designation of this pond as a Nature Sanctuary. For five decades, because it is situated in an urban community, this haven for wildlife and vegetation has enriched the lives of adults and children of many cultures. That, in itself, was cause for celebration.
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See & Share Sightings
Please share your reports of interesting happenings at Hall’s Pond Sanctuary and enjoy reading others’ posts.
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Spring/Summer 2008 Newsletter
WHEN YOU’RE BROWSING through the Sanctuary over Spring and Summer, some of its avian denizens are obvious by their large size or busy activity. On the open water are the nesting Canada Geese and Mallards. The 4-foot Great Blue Heron is our hoary mascot, the ‘old man of the pond.’ On the Beacon Street side, a gaggle of House ‘Sparrows’ (really émigré weaver finches) chirpily greet you.
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Fall/Winter 2008 Newsletter
Hues and Rustles Winter’s nearly upon us, so it’s time to roll up the boardwalk until spring. Or is it? Winter’s bark is worse than its bite, and far softer than the baleful baying of the weather reporters of the everbleak outlook. So, get out and enjoy the winter, whatever the weather. Lord knows our feathered friends always make the best of it with good cheer. Birds and small mammals forage avidly in the snow, and Hall’s Pond usually enjoys lively wildlife from November through March.
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Maps & Directions
Nature Sanctuaries – Hall’s Pond Sanctuary & Amory Woods
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Amory St. and Freeman St.
Brookline, MA 02446 -
Hall’s Pond and Amory Woods
Hall’s Pond Sanctuary together with the adjacent Amory woods, it is the only land in North Brookline set aside for conservation purposes. The sanctuary, which is administered by the Brookline Conservation Commission, consists of a pond, wetlands, an upland area, a formal garden area, and a short trail with wetland overlooks that circles the pond.
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Fall/Winter 2007 Newsletter
WINTER BIRDWATCHING in New England is exceptionally exciting, my favorite season, after Spring. Birds come right to your feeders, show themselves easily in bare woods. Ocean and lake ducks fly down from Canada in vast numbers; you can scope or binoc them, or eyeball some (Mergansers, Canvasbacks, Scaup, Ring-necks, Ruddies) at Hall’s Pond or Fresh Pond in Cambridge.
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Spring/Summer 2007 Newsletter
THE TOWN of Brookline has budgeted $300,000 to be spent by the Park and Recreation Commission for improvements to Amory Park. Larson Associates, a landscape architect firm and the Town’s design consultant has had multiple informative public design review meetings over the past few months, including site visits.
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“She’s Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head!” Illustrated Book (PDF)
Minna Hall and Harriet Hemenway, two very well bred Boston ladies, decide that something must be done. Fashionable ladies are parading around town with dead birds on their hats! So Minna and Harriet gather together the most prominent women and men in town and form a club to protect the birds. Thus is born the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
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Fall 2004 Newsletter
Hall’s Pond Sanctuary and the adjacent neighborhood, Cottage Farm, are part of the National Register of Historic Places (1978) and the first local (Brookline) historic district (1979). The Sanctuary, located behind 1120 Beacon Street, is administered by the Conservation Commission with financial and maintenance support by the Friends of Hall’s Pond. The Friends group has been a model for more than a dozen subsequent “ friends” organizations in the Town which support a variety of neighborhood sanctuaries, parks, gardens, woods, and playgrounds. An extensive restoration of the Sanctuary was completed in 2002, at which time Hall’s Pond (3.5 acres) was combined with the adjacent Amory Woods parcel (1.6 acres).
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About the Friends
The Friends partners with the Conservation Commission as stewards of the sanctuary. Their initiatives include Community Work Days, tending the Formal Garden and raising funds for the Horticultural Fund.
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Bird Walks at Hall’s Pond
Friends of Hall’s Pond will conduct guided bird walks timed for spring migration, on an easy half-mile loop, led by Neil Gore. Whether it’s sunny, cloudy, or light rain! Please check back for upcoming dates!
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