Take Me to the Pond: Transforming Hidden Assets

Certification Maintenance

Course Details

Wigwam Pond in Dedham, Massachusetts, is located within an Environmental Justice area with a minority population comprising 27 percent of Dedham's total population. Access to the Pond is limited due to land ownership and invasive vegetation — over half of Dedham’s residents have never been there. Growing evidence shows the beneficial interrelationship between human health and well-being and their connection with nature. Using whole system planning, the Town is taking proactive steps to restore this neglected waterbody, enhance public access, and reestablish the Pond’s rich history of human interaction, honoring the legacy of Native Americans who first settled around it.

As communities increasingly reinvest in outdoor spaces like Wigwam Pond, the regenerative design presents a planning approach that looks at an ecosystem’s larger context and how people interact with it. Course presenters, including Town Planning & Zoning Department staff and their planning consultants, will explain how the project team developed a regenerative design through a robust, inclusive public engagement process and a phased project approach, leveraging technology tools such as drones and Story Maps to inform and educate the public.

The plan has expanded public awareness of Wigwam Pond and positioned the Town for funding that will accelerate desired improvements.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand how to restore underutilized natural assets using integrated thinking and holistic approaches along with innovative technology tools (drones, GIS, Story Maps) to inform the design and enhance public engagement.
• Plan for the ecological regeneration of a natural resource.
• Expand public access and awareness to propel funding and accelerate restoration.