Friends of Hall's Pond wants volunteers for its annual Fall Community Day on Sunday, Oct. 18. The cleanup runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Amory Street sanctuary, according to the town.

Volunteers will pull invasive plants, maintain trails and plant new species at the 3.5-acre sanctuary. Garden projects, sanctuary tours and activities for children round out the day, according to the group's website. All ages are welcome.

No experience is needed.

The nonprofit and the Brookline Conservation Commission co-sponsor the event. Organizers will supply gloves, tools and other equipment. Volunteers should wear closed-toed shoes and long pants they don't mind getting dirty.

The cleanup comes four months after Hall's Pond Sanctuary and the adjacent Amory Woods reopened following boardwalk and path renovations that added universal-access features. The town announced the reopening on June 18. Milee Pradhan, Parks and Open Space Director for the Town of Brookline, called the reopening of the accessible boardwalk "a significant milestone for our community" in the June announcement. A ribbon-cutting and tours followed on July 15.

Hall's Pond is one of only two natural ponds left in Brookline and the only conservation land in North Brookline, according to the town's facility page. The sanctuary and Amory Woods together cover about five acres. The site provides habitat for great blue herons, black-crowned night herons, kingfishers and red-winged blackbirds, among other wildlife.

Founded in 1976 by Josephine Albrecht and other residents, Friends of Hall's Pond organizes spring and fall work parties each year to remove trash and invasive vines and restore native plantings. Invasive species such as porcelain berry, oriental bittersweet and multiflora rose have long threatened the sanctuary's native trees.

Brookline Select Board member Paul Warren posted photos on X from a spring cleanup in May 2023, showing a tree-planting brigade at the sanctuary.

Volunteers should meet at the main entrance, accessible from Amory Field on Amory Street. For more information, contact John Shreffler at [email protected] or the Conservation Commission at 617-730-2088.