Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project
Harwich Conservation Trust's (HCT) Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project, completed in 2025, transformed a retired cranberry bog into a wildlife oasis. The project included rewilding a mile of stream, native plantings, sculpting in four ponds and creating a half-mile wheelchair accessible All Persons Trail, allowing people of all abilities and ages to experience the beauty of nature.
Cold Brook is now flowing freely through the 66-acre Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve for the first time in over a century. Starting in spring fed Grassy Pond, the stream travels under Bank Street through the Preserve and ultimately to Saquatucket Harbor on Nantucket Sound.
By the late 1990s, much larger off-Cape bogs were producing an extra supply of cranberries that caused the price to fall. This shift in the industry made it more difficult for some local growers to continue farming, so they’re faced with a choice: develop the upland or preserve. Over the years, as a way to earn income from their land while also protecting natural resources, several local farmers have sold their properties to HCT. This partnership has set the stage for innovative eco-restoration.
Video above created by Zygote Digital Films
Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Earns Top Awards
In 2025, the Cold Brook Eco-Restoration won two major statewide awards. These honors included the Conservation Excellence Award from the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition and the 2025 Grand Conceptor Award, presented to project partners by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts.
For the Grand Conceptor Award, the Cold Brook Project finished first in a field of 37 nominations from throughout the state and Northeast region, as well as an entry from Saudi Arabia. Other notable contenders included major engineering feats at Logan Airport, highway interchanges, bridges and entire buildings.
Honoring the Cold Brook success signals that engineering in harmony with nature is a forward-thinking approach to fostering hope and resilience in a climate changing world. Significant ecological benefits are already being seen at the Cold Brook Preserve like increased habitat diversity, improved water quality, and enhanced stormwater absorption by the recovering wetlands.
Power of Partnerships
The Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project was funded by HCT donors, Town of Harwich voters, the Harwich Community Preservation Fund, State Division of Ecological Restoration, MassTrails and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
HCT also collaborated with the nonprofit Harwich Fire Association (HFA) to bring the town’s first firehouse back to life as a gathering space for events. Led by HFA, the Old Bank Street Firehouse renovation project includes the creation of three one-bedroom affordable apartments on the second floor, a vital need for the Cape Cod community. The Old Bank Street Firehouse restoration including the affordable housing were funded by the Harwich Community Preservation Fund, the Town’s Affordable Housing Trust, foundations and many donors.
HCT is grateful for the generous support of our loyal donors and the contributions of our project partners.
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