HCT’s Cold Brook project wins major engineering award

The awards keep rolling in for the Harwich Conservation Trust’s (HCT) ambitious eco-restoration project at the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve. This time around, it’s a testament to a kid from Harwich who returned to his hometown and used his expertise to help create an environmental triumph.

On April 7, HCT’s Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project partners including most notably Inter-Fluve, the specialty engineering firm with the technical expertise and experience to create the innovative design, was honored with the prestigious 2025 Grand Conceptor Award, presented by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA).

The award was presented at the ACEC/MA Engineering Excellence Awards Gala, held at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel. The Cold Brook project finished first in a field of 37 projects from throughout the state and Northeast region, as well as an entry from Saudi Arabia. Other notable projects included major engineering feats at Logan Airport, highway interchanges, bridges and entire buildings.

Cold Brook project praised by judges

According to ACEC/MA, “the Cold Brook Ecological Restoration Project transforms 66 acres of former cranberry bogs into nitrogen-attenuating wetlands, achieving goals in wastewater treatment, coastal climate resilience, habitat restoration, and recreation. By restoring natural hydrology and creating diverse habitats, the project addresses Cape Cod’s critical water quality issues.”

ACEC/MA added that “the innovative, process-based design uses natural materials and ecological principles to reduce nitrogen levels, offering a scalable model for other coastal communities. While the site appears untouched by human intervention, it is the product of advanced engineering that supports long-term environmental health and resilience, potentially saving millions in future wastewater treatment costs.”

Eco-restoration expert has deep Harwich roots

The award had special meaning for Inter-Fluve’s Nick Nelson, the firm’s lead on the Cold Brook project. Nelson, a senior fluvial geomorphologist and the regional director of Inter-Fluve’s Northeast office in Cambridge, grew up in Harwich and is a graduate of Harwich High School.

Nelson said that collaboration and persistence were hallmarks of the project. “This is a project that brought a lot of local, state, and federal project partners together along with a broad design team as well,” he said. “We didn’t always agree on every decision, but we had really productive conversations and discussions and came together on a consensus design that was implemented.”

He also praised the steady, problem-solving leadership provided by the Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) during the long run-up to the project. “The patience and persistence that HCT displayed throughout the last couple of decades to keep this project moving, to gain funding for the various phases of the project, to work with abutters and interested residents, to speak to the Select Board and Conservation Commission, and to continuously see the vision of a functioning ecosystem and recreational space is truly remarkable,” said Nelson.

Proud parents and appreciation for cranberry farmers

Nelson’s long track record of achievement began in Harwich, where he attended the public schools and was valedictorian of his class at Harwich High School. And working on an eco-restoration project in Harwich meant he could spend more time with his parents, Ted and Beth Nelson, who still live in town.

Ted Nelson, Nick’s father, was delighted to learn about the ACEC award. “We’re always proud of him, for everything he does,” said Ted Nelson. “He’s a wonderful guy.”

During the Cold Brook project, Ted and Beth Nelson received a lot of compliments about Nick from folks who had chatted with him at the job site. “It gives us a lot of joy that people think so highly of him,” said Ted Nelson.

Nick Nelson said his deep Harwich roots added significance to the eco-transformation in the heart of Harwich Port. “Cranberry farming runs deep in the culture of Harwich,” said Nelson. “I grew up with the festivities around the Cranberry Harvest Festival, learning about cranberry farming in school, and visiting the Harwich Historical Society to learn more about the history of farming.”

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. In 2001, the Crowell family saw a way to gracefully exit the industry by selling their 66-acre property to HCT.

A long journey to an eco-restoration success

Circa 2008, HCT began the long process of studying rewilding options to address old agricultural pipes and dams that were inhibiting natural stream flow and fish passage. Another challenge to overcome was how to deal with the artificial layer of sand that had been applied every few years over the last century. Year after year that sand had built up to three feet thick in places on top of the original native wetland habitats.

In 2009, Nick and his Inter-Fluve team embarked on the first of many eco-restorations of retired bog systems by starting at Eel River in Plymouth. Inter-Fluve has become the leader in this evolving eco-restoration niche that uses “green engineering” to bring back biodiversity and natural ecology on previously impacted areas. At the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve, Nick became involved alongside HCT’s other project partners like the Town, Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Projects like the one at Cold Brook, and the ongoing project at HCT’s Hinckleys Pond – Herring River Headwaters Preserve, can provide a graceful way for farmers to leave the industry and create a legacy of environmental improvements for the community.

A ‘special and meaningful’ project

Improving water quality in his hometown was also a deeply satisfying part of the Cold Brook project for Nelson. 

“I grew up playing in the bays, estuaries, and beaches in Harwich, and my family has collected shellfish recreationally in Pleasant Bay for many years and have observed the water quality changes over time,” he said. “To be a part of an ecological restoration project that has a primary goal of improving the water quality of our streams and estuaries is really special and meaningful to me and my family.”

Nelson added that he was grateful to have been able to contribute to an important eco-restoration project in his hometown. “It’s humbling to have been able to play a small role in supporting ecological improvements and recreational opportunities in Harwich,” he said.

The ACEC/MA honor is the second major award that the Cold Brook project has received in less than a month. In March, the Harwich Conservation Trust was honored with the 2025 Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition’s Conservation Excellence Award for the project.

HCT’s next eco-restoration project underway

And the sequel to Nelson’s award-winning turn is now playing out at another former cranberry bog in Harwich. HCT’s Hinckleys Pond — Herring River Headwaters Eco-Restoration Project began in March, with Nelson and Inter-Fluve again on the team.

The current project includes the restoration of two retired cranberry bogs that bookend 174-acre Hinckleys Pond in Harwich, at the headwaters of the Herring River estuary and immediately downstream of river herring spawning habitat in Long Pond and Seymour Pond.

The project seeks to improve shoreline habitat of Hinckleys Pond, which is also a herring spawning pond. The Brown family, who owns a retired bog on the other side of the pond, is also partnering with HCT on the project. The partnership eco-effort aims to increase biodiversity, restore freshwater wetland habitat and enhance recreational opportunities.

With Nelson, Inter-Fluve and other valued partners aboard, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Hinckleys project makes a splash at next year’s awards ceremonies.

Read more: Cold Brook Project: Honored with Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition’s Excellence in Conservation Award