good afternoon i'm leo or your v c r commissioner on behalf of the baker please don't ministration i'm so glad you're here because this is a momentous occasion you may think that we're just celebrating the opening of  renovated spray deck and playground but we're actually celebrating a revolution in thinking about how we humans interact with the natural world how we recreate how trees our lives and how parks dramatically improve the quality of life for people in urban areas before eight hundred and ninety three there was no regional park system anywhere in the world regional parks started here in this very place through the efforts of landscape architect charles elliot journalist sylvester baxter and gardener robert copeland the metropolitan parks commission was created by the legislature on june rd eight hundred and ninety three dollars as the st regional parks agency and as the department of conservation and recreation we are the successor agency responsible for protecting promoting and enhancing our common wealth of natural cultural and recreational resources for the benefit of all beginning at eight hundred and ninety the boston herald back when they actually like d c are carried a series of articles written by baxter advocating for the acquisition of parkland and parkways within ten miles of the massachusetts state house forward thinker robert copeland advocated for a grand circular plan creating quote uncertainly ring of hills bridges and ferries across the harbor islands to complete the loop the boston harbo islands were considered an important part of the metropolitan park system even one hundred years ago charles elliott invision an emerald much trouble us not just an emerald necklace preserving quote the rock hills the stream banks the bay and the sea shore and communities surrounding boston for public enjoyment his vision was for a public entity to acquire and manage a group of quote will distributed parcels of land just as the public library holds books and the art museum pictures for the use and enjoyment of the public this park beaverbrook was the st reservation of the metropolitan parks commission and it was once home to the famous waverly oaks a magnificent stand of white oak trees that were already over one hundred years old when the pilgrims arrived in one thousand six hundred and twenty in the late thousand hundreds busto nian seeking respite from the crowded city came here to stroll among these trees the waverly oaks inspired poets artists and nature lovers to seek their preservation our friend charles elliott used the waverly oaks as a catalyst to present a bold idea the creation of a metropolitan park system so that quote the finest bits of natural scenery near boston might perhaps be saved to delight many future generations and you know what the idea caught on by eight hundred and ninety nine after elliott's death over nine thousand acres of reservation and parkways had already been acquired by the state including eleven reservations and seven parkways today the department of conservation and recreation manages the reservation as part of its stewardship of some four hundred and fifty thousand acres across the commonwealth some seven percent of the total land area of the state for the enjoyment of all the work of baxter and elliott and others has been called quote the most notable scheme of metropolitan park planning and the st such organization of land in the world we at the d c are stand on the shoulders of those who came before us and future generations will stand on our shoulders the original waverley estimated to be over four hundred years old when this park was established but by the one thousand nine hundred and twenty s they had succumbed to ice storms and old age although the original oaks no longer exists their progeny do and these trees remain an important part of this reservations present and future v c r s urban forestry team is headquartered just up the street at the historic copeland house on mill street our urban forestry pro sustainability and enhances urban communities by planting trees in our gateway cities some of the species they plant in our cities can be found as you stroll through the reservation and this year this group this team will plant almost ten thousand dollars additional trees in celebration of one hundred and twenty five years of stewardship of the beaverbrook preservation v c r is introducing today a new tree walk with a brochure to celebrate our roots this self guided tour explores the north and south loops of the park and identifies a variety of trees on the route the brochure contains a map which could correspond to the numbers to identify the various species of trees at each of the number trees there's a card in front of it containing a description of the tree this guided tour was developed by our urban foresters and commemorates how the reservations history celebrates its future these types of projects are in excellent example of the baker police know it ministrations in reinvestment in local neighborhoods providing family friendly and accessible recreation destinations all around the commonwealth a guiding principle  this administration has been and will continue to be making d c our properties as accessible accommodating and usable to the public as possible this new spray deck and playground represents a nearly two million dollars investment in this park and this community by the baker administration we thank our designer conoco engineers and kevin mchugh is here someplace devons over there and our contractor metro equipment for a job well done we also want to thank the dedicated d c our professional staff who work on this project including ruth x our role silva kathy payne sandy libby tom walsh and many others the c r is blessed with a group of dedicated professionals who care about these places as much as our park visitors do at this point i'd like to acknowledge that we at the d c are can't do it alone but we really rely on the partnerships and the shared stewardship for the preservation and enhanced men of these extraordinary places we're very fortunate to have great partners in the legislature and in municipal government i'd st like to introduce our representative tom stanley who we've got a great working relationship with in the legislature you are well represented on beacon hill by rep stanley please thank you commissioner it's an honor to be here and i know representative rogers wanted to be here as well but i think he got tied up  the state house in the frenzy the last five days of the legislative session i want to thank the commissioner for inviting me to be here at this wonderful park right on the belmont waltham line i know my parents brought me here when i was a child and my wife and i bought our youngest hit to the spray park as well and it's great to be a part of sperry small part as an official to be here as its rededicated once again house this afternoon with a new senate president so that's why your two senators could not be with us in addition to our great partnership with the legislature we also have a wonderful partnership with our nonprofit groups and nonprofit partners and also the municipalities in which c r facilities reside i think we're in about three hundred of the three hundred and fifty one cities and towns in massachusetts and we really value our partnership with the municipalities representing the town of belmont is the chair of your select board adam dash adam good afternoon thank you for all coming out on this wonderful day in the rain held off for us to have this the ceremony i want to thank d c are for as long standing stewardship of the beaverbrook reservation for the public good  certainly know i also i brought my kids to this park and it has never looked as good as it does right now like to thank our counterparts in waltham forest sharing this wonderful resource both the stewardship and using it i think this is going to be good one hundred and twenty five years strong enough hopefully for the next one hundred and twenty five years as well as thank you thank you thank you adam you both mentioned being here as children and bringing your children but you know it looks like it would be great for grandchildren too and i have one but unfortunately he's a little ways away in conclusion this park holds a special place in the heart of d c our employees because it was our st one over the years it  i'm joined by almost four hundred dollars more making d c are the largest landowner in the commonwealth this year we celebrate one hundred and twenty five years of sergey sure which stewardship for these properties we look forward to the continuous collaboration with all of you for the next one hundred and twenty five years over the course of the summer we hope that you will find time to experience one or more d c our facilities please join me in a moment for the singing of happy birthday i think that's appropriate having a piece of cake and exploring this magnificent property and playground right after we cut the ribbon this property belongs to all the citizens of massachusetts and we also welcome our visitors remember that all of this would not have been possible without the dedicated commitment of a few individuals in the past thank you for your present day community activism to protect these beautiful places oh boy yeah