Physical Description:
This beautiful natural area hosts twining ridges of oaks that encircle a densely vegetated swamp. As one of the largest, undeveloped areas in Mattapan, Gladeside I Urban Wild is a significant asset to the local community. Both the upland and lowland portions of this site are ecologically rich. The upland ridges host a variety of oaks, birch, hickory, and pine while the lowland area bursts with sweet pepperbush, buttonbush, and arrowwood viburnum. Invasives such as buckthorn and multiflora rose have intruded in areas; however, they have not yet compromised the wild’s ecological integrity.
Geologically, Gladeside I is of particular interest due to glacial formation called an esker that winds through the central portion of the site. Eskers mark the former courses of melt-water streams that flowed through cracks or tunnels in the glacial ice. A hiking trail circuit leads visitors from the upland forest entrance at Lorna Road in the northern portion of the wild to the lowland swamp near Gladeside Avenue in the south.
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