D.W. Field Park Initiative Awarded State MVP Grant

D.W Field Park in Brockton and Avon.

By Sam Butcher, D.W. Field Park Initiative Project Coordinator

On October 9, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll and Undersecretary of Decarbonization and Resilience Katherine Antos announced the award of nearly $30 million in Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grants. Nearly $860,000 of these funds were awarded to the City of Brockton to promote climate resilience at D.W. Field Park. The award represents a significant step forward for the D.W. Field Park Initiative, which Wildlands Trust has led since 2022. Work under this grant will advance recommendations of the D.W. Field Park Master Plan, which Wildlands authored in 2024 in partnership with many stakeholders, including the City.   

Rachel Bruce, Wildlands’ Chief of Staff and a lead author of the plan, is pleased with the progress. “The Master Plan generated a long list of improvement projects, requiring a lot of time, effort and money,” she said. “We’re grateful to the MVP program for funding the first major project since the plan’s release last year and look forward to continuing to work with the City of Brockton and our Initiative partners.”  

D.W. Field Park, owned by the City of Brockton, spans over 700 acres and includes seven ponds and six miles of multiuse trails. It provides access to nature for over 200,000 residents. Projects outlined in the Master Plan range from redesigning the roadway to increasing accessibility for all residents. Projects will lead to safer roadways, greater recreation and trail access, and improved environmental conditions. Specifically, this MVP grant will fund the redesign of D.W. Field Parkway, which circumnavigates the park, with nature-based solutions to stormwater management. As climate change brings more frequent and intense storms to the park, increased stormwater runoff poses a risk to the health of the park’s ponds and lakes. Work will include land surveying, permitting, and construction-ready design plans.

Existing infrastructure empties stormwater from D.W. Field Parkway directly into open water bodies in the park.

“This is a big step forward for the Initiative,” Rachel Bruce added. “The Parkway is integral to both the user experience and environmental health of the park, and we have the opportunity to create a design that serves both needs. The community has repeatedly told us to fix the road, so that’s what we’re doing first.” 

This award marks the second MVP grant for the D.W. Field Park Initiative. In 2023, the Town of Avon earned $1.5 million to purchase Fieldstone Preserve, 30 woodland acres adjacent to D.W. Field Park. New trails at Fieldstone Preserve will be introduced later this fall.

Read the press release from the Healey-Driscoll Administration here. Learn more about the D.W. Field Park Initiative and sign up for email updates here.