About Us

The Friends of the Quabbin is a diverse group: educators, environmentalists, parents, hikers, people who once lived in the towns beneath these waters; we are people from all walks of life who recognize how special the Quabbin is.

The Friends of Quabbin, Inc., was formed in 1984 as a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to increasing public awareness and appreciation of the unique natural and historical resources of the Quabbin Reservoir and Reservation.

Through educational, recreational and interpretive programs we help to protect and preserve the pristine natural beauty and the water and environmental quality of Quabbin for future generations. Please see our Mission Statement.

I am a Friend of Quabbin because. . .

The following “sense of place,” written by former president of the Friends of Quabbin Joseph Wm. Russell, expresses with clarity and simplicity the spirit of our organization:

“I am a Friend of Quabbin because the very nature of this special place nurtures my mind and renews my spirit.
I am a Friend of Quabbin because I subscribe to the belief that in passive recreation I may both best appreciate and yet actively participate in the quiet beauty and unspoken knowledge that surrounds me in this place.
I am a Friend of Quabbin because I support the preservation and the protection of this place, and because I believe that education programs about Quabbin offer the strongest guarantee that future generations will see before them the beauty I see today.
I am a Friend of Quabbin because I believe that collective friendship produces collective wisdom. And in collective wisdom lies the best approach to the preservation of Quabbin.”

Joseph William Russell,
former president of Friends of Quabbin