Daily Archives: November 27, 2010

Saturday, December 11, 2:00 pm – Eden on the Charles

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The Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge, will host author Michael Rawson, whose book Eden on the Charles, The Making of Boston, will be available for purchase and signing on Saturday, December 11 at 2 pm following his speech. The cost of the lecture is free with museum admission. For more information, call 617-495-3045, or log on to www.hmnh.harvard.edu.

In his latest book, Eden on the Charles (Harvard University Press), author Michael Rawson provides a new environmental perspective on the creation of one of America’s first cities. Rawson will explore how early Bostonians led the nation in urbanization, and how various class and ethnic groups brought rival ideas of nature and competing visions of a “city upon a hill” to the process—and were forced to conform their goals to the realities of Boston’s distinctive natural setting.

Thursday, December 2, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Boston Common Tree Lighting Ceremony

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The City of Boston’s Official Tree Lighting hosted by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, title sponsor the Province of Nova Scotia, and media sponsors WCVB-TV Channel 5 and MAGIC 106.7 FM comes to Boston Common on Thursday, December 2, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. This will be the 69th annual Tree Lighting on Boston Common. Chronicle’s Anthony Everett and NewsCenter Five’s JC Monahan will host Channel 5’s live broadcast of the event beginning at 7 p.m. The celebration will feature the Radio City Rockettes, 2006 American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee, Grammy-winning R&B singer Patti Austin and the Boston Pops Gospel Choir, among many others.

Boston Common Christmas Tree

Sunday, December 12, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Shrubs in Winter

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The leaves are nearly gone from most shrubs, but you can still learn to recognize them, in this Sunday, December 12 class co-sponsored by the New England Wild Flower Society and the Massachusetts Audubon Society. The session will run from 10 – 2 at Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road, Framingham.

In this class, instructor Roland “Boot” Boutwell focuses on a number of macro-characteristics such as branching patterns, growth habits, bark, persistent fruit, galls, and habitats to help us identify more than 20 native New England shrubs in late fall and winter. We also discuss the natural history of the shrubs we see.

The program begins with a classroom session and then moves into the field. Look for such species as witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), and, of course, winterberry (Ilex verticillata, below) and wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens).

The class will cost $48 for NEWFS and Mass Audubon members, $56 for non-members. Pre-registration is necessary. Contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303, or email registrar@newenglandwild.org.