March 8, 2018 - Boston Flora

Friday & Saturday,March 16 & 17, 8:00 am – 6:00 pm – 6th Annual Massachusetts Urban Farming Conference

March 8, 2018 by Boston Flora

The Annual Massachusetts Urban Farming Conference (UFC) is designed to advance the opportunities and address the barriers involved in cultivating a resilient and thriving Urban Farming sector. The UFC is a multi-sector stakeholder forum designed to share information regarding what is currently happening in Massachusetts. The UFC fosters solutions, sustainable networks and business relationships.

The UFC brings together participants representing all aspects of Urban Farming including, but not limited to, farmers (including roof top, chicken, bees, etc.), land trust managers, policy makers, commercial buyers, foundations, investors and all others. The 6th Annual Massachusetts UFC, building on the success of our past events, is comprised of interactive panels, demonstration workshops, expert discussions on diverse and relevant topics with distinguished Conversation Leaders and fantastic networking opportunities. Presented by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation and merck family fund.

The Saturday keynote will be presented by Isis Salcines of Havana, Cuba, Director of Organoponico Vivero Alamar. The Organoponico Vivero Alamar (one of its sites is pictured below) is one of Havana, Cuba’s largest and oldest urban farms. Isis Salcines will share the organization’s experiences implementing agroecology, addressing food security, and discuss the social, economic and environmental impacts of the farm.

The conference will take place at Bunker Hill Community College, 250 Rutherford Avenue in Boston, and the fees range from $50 – $150. For complete agenda and list of featured speakers, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/6th-annual-massachusetts-urban-farming-conference-tickets-38915811239

Image result for organoponico vivero alamar havana

Sunday, March 18, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – From Green to Gray: Seventeen Years of Hemlock Decline Along a Quabbin Stream

March 8, 2018 by Boston Flora

Quabbin Reservoir (run by the DCR) will offer several free presentations this winter. All ages are welcome. Please call (413) 323-7221 for more information. The location of the Sunday, March 18 lecture by DCR Natural Resource Analyst Brian Keevan entitled From Green to Gray: Seventeen Years of Hemlock Decline Along a Quabbin Stream, will take place beginning at 2 pm at 485 Ware Road, Belchertown. Today, an estimated 26 percent of the region’s hemlock stands are at high risk. As winters get warmer, the decline will increase, with 43 percent of stands expected to be at high risk, according to a research team led by University of Maine Associate Professor of Forest Resources William Livingston.

Eastern hemlock is a towering foundational species in eastern North American forests valued from southern Canada to Alabama and as far west as Minnesota. But since the mid-20th century, eastern hemlock that can live more than 500 years have been increasingly threatened by the hemlock woolly adelgid that can kill a tree within four years by feeding on its needles and branches, preventing new growth.