Boston Flora

Month: September 2019

  • Wednesdays, October 30, November 6, 13, & 20, and December 4 & 11 – Leaves 101: Foundations of Botanical Drawing & Painting

    Through demonstrations and tutorials, celebrate the colors of seasonal leaves while learning how to realistically depict your subject matter in pencil, and then in watercolor, with Sarah Roche, on six Wednesdays, October 30 – November 20, plus December 4 & 11,  from 9:30 – 1:30 at the Putnam classroom at The Gardens at Elm Bank. All abilities are welcome! This course is the core of WCBG Friends’ botanical art program. Friends price $295, nonmembers $345. Register at http://wellesley.edu/wcbg/learn.

     

     

  • Wednesday, October 16, 7:30 pm – Julian Agyeman: Just Sustainabilities

    Wednesday, October 16, 7:30 pm – Julian Agyeman: Just Sustainabilities

    In his free talk on October 16 at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester, Julian Agyeman will outline his concept of ‘just sustainabilities’ – the full integration of social justice and sustainability, defined as ‘the need to ensure a better quality of life for all, now and into the future, in a just and equitable manner, whilst living within the limits of supporting ecosystems.’ He will give practical examples from his recent research into spatial justice in urban planning and design, food justice, sharing cities, and planning in and for intercultural cities. The Farm offers a casual picnic supper (sandwiches from Clover Food Lab, iced tea/lemonade & cookies for around $20), starting at 6pm. Please e-mail our Events Manager with any questions and to reserve your meal. To sign up for the lecture, visit https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0445acad2ca1fd0-october

    Julian Agyeman Ph.D. FRSA FRGS is a Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University. He is the originator of the increasingly influential concept of just sustainabilities, the intentional integration of social justice and sustainability.

    Worldwide, he is recognized as an expert, an innovator and thought leader. He is the author or editor of 11 books, and was co-founder in 1996, and is now Editor-in-Chief of Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability. Julian sits on the Academic Board of The Centre for the Future of Places (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden), the Board of Directors of EcoDistricts (Portland, OR) and on the Advisory Boards for equitable and sustainable initiatives for cities including San Francisco, Dublin, London, and Montreal.

    In 1996, he was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA) in the UK, a network of people dedicated to enriching society and shaping the future through ideas and action. And in 2018, he was awarded the Athena City Accolade by KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, for his “outstanding contribution to the field of social justice and ecological sustainability, environmental policy and planning“.

  • Friday, October 18, 10:00 am – Foundations in Gardening: Fall in the Garden Workshop

    Want to transplant some favorite perennials but unsure of the best time to do it? Come to Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum on October 18 at 10 am and learn from Blithewold’s horticulturists as they begin the yearly process of editing and changing the gardens. The address is 101 Ferry Road in Bristol, Rhode Island, and the cost is $35 for Blithewold members, $45 for the general public. Email jcleveland@blithewold.org if you are interested in attending.

  • Sunday, October 13 – Tuesday, October 15, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Fruits and Seeds: The Bounty of Autumn

    Master dry brush technique by painting all things autumnal – from nuts and seeds to late berries, hips and haws, seed heads and crunchy leaves, will be the topic of this Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Garden three day class on October 13 – 15, at the Wellesley College Club from 9:30 am – 3:30 pm. Lizzie Sanders will show you how to make precise and sharp images using tiny brushes and almost no water. With guidance from Lizzie learn to create detail and textures. Over three days we will cover several different specimens as a study sheet or make one single painting. Emphasis will be on achieving accurate rendering of surface texture and color. Learn how to make the selected specimens look truly 3D on the page. This class is suitable for intermediate to advanced artists. $395 for Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens members. $495 for nonmembers. Register by calling 781-283-3094 or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu

    copyright Lizzie Sanders

  • Tuesday, October 15, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Public Meeting on Charlesgate Park

    The next meeting of the Charlesgate Alliance will be held Tuesday, October 15th, in the Estabrooks Room at the Harvard Club, 374 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, beginning at 6:30 pm. The plans for Charlesgate Park will be discussed. For more information visit charlesgatealliance@gmail.com.

  • Friday, March 27 – Wednesday, April 1 – Science and Cooking in Peru

    Harvard Alumni Travels offers its third edition of Science and Cooking travel in the new gastronomic capital of South America: Lima, Peru. The main program will center on Lima in a symposium-style format consisting of lectures and hands-on activities in addition to the food, art. and cultural elements of the region. There will be optional extensions to the Amazon and Cusco and Machu Picchu. Your study leader will be Pia Sörensen, senior preceptor in Chemical Engineering and Applied Materials at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and co-teacher and manager of the course Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science. Pia will give two lectures on the trip: Diffusion: from Einstein to Ceviche (on diffusion, random walks and the science of ceviche) and Cooking with Microbes: The Science of Coffee, Chocolate and Chicha (on food fermentations). Complete itinerary is available here. Group size 14 – 20 people, price $7,295 per person, double occupancy, $1,295 single supplement. Activity level: Low Key. To register, visit https://alumni.harvard.edu/travel/trips/science-cooking-in-peru-2021?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=travel_monthly&utm_content=haa_travel_all_alumni_2019-09-10

  • Thursday, October 10, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Worcester Victory Gardens

    During WWII, people across the country started gardens anywhere from their own yards to schools and rooftops to supplement rationed food. Do you remember working on a Victory Garden? Would you like to tell us about it? If not, maybe your parents or grandparents had a Victory Garden, or there was one in your neighborhood. But a lot of people might not know where they were in the area, or that they were an organized effort, including classes on preserving produce through the winter. On Thursday, October 10 at 6 pm, join Tower Hill’s Community Garden History Project, organized through the Tower Hill Botanic Garden Library, for a free presentation on the details and locations of Victory Gardens right in Worcester. Registration requested at www.towerhillbg.org

  • Thursday, October 10, 6:00 pm – Meat Planet

    In 2013, a Dutch scientist unveiled the world’s first laboratory-created hamburger, and since then the idea of producing meat, not from live animals but from carefully cultured tissues, has spread through the media like wildfire. Racing against population growth and climate change, researchers have dedicated their efforts to making sustainable protein. Meat Planet, by historian and University of California, Berkeley PhD Benjamin Wurgaft, explores the quest to generate meat in the lab—a substance sometimes called “cultured meat”—and asks what it means if this new creation might be the future of food. The free lecture will take place October 10 at 6 pm at 871 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston University College of General Studies, Room 505. To be sure you’ll have a seat, visit www.bu.edu/foodandwine

  • Saturday and Sunday, October 12 – 13, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Berkshire Botanical Garden Harvest Festival

    Berkshire Botanical Garden’s annual Harvest Festival, an iconic Berkshire event now in its 85th year, is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, October 12-13,  10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Garden located at 5 West Stockbridge Road, (intersection of Routes 102 and 183), Stockbridge, MA. This year’s Festival includes expansion to include five adjoining acres on the north side of the property purchased in the spring of 2019, bringing to 20 the total acreage planned for the Festival.   The Harvest Festival has earned a reputation for being a quintessential family event celebrating the autumn harvest, when the Garden is transformed into a vibrant hub featuring continuous entertainment, children’s games, more than 100 regional artisan food and craft vendors and drop-in workshops. Tag sales featuring jewelry and accessories, repurposed, gently used household items and clothing, a plant and bulb sale, a hay maze and hayrides, pony rides, and a haunted house are among the annual activities that have become favorites over the years.

    A new event added this year is archery, sponsored by Canyon Ranch.    Admission to Harvest Festival is $7 for adults and children under 12 are admitted free. There is no charge for parking in the Garden’s lots. Harvest Festival admission wristbands can be pre-purchased at the Garden’s Visitor Center daily through October 9.   New this year, the Garden offers an opportunity to Berkshire businesses to pre-purchase wristband bundles at a discounted price. Through September 20, bundles of 20 admission wristbands are available for $100 — a $40 savings on general admission with the benefit of no lines or waiting for Harvest Festival entry. There are no limits on the number of bundles businesses can purchase. When purchasing, mention BERKBIZ19 to redeem this offer.

    Harvest Festival is generously sponsored by Meadow Farm Equipment, Canyon Ranch and the Red Lion Inn.  All proceeds from Harvest Festival benefit the Garden’s education and Horticulture programs.

    Visit berkshirebotanical.org for more information. 

  • Thursday, October 10, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Growing and Using Herbs Year Round

    Herbs have been employed by all cultures, throughout human history, in variety of ways including culinary, medicinal, and spiritual usage. On Thursday, October 10 at 6:30 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, we will look at how herbs have been utilized in the past, and apply their use into today’s world. Together we will smell, taste and plant a variety of herbs. Come learn why it is best to grow your own herbs – then learn how to best grow, preserve, and use these incredibly useful plants. Go home with a small pot planted with seeds of easy-to-grow herbs to get off to a good start. $26 for Tower Hill members, $29 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Melissa Pace is an award-winning horticulturalist who competes in numerous garden and flower shows, from Philadelphia Flower Show to the Bolton Fair. She has been a University of Rhode Island Master Gardener since 2003. Melissa has been a presenter for numerous garden clubs and civic organizations throughout New England since 1995. Melissa holds a master’s degree in teaching from Bridgewater University, is an artist and art teacher and is currently employed as a Youth Educator for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.