Dorchester Weather is an original play about climate and change, led by Dorchester resident, theater artist and educator Jaronzie Harris, in partnership with the Environment Department of the City of Boston. It is the culmination of a year long process that engages Dorchester residents in an exploration of environmental issues that are disproportionately impacting the community. There will be food, music, and interactive activities. Come share your thoughts and ideas on June 30 at 6:30 pm, on the corner of Norfolk and Woodrow, and dive deep into the implications of climate change in Dorchester. Admission is free. Learn more and register today!
What’s Out There® Weekend (WOTW) Cleveland will bring to light the local character of the city as reflected by its publicly accessible parks, gardens, plazas, cemeteries, memorials, and neighborhoods. The region boasts more than 24,000 acres of publicly accessible green space, including a National Park, several scenic reservations, seminal landscapes designed by the Olmsted firm, A.D. Taylor, Ernest Bowditch, and others, and exciting contemporary projects enlivening the city’s center. In addition to significant works of landscape architecture, the area possesses a rich diversity of cultural landscapes, including several sites included in the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, such as Lake View and Erie Street Cemeteries.
Working in collaboration with myriad local partners, The Cultural Landscape Foundation will make visible and instill value in the places that make the region unique, and engage the public to promote their sustained stewardship. WOTW Cleveland will engage a large and diverse audience (typically 1,000+), offering two days of free, expert-led tours of up to 30 sites, encouraging participants to discover the little-known design history of places they may pass every day. For more information, and registration, visit https://www.tclf.org/whats-out-there-weekend-cleveland
The Foodways Book Club, sponsored by the Boston Public Library, will have its next online discussion on Zoom on Wednesday, July 26 at 6:30 pm. The next book to be discussed is Fatty Fatty Boom Boom: A Memoir of Food, Fat, and Family by Rabia Chaudry. Copies of the book have been set aside at the BPL, and of course it’s available at bookstores and as a Kindle and Audio Book.
According to family lore, when Rabia Chaudry’s family returned to Pakistan for their first visit since moving to the United States, two-year-old Rabia was more than just a pudgy toddler. Dada Abu, her fit and sprightly grandfather, attempted to pick her up but had to put her straight back down, demanding of Chaudry’s mother: “What have you done to her?” The answer was two full bottles of half-and-half per day, frozen butter sticks to gnaw on, and lots and lots of American processed foods.
And yet, despite her parents plying her with all the wrong foods as they discovered Burger King and Dairy Queen, they were highly concerned for the future for their large-sized daughter. How would she ever find a suitable husband? There was merciless teasing by uncles, cousins, and kids at school, but Chaudry always loved food too much to hold a grudge against it. Soon she would leave behind fast food and come to love the Pakistani foods of her heritage, learning to cook them with wholesome ingredients and eat them in moderation. At once a love letter (with recipes) to fresh roti, chaat, chicken biryani, ghee, pakoras, shorba, parathay and an often hilarious dissection of life in a Muslim immigrant family, Fatty Fatty Boom Boom is also a searingly honest portrait of a woman grappling with a body that gets the job done but that refuses to meet the expectations of others. Chaudry’s memoir offers listeners a relatable and powerful voice on the controversial topic of body image, one that dispenses with the politics and gets to what every woman who has ever struggled with weight will relate to.
More than thirty camera clubs and groups throughout New England compete in New England Camera Club Council competitions. For rules and more information click HERE. Below is a winning submission, Bee on Dahlia, from our friend Vicki Saltonstall of the Chestnut Hill Garden Club. Vicki is a past President of The Boston Committee of the GCA, and most importantly, a Garden Club of the Back Bay wreath customer.
This full-day New England Botanic Garden class on July 8 is a systematic approach to identifying mosses in the field. Through activities both indoors and out, you will learn how and what to observe in the field, filtering what might be possible, how to make a guess and confirming that guess. Please bring a 7-10x hand lens and a notebook for drawing.
Instructor: Susan Williams
Sue Williams is an independent naturalist and bryologist instructor with more than 30 years of experience. She is the author of Ecological Guide to the Mosses and Common Liverworts of the Northeast, an essential introduction to identifying mosses and common liverworts found in the northeastern United States and Canada.
$80 Member Adult; $95 Adult (includes admission to the Garden). Register at nebg.org.
The Garden Museum is pleased to share with you a film celebrating the gardens of the Excalibur Estate in Catford, South London, directed by Peter Kindersley and presented by Matthew Wilson, garden designer, and writer.
The Excalibur Estate is an estate of prefab bungalows begun in 1946 for families bombed out of their homes. For many it was a chance to make a garden; seventy years later, the Excalibur Estate is as rich in horticulture and biodiversity as any hectare of London. But the Excalibur is being demolished and the gardens vanishing.
Matthew Wilson’s Uncle Jim was one of the first residents. Last month he visited Excalibur to record the gardens, and look for traces of a favourite uncle. Along the way he met a few of the residents who shared the stories of their beloved gardens.
The Friends of the Public Garden and the City of Boston encourage members of the public to join them for the next Tool House Public Meeting on June 28 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. The City will present the final design plans for the Tool House in the Public Garden with a Q&A session to follow. Learn more about the project here and find more details about the public meeting here.
This project is a partnership between Public Facilities and Parks and Recreation Department and is looking to improve the Tool House which is home to the maintenance for the Public Garden and storage for the Swan Boat operations.
For more on the history of the public garden please visit the public gardens page.
Join the New England Botanical Society on July 7 for a rare and very special opportunity for a guided visit to one of New England’s most fascinating and imperiled plant assemblages: above tree line at the legendary “Alpine Garden” of our highest peak. Led by one of New England’s most knowledgeable and experienced botanists and ecologists, this high elevation field trip – complete with stunning vistas — is made accessible by the famed Mt. Washington Auto Road. Please note the terrain at the summit will be moderately strenuous with a 500-foot descent (and return ascent) from the road. Bring layers for cold or wet weather and sturdy footwear. Register early – this trip is sure to fill quickly. There will be a fee for the Auto Road. Leader: Dan Sperduto, Forest Botanist, White Mountain National Forest Register here so Dan may be in touch with you about this trip.
Day field trips are informal, small-group outings to explore interesting places and to see (not collect) interesting plants, facilitated by knowledgeable and enthusiastic leaders. Bring your lunch, water, insect repellent, field guides, hand lens, and curiosity. Be prepared for the terrain and level of difficulty indicated for each trip. Please register at least 1 week in advance to get meeting time, location, and directions. Trips may be cancelled if enrollment is low or if inclement weather. Trips will be limited to 14 participants.
This New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill course on June 25 from 9:30 – 11:30 introduces you to “the four treasures” of Chinese brush painting—ink stone, ink sticks, brush, and paper—allows you to explore a variety of techniques. Through demonstration and hands-on practice, you will learn the Chinese brush methods of painting poppies and butterflies, as well as compositional development. Take this two hours class to relax, create, and meditate with Chinese brush painting inspired by the beautiful garden at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill. Instructor is Sau-Mei Leung.
Required Materials (Not included with registration):
Two containers (one for clean water and the other for cleaning brushes, minimum size: 2 cups)
Two flat white 6-8 inches plates (small dinner plate is ok)
Sau-Mei Leung is a graduate with the Natural Science Illustration Certificate from Rhode Island School of Design Continuing Education. She also has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of Connecticut. Her interest in art was sparked by studying Chinese calligraphy in primary school in Hong Kong. Mei has exhibited in many shows including Davis Art Gallery, Tower Hill Botanical Garden, and Art Providence. One of her watercolor paintings was also featured in Scenes and Seasons of a Small New England Village published by Leonard A. Haug. Mei is passionate about teaching and sharing her love of art, nature, and science. $55 Member Adult; $70 Adult (Registration includes admission to the Garden) Register at www.nebg.org
Two local children’s book authors, Lisa Varchol Perron and Renee Kurilla will join us for a day of reading on the farm on June 25. Both authors will read from their recently published books and there will be family-friendly activities. This is a fun event for children and families of all ages!. Wright-Locke Farm is located at 82 Ridge Street in Winchester.
We are partnering with Book Ends in Winchester, and copies of the authors’ books will be available for purchase and signing. Registration is open at www.WLFarm.org. This event will benefit the Forest Friends Preschool Sunflower Fund.
