Daily Archives: August 26, 2023


Saturday, September 9, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon – The Growth of Trees: A Journey Through Time

No single view of a tree is a fixed snapshot in time that tells the complete story. Join Michael Wojtech at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill on September 9 from 9 – noon and discover how trees grow, reproduce, and interact with their environment across days, weeks, seasons, and years and over varying scales—from the intricate details of buds, flowers, leaves, and bark that we use for species identification to the collaborative roles of trees in ecosystems. Learn more about the function and experience the beauty of characteristics such as overwintering buds, lobed or toothed leaves, flowers by the thousands, and seeds that fly on the wind. The Garden Club of the Back Bay presented this program in Boston last year – this expanded version includes a nature walk. Please come dressed to walk around the gardens, potentially on the forest trails.

Michael Wojtech is the author of Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast. As a naturalist and educator, Michael strives to share the science and wonder of trees in an accessible and compelling fashion. He writes, photographs, illustrates, and presents programs about the structure, growth processes, and ecology of trees-including their bark, buds, leaves, roots, and wood-for audiences at all levels of experience. He is especially interested in the process of discovery and engagement and draws his greatest inspiration from sharing the sense of wonder, awe, and the recognition of beauty that result from these investigations.

$40 NEBG Member Adult; $55 Adult (includes admission to the gardens)


Tuesday, September 12, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – World Heritage Landscapes, Online

The Gardens Trust has created a seven part series on Tuesdays, beginning September 12, to mark 50 years of UNESCO World Heritage, £5 each or all 7 for £28. Starting with an overview of World Heritage values and the changing nature of the UK list, the series will aim to enthuse people about individual sites around Great Britain, highlighting what makes each one exceptional, the advantages and challenges of being inscribed on the list, and the issues around sustainable future management of these global assets. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards. Register for the complete series HERE, or follow the links on that page to sign up for individual sessions.

Week One is an Introduction to World Heritage with Chris Blandford. This introductory talk will explore how the UK list has evolved from the early iconic monument sites to include more extensive, diverse, and complex cultural landscapes and cityscapes. It will highlight how improved approaches to management, partnership, and stakeholder involvement are helping support the sites – and how significant challenges remain. Chris Blandford is a world heritage specialist, master planner and landscape architect with a professional career spanning 45 years. He is currently President of World Heritage UK, the charity that represents and promotes, both locally and nationally, the interests of the 33 UK World Heritage Sites. He is Vice Chair of the Gardens Trust. Until 2017 he was Chairman and CEO of the award-winning CBA Studios, which he founded in 1977. He is a Fellow of the Landscape Institute, Vice Chairman of the South Downs National Park Design Review Panel and a past trustee of ICOMOS.