Working with our partners at the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Charles River Conservancy, Waltham Land Trust, and Esplanade Association, we collect trash from the Charles River and surrounding area with thousands of incredible volunteers. The Earth Day Charles River Cleanup builds on a national effort as part of American Rivers’ National River Cleanup®, which has removed over 25 million pounds of trash from America’s waterways. Our cleanup brings together over 3,000 volunteers each year to pick up litter, remove invasive species, and assist with park maintenance along all 80 miles of the Charles River. Registration is now open at https://www.crwa.org/earthdaycleanup
The Garden Club of Virginia sponsors Historic Garden Week April 18 – 25, statewide. In addition, more than 1,000 world-class floral arrangements created by Garden Club of Virginia members will enhance tour properties. This beloved statewide event will include unique tours organized and hosted by 48 member clubs located from the foothills of the Shenandoah Valley all the way to the beaches of Tidewater. Proceeds fund the restoration of Virginia’s Public Gardens and Landscapes along with an historic landscape research fellowship program. To see all the events visit https://gcvirginia.org/historic-garden-week/
Join The Gardens Trust for a new four part series wandering through allegorical gardens with Dr David Marsh
In a garden, art, science, nature and the mind collide. It is no surprise then, that many stories in ancient religions and philosophies are set in gardens. Christians believe that the Garden of Eden once existed before Adam and Eve were expelled from it, while the Hanging Garden of Babylon has captivated the creative imagination of humans for centuries, as have legends about the Gardens of the Hesperides in the ancient Mediterranean world. Like ancient Chinese stories about the magical gardens on Mount Kunlun and its counterpart Mount Penglai, they all reflect the complex interaction between the human and divine worlds. In this series we will not only be looking be looking at the myths themselves but also, where possible, the reality that lay behind them and their impact on gardens more recently. This ticket costs £28 for the entire course of 4 sessions, or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £8 [Gardens Trust members £21 or £6 each]. Register at www.eventbrite.co.uk. 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 2 weeks) will be sent shortly afterwards.
Babylon was the capital of one of the great empires of the ancient world, renowned for its wealth and architectural splendor, and of course for its Hanging Gardens, which were one of the Wonders of the Ancient World. So, you might be surprised to know there is absolutely no archaeological evidence – at least in the surviving remains of Babylon – to prove the garden’s existence. That hasn’t stopped artists imagining what they looked like, with varying degrees of fantasy. Indeed, Babylon and its gardens continue to inspire those with fertile imaginations, and the only problem is separating myth from reality.
Join Berkshire Botanical Garden on an exceptional journey to South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, where one of the world’s great centers of biodiversity has inspired centuries of garden design. South Africa is recognized as a global hotspot for plant diversity, with a rich garden history shaped by indigenous flora, colonial influence and evolving horticultural traditions spanning more than 300 years.
This carefully curated tour explores how that legacy unfolded, from early Dutch East India Company gardens to today’s celebrated estates. Highlghts include the world-renowned Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, internationally admired for its focus on indigenous plants, as well as extraordinary private and historic gardens at Babylonstoren, Vergelegen, Morgenster, Rustenberg, Stellenberg, and the celebrated rose garden at Fresh Woods.
Art and architecture enrich the journey with visits to the Michaelis Collection, Koopmans-de Wet House, Groote Schuur, the Irma Stern Museum, and Groot Constantia, South Africa’s oldest wine estate.
Guests enjoy four nights at the iconic Mount Nelson Hotel beneath Table Mountain, followed by three nights in the heart of Stellenbosch’s wine country on a garden-surrounded estate. Visits to private wine estates, Table Mountain National Park and the famous Penguin Beach complete a journey shaped by history, horticulture and extraordinary landscapes.
Discover a living landscape where history, horticulture and beauty meet.
Soundless but sentient, trees were absent for all but the last 10% of Earth’s history yet are essential to all air-breathing life on the planet today. They are the longest-living organisms on Earth, can communicate to one another through intricate underground soil networks, and even thermoregulate, all while rarely ever dying from old age.
Join Liana Vitali, naturalist and educator at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary in Maryland (and self-proclaimed tree-hugger), for an immersive audio-visual journey into the fascinatingly complicated and connected life of trees—from their first tiny emergence through the topsoil as seedlings, to their lasting value to forest life as fallen logs.
Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, just 12 miles outside Washington, D.C., is the jewel of the Patuxent River. Its 1,700 acres of open water, tidal freshwater marshes, forested wetlands, upland and riparian forest, creeks, meadows, pine and sand barrens, and fields along the eastern shore of the Patuxent contain multitudes of welcoming habitats for a true diversity of wildlife.
For more than two decades, Party in the Park has been one of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy’s surest signs of spring—and one of Boston’s most anticipated social events. Since 2003, the event has generated more than $11.2 million in support of the Conservancy’s mission to care for, restore, and activate Boston’s historic park system.
In 2026, this beloved tradition evolves. Sparkle in the Park: An Enchanted Evening reimagines Party in the Park as an evening cocktail reception set against the natural beauty of Jamaica Pond. Designed to be festive, intimate, and immersive, Sparkle in the Park will feature cocktails, delicious fare, engaging activities, and entertainment—celebrating the Emerald Necklace in a new and memorable way.
This refreshed format honors the legacy of Party in the Park while offering supporters a new way to gather in celebration of Boston’s parks. Sparkle in the Park continues the Conservancy’s long-standing tradition of bringing together champions of the Emerald Necklace in support of this vital work.
Since its founding, Party in the Park—and now Sparkle in the Park—has made possible the care of more than 9,000 inventoried trees, as well as significant restoration and improvements throughout the historic 1,100-acre Emerald Necklace park system designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The generosity of friends and supporters ensures these treasured landscapes remain vibrant, welcoming, and accessible for all.
Come together at the Stockbridge Library with the Library’s Director, Wendy Pearson, and Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Director of Education, Jennifer Patton, to discuss Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy on Tuesday, March 3, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. This program is FREE; registration is not required.
Copies of Wild Dark Shore are available at Stockbridge Library, other area libraries and local booksellers.
From the author’s website:
A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon. Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore. Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again. But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late—and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together. A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.
Charlotte McConaghy is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of the novels Wild Dark Shore, Once There Were Wolves, and Migrations, which are being translated into more than thirty languages and adapted for screen. She has a Masters in Screenwriting and lives in Sydney with her partner and two children. https://www.charlottemcconaghy.com
Discover the art of kokedama, a centuries-old Japanese practice that blends horticulture and design, on Saturday, March 7, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Berkshire Botanical Garden. Unlike bonsai, which focuses on outdoor trees, or ikebana, which features cut flowers, kokedama are living plants, such as anthurium, orchid, peperomia, or zantedeschia, displayed in moss-and-soil spheres that can hang or sit in a dish indoors. Led by artist and horticultural therapist Brian Mikesell, this hands-on workshop will teach you to create kokedama using only natural materials (soil, moss and string). No pots, expensive ceramics or specialized tools required. Learn the techniques for crafting, displaying and caring for your kokedama, while connecting with the calming, mindful experience of nurturing plants. All materials are included, and you’ll leave with your own kokedama to enjoy at home or give as a thoughtful, handmade gift. $110 for BBG members. $140 for nonmembers.
Plan ahead – the 2026 Nantucket Daffodil Festival is coming April 24 – April 26. The 49th Annual Daffodil Show by the Nantucket Garden Club will be held in the greenhouses at Bartlett’s Farm on Saturday, April 25 from 2-5pm & Sunday, April 26 from 10am to 3pm. This year’s theme is “It’s Daffy Time… Let’s Dance!” Visit town early to view 100 decorated vintage cars line up on Main Street: staging begins at 9:30 AM. The parade starts at noon, with cars driven in a loop downtown before heading up Orange Street and out to ‘Sconset. Parade participants only park on the right; spectators may set up their picnics on the left. A Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce signature event. If you stay in town for Daffy Saturday, you can participate in the Daffodil Hat Pageant at 10 am, the Children’s Beach Bike Parade at 10:35 am, and NiSHA’s Daffodil Dog Parade shortly after 12 noon. The Morris Dancers are sure to show up & perform. Bring a blanket and set up a picnic for family and friends on the lawn at Children’s Beach.
Complete information plus recommendations on where to stay (book early!) may be found at https://daffodilfestival.com/
The 2026 Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference will be held on Friday, March 13th at UMass Amherst. Register by Friday, February 20th for early-bird pricing!
MassLand is excited to host Dr. Pooja Sarin Tandon, Health Director for the Trust for Public Land, who will speak on Nature and Health — a Pediatrician’s Perspective. Tandon is a general pediatrician and health researcher who has dedicated her career to advancing children’s health by promoting healthy behaviors and reducing disparities. In particular, her work has focused on play equity (“play for all children”), and promoting access to physical activity and outdoor recreation. In her new book, Digging into Nature: Outdoor Adventures for Happier and Healthier Kids, she explores how and why children and their families are happier, healthier, and more resilient when spending time outdoors. Dr. Tandon is also (co-)author on several other papers and studies about the relation between the outdoors and healthy children, healthy communities.
The Conference is sponsored in part by the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs, The Trustees, Mass Audubon, The Nature Conservancy, Berkshire Natural Resources Council, Fields Pond Foundation, Greenbelt (Essex County Land Trust), Kestrel Land Trust, the Nantucket Conservation Foundation, Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, Sudbury Valley Trustees, Wildlands Trust, and others listed on the Conference web page https://massland.org/events/land-conservation-conference.
