At the May 7 Annual Meeting of The Garden Club of the Back Bay, the membership discussed and voted upon the following grants, as well as approving an additional $20,000 for direct tree care for the trees of the Back Bay. The total expenditures of $46,000 are made possible through the support of our members and friends who buy holiday wreaths, attend or sponsor The Twilight Garden Party, or donate as part of their annual charitable giving. We thank them all.
Blossom Fund of the Boston Committee of the GCA $ 500 for projects in Boston. The current project is to support the new initiative at Boston Nature Center for pruning and care of mature trees on the property.
Boston Nature Center/Mass Audubon $ 2,000 for scholarships to their summer camp for children from Mattapan, Roslindale and Jamaica Plain.
Charlesgate Alliance $ 1,000 for new initiative to provide tree care & preservation
Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee $ 5,000 for continuing tree care program
Emerald Necklace Conservancy $ 2,000 for care of trees in their park system
Esplanade Association $ 5,000 for critical tree maintenance, allocated specifically to pruning
Friends of Copley Square $ 1,500 for maintenance of trees in Copley Square
Friends of the Public Garden $ 5,000 for care of trees in the Public Garden and on the Boston Common
Food Project $ 2,000 for building and providing raised bed gardens for Boston residents and community centers
Mount Auburn Cemetery $ 1,000 in support of the transformation of the Asa Gray Garden. Four maple trees in the garden were relocated from the Boston Public Library to the Asa Gray Garden with the help of The Garden Club of the Back Bay in 1999. (Photo below)
Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, Inc. $ 1,000 to support its work on preserving and expanding the tree canopy in East Boston
