Join The Friends of the Public Garden to celebrate summer in the city and our beautiful historic parks. The annual #SummerParty on July 12 will take place in the garden at King’s Chapel Parish House. The two-hour cocktail party gives guests the opportunity to enjoy drinks (open bar, wine and beer) and hors d’oeuvre while mingling with fellow park supporters in a festive atmosphere. $95. Register at www.friendsofthepublicgarden.org

“What is so rare as a day in June?” especially when one is taking a leisurely walk through the meadows and forests around scenic Wright-Locke Farm in search of wildflowers. We won’t have to walk very far to see a host of late spring and early summer flowers in bloom. We’ll take a leisurely stroll in order to enjoy the beauty of these flowers, learn some basic wildflower identification characteristics and also learn some natural history and lore about the plants we see. We’ll also talk a little about the summer solstice, which arrives on Wednesday, June 21st.

Children ages 10+ are welcome to register if accompanied by a registered adult. The program will take place June 11 at 9:30 am, with tiered pricing $10 – $20. Register HERE

This year’s theme – Artistry in Nature. The Carlisle Garden Club presents its annual Country Gardens Tour on June 9 and 10 from 10 – 4, rain or shine. Six fabulous private country gardens and two beautiful public gardens will be featured. Experience the country and get fabulous ideas for using native plants in your garden. You may purchase tickets online at a reduced price until June 5. After that date, tickets are available at regular price online. You may also buy in person on the days of the tour at the Carlisle Town Common. Pick up tickets at the Carlisle Town Common on both days between 10 – 3, and at that time you’ll receive your booklet/guide to the gardens. Register at https://www.carlislegardenclub.org/

The 2023 Food Project’s City Farm Fest will take place Saturday May 13. From 11 – 2, feel free to stop by the Dudley greenhouse, 11 Brook Avenue in Roxbury, to stock up on an abundance of seedlings and gardening/farming supplies. There will be children’s activities available, in addition to a free tree giveaway on our West Cottage St. farm at 10 am, sponsored by our good friends over at Speak for the Trees.

Join Mass Parks for All in Chestnut Hill on May 11 for a fun evening under the stars with park advocates from throughout the state as we celebrate the announcement of the Commonwealth’s first charitable organization devoted to state parks and public lands. Mass Parks for All (MPA) is a statewide non-partisan, non-profit 501(C)(3) charitable organization with a 21st-century vision for our public lands. Our state park system features a multitude of environmental, recreational, cultural, and historic assets that provide us with physical and emotional benefits and contribute significantly to our efforts to mitigate climate change while supporting our $16 billion per year outdoor economy. 

Mass Parks for All seeks to transform these essential assets into a connected green and blue network for all modes of travel that is universally accessible, as well as environmentally and economically equitable. Every person in the Commonwealth deserves adequately staffed, clean, safe, accessible, and well-maintained parks that provide recreational opportunities for all. We encourage public-private partnerships to help achieve these goals. We expect our shared parks, forests, beaches, trails, and recreational facilities to be well-funded, protected, and managed based on the best available practices and science for all to enjoy in perpetuity. To support a 21st-century vision for public lands, RSVP for our event today!

An evening reception at the Southborough Library on April 13 from 5 – 8:30 is planned to showcase all the floral arrangements and book pairings created by members of Southborough Gardeners.  Refreshments will be served.  This event is open to the community.  Please invite your friends and family to attend the reception or visit the exhibit at the Library on April 14 and 15. For more information visit http://www.southboroughgardeners.org/calendar

Marc Hernandez, Formaggio Kitchen’s manager, buyer and expert cheesemonger, co-hosts this tour with Anna Juhl of Cheese Journeys. You’ll spend time with and learn from Britain’s most renowned artisan cheesemakers – all while staying in a beautifully restored English Manor. A day trip to the historic and food-loving city of Bath adds to this cheese lovers experience.

This one-of-a-kind experience allows you to spend time with and learn from Britain’s best artisan cheesemakers all while staying in a beautifully restored English Manor. Meet up in London at Neal’s Yard Dairy (NYD). You’ll be introduced to the team at NYD for an insider’s tour and view of the British cheese world. Travel west for a 7-day stay at the Downton Abbey-style holiday at North Cadbury Court, one of the finest historic properties in Somerset, England. Enjoy chef-prepared meals, tour scenic farms, and witness Cheddar making firsthand. You’ll be guests at a grand dinner party as we host fifteen of England’s top cheese producers at the Court. Enjoy hands-on cooking demonstrations with French Chefs, indulge in a spa day, walk the historic grounds of Camelot and King Arthur, and explore the exciting food scene in the historic city of Bath.

For complete itinerary and information, and to sign up, visit www.cheesejourneys.com

Mark your calendar for the next NEBS Meeting on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at 7pm ET at Harvard University’s Haller Lecture Hall and via Zoom. Non-members may register for the meeting access link here.

The traditional framework for explaining how a plant’s traits can influence its fitness is that the trait is based solely on its own genome. However, microbes inhabit all internal and external spaces of a plant both above and below ground and can impact the expression of these traits. In mutualisms, this microbially mediated selection can result in conflicts between host plant and microbe over the optimal trait value. Gaining a better understanding of the strength of selection exerted by microbes can lead to fundamental changes in how we approach microbiome research and may be key to moving towards more sustainable agriculture.

The speaker, Dr. Chandra Jack, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Clark University in Worcester. Dr. Jack received her undergraduate, Masters, and PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Rice University. She is an evolutionary biologist interested in studying the eco-evolutionary dynamics of biotic interactions (microbe-microbe, plant-microbe, plant-insect, and all combinations). The ubiquitous nature of microbes and their association with all living organisms makes them an ideal system for studying how coevolution between species has led to long-term cooperative associations and how intra-and interspecific microbial conflict can determine the population structure of the plant microbiome. My current and future research seek to understand how microbes influence plant fitness, functional traits, and population structure; how genetic variation is maintained through species interactions; and the consequences of these interactions under different environmental conditions.