Boston Flora

Category: Volunteer Opportunity

  • Tuesday, February 28, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Volunteer Fair at Garden in the Woods

    Learn about volunteer opportunities at Garden in the Woods and beyond on Tuesday, February 28 from 10 – noon. Support the native plant conservation mission of New England Wild Flower Society, while making new friends and learning about our local plants.

    Volunteers are needed to lead garden tours for adults or children, to work in the garden, to help with plant propagation in the stockbeds, to assist in the library, and to volunteer beyond the garden gates working as a Plant Conservation Volunteer or with invasive plant management projects.

    Attend a brief presentation about volunteer opportunities, followed by refreshments and a tour of the facilities at 180 Hemenway Road in Framingham. For more information, telephone 508-877-7630, ext. 3302, or visit www.newenglandwild.org.

  • Friday, February 17 – Monday, February 20 – The Great Backyard Bird Count

    The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.

    Participants count birds anywhere for as little or as long as they wish during the four-day period. They tally the highest number of birds of each species seen together at any one time. To report their counts, they fill out an online checklist at the Great Backyard Bird Count website.

    As the count progresses, anyone with Internet access can explore what is being reported from their own towns or anywhere in the United States and Canada. They can also see how this year’s numbers compare with those from previous years. Participants may also send in photographs of the birds they see. A selection of images is posted in the online photo gallery.  For complete information, visit www.birdsource.org/gbbc.

  • Volunteer at the Yawkey Family Inn at Children’s Hospital Boston

    To guarantee the best treatment for their sick children, patient families will travel from across the globe to Children’s Hospital Boston. Many of these families arrive in Boston with just the clothes on their backs and no temporary living arrangements. Newly renovated, named and opened, the Yawkey Family Inn (YFI) is just blocks from the hospital and doubles the amount of affordable housing available to Children’s families. With 22 bedrooms, shared bathrooms, a fully equipped kitchen and common areas, the YFI offers all of the comforts of home to families during their greatest time of need.

    This house was made possible, in large part, by the Yawkey Foundations, which awarded a $3 million gift to support the new home. Additionally, the Family Inn Foundation, a long-term partner of the Yawkey Foundations, generously donated its independently operated Family Inn on Sewall Avenue to the hospital. Created 25 years ago with the support of Jean Yawkey, the Family Inn has provided much needed accommodation for out-of-town patient families.

    Last year, the New England Revolution and Major League Soccer donated a greenhouse to Children’s Yawkey Family Inn, bringing sunshine to families who’ve traveled far from home for their child’s care. The staff is looking for volunteers with green thumbs to help keep this space bright. An experienced gardener or gardeners must assess the required needs of the greenhouse, including maintenance, then schedule seasonal plantings, while giving tips to the program staff regarding continued maintenance of the greenhouse, which is located at 241 Kent Street in Brookline. If you are interested, please contact Sharon Healey at 617-919-3455.

  • Call for Floral Designers

    Call for Floral Designers

    Have you won a blue ribbon for your floral designs? Have you ever wanted to step onto the ‘big stage’ and show your talent?

    Division II – the ‘open’ division of Blooms! at the Boston Flower & Garden Show – still has some openings for floral designers. You need not be a member of a garden club, but you should have both experience in designing and have won in competitions.  The payoff for competing is the recognition of your skills and imagination, and the admiration of the 65,000+ attendees at the show.  If you are interested, please contact Julie Pipe at juliepipe@comcast.net.

     

  • Landslide 2012: Landscape and Patronage Call for Nominations

    American history is replete with visionary, inspired and willful patrons who supported and shaped beloved and nationally significant estates, parks, plazas and other civic amenities across the country.

    The Cultural Landscape Foundation announces the 2012 Landslide®: Landscape and Patronage call for nominations. Landslide, the annual thematic compendium of threatened and at-risk landscapes, in 2012 will focus on those people and/or organizations and the sites they helped create. The goal is to celebrate their accomplishments and inspire new generations of patrons and philanthropists. The landscapes that surround us everyday shape our communities and the people living in them — help bring attention to these sites and the individuals who shaped their creation by nominating an at-risk cultural landscape.  Deadline is May 31! Submit a nomination on line at www.tclf.org.  Below is a photo of A.D. Taylor and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. at Forest Hills Park, Ohio.

    Glendora Bougainvilea

  • Request For Proposals for Boston Committee Grant

    Established in 1989, The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America is a consortium of 14 garden clubs in the greater Boston area, from Buzzards Bay to the South, and coastal Maine to the north, with a total membership of 1,100 individuals. The Garden Club of the Back Bay is an affiliate member of The Boston Committee.

    Over the past years, the Boston Committee has awarded $110,000, through its Blossom Fund, to various not for profit groups in the City of Boston, for the purpose of beautifying our urban spaces. The Fund has been most effective when used to leverage larger grants. It has been at the forefront of projects such as the construction of the Blackwell Path at the Arnold Arboretum, which allows access to the Arboretum from public transportation. The Blossom Fund has helped with the construction and planting of a butterfly garden and maple tree allee at Massachusetts Audubon Society’s George Robert White Nature Center, in Mattapan. It has provided money for the restoration of the Kelleher Rose Garden on the Emerald Necklace. The Esplanade Association purchased irrigation equipment, the Charles River Conservancy restored the landscape surrounding the Eliot Bridge, and a garden was established at the Neighborhood Charter School, all with the help of the Blossom Fund.

    Now, the Boston Committee is soliciting proposals for a project in the vicinity of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. We expect to award a single grant for $50,000, with the potential to collaboratively raise additional funds in the future.

    The Committee members agree that innovation, positive community impact, and horticultural achievement must be the hallmarks of a successful Greenway proposal. Sustainability and future maintenance are important considerations. The grant will not be awarded for general fund drives, endowments, or for operating or staffing costs. The successful applicant must work with us to raise additional monies in the final year of the fund drive. Importantly, applicants must be an exempt organization under the IRS code.

    Complete details may be obtained by email. Contact Michele Hanss, current Chairman of The Boston Committee, at m.hanss@comcast.net. Applications are due February 10. We have received notice that applications may be forthcoming from the Friends of Christopher Columbus Park, The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, the Boston Aquarium, and the Boston Harbor Walk. After a full review and interviews, member Clubs will vote for the winning application, to be announced at our Annual Meeting in the fall of 2012, after which we will embark on the final year of fund raising. We encourage all groups in or around the Greenway to submit applications.

  • Saturday, January 21, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Winter Volunteer Day

    Believe it or not, there’s important woodlands restoration work to be done during the coldest months! An invasive vine that wraps itself around trees and kills them is easiest to cut in the winter (see bittersweet, below.)  The Franklin Park Coalition sponsors its annual Winter Volunteer Day Saturday, January 21, from 10 – 12. Wear old clothes and layers, heavy cotton or wool is best, nylon will snag on branches. If you have cold hands bring liners for under leather gloves. Meet at Valley Gates Parking Lot midway along the main park road. RSVP and Questions? www.franklinparkcoalition.org  or 617-442-4141.

  • Tuesday, January 24, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Help Promote Trees in Boston

    For all those interested in improving and expanding Boston’s Urban Forest. Become a part of a resident based stewardship and advocacy group whose goals are to plant trees and educate the public about the benefits of trees. The meeting will take place Tuesday, January 24, from 6:30 – 7:30 at the BNAN offices, 62 Summer Street in downtown Boston. Please RSVP to reserve your spot at 617-542-7696 ext 20 or email mathew@bostonnatural.org.

  • GLOW Competition Announcement

    Garden Club of the Back Bay member Susan Ashbrook brought this Copley Square competition to our attention. SHIFTBoston is asking artists, architects, urban planners, sculptors, lighting designers, and landscape architects around the world to envision a new approach to activating Copley Square in Boston with a lighting installation. In their GLOW Competition, SHIFT is looking for proposals which will make the space one of the greatest squares in the world to visit at night. Teams are invited to enter, and winners will be given two months to work with a professional from Boston Light Source to develop lighting specifications for their proposal. In April, a jury will review the three final proposals and select the one that is most technically feasible and suitable to the overall program goal. The winning proposal will be featured as part of the upcoming Fairmont Copley Plaza Anniversary celebration and planned for installation in 2013. Entries are due by February 3, 2012. All eligible entries will be promoted on the SHIFTboston blog and website and will become part of the SHIFTboston GLOW book in 2012. The international jury includes the following:

    – Ana Bassat: Architect, Principal of b720; Barcelona, Spain
    – Helmut Bien: Director of Luminale and Luminapolis.com; Germany
    – Bill Kenney: General Manager of Copley Place Simon Property Group; Boston, MA
    – Mark Loeffler: Lighting Designer, Director of Atelier Ten; New Haven CT
    – Otto Piene: Painter, Artist, Lighting sculptor; Groton MA
    – Nader Tehrani: Principal of NADAAA, Boston MA
    – Paul Zaferiou: Lighting Designer, Principal of Lam Partners; Boston MA

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay has taken no official position on the appropriateness of additional lighting in Copley Square, but is in conversation with The Friends of Copley Square, The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, and local government officials reviewing the proposed competition.

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  • A New Year’s Resolution for Friends of Copley Square

    Garden Club of the Back Bay representative to The Friends of Copley Square, Bev Christians, has reminded us to remind all our readers of the tree situation at Copley Square.  She and fellow Club member and representative Rita Christensen have been working hard with the Friends group to find a solution to the dead and dying trees.  Bev writes:

    A number of Garden Club members who are concerned about the diseased trees in Copley Square have asked about joining the Friends of Copley Square at this time of year when charitable contributions are made.  Please note that the Friends have set up a designated account to receive monies for tree care and replacement.  When you join, mark the check memo “Tree Fund.” Thus far, Garden Club memberships in FOCS have paid for fertilizer and biotic stress treatment to fortify blighted trees.Your memberships truly count, especially right now.  Mail your check for $50 for individual membership or $500 Singleton Society (special events) to Friends of Copley Square,  P.O Box 170124, Boston, MA 02117-0084.  

    Visit www.friendsofcopleysquare.org to join or donate on line with PayPal, if you prefer.  Copley Square has, in the past, been a site for First Night ice sculptures, and in the dead of winter, the tree damage goes unnoticed.  When spring arrives, however, the extent of the problem will be readily apparent.  Please give generously.