Boston Flora

Category: Volunteer Opportunity

  • September 6, 12:00 noon – 3:00 pm – NABB Block Party

    Come join The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay on September 6 at noon (rain date September 13) for the most requested activity from the Back Bay Quality of Life Survey—a Block Party to meet your Back Bay neighbors. We are planning exciting activities for all ages. Enjoy ice cream, entertainment, and local food. Admission is free, with most food and beverages free. It will take place on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, between Clarendon and Dartmouth Streets, at the Patrick Collins statue with a check-in table at the Clarendon Street entrance.

    Please register in advance to ensure food and beverage accuracy.

    We are looking for volunteers to make this day a huge success. Please email us at backbayblockparty@nabbonline.org to sign up.

    Want to help offset the cost of the event?

    Donations are welcome  (please note Block Party as the event). 

  • Wednesday, September 10, 6:00 pm Eastern – Information Session for The Henry Lee Fund for Boston Parks 2026 Grant Cycle, Online

    Are you passionate about your local park and community greenspaces? Ready to start a park project, or have an existing park project that just needs that little push to completion? Launched by The Friends of the Public Garden in June 2024, the Henry Lee Fund provides grants to help seed local neighborhood groups and organizations to make impactful enhancements in our beloved parks and greenspaces. The application period is open now. Grant applications are due by Monday, November 3 at 5 pm. Grant awardees will be announced in January, 2026. Register for the Zoom September 10 information session HERE.

  • Friday, September 26 – Submission Deadline for American Horticultural Society Great American Gardener Award

    Recognize horticultural excellence by nominating someone for a Great American Gardener Award. Each year the American Horticultural Society honors exceptional contributions to gardening and horticulture through this awards program. All nominations must be submitted by September 26, 2025. Questions? Email programs@ahsgardening.org

  • Friday, August 29 – Global Survey Deadline: Nurturing Nature Through Plant-Based Solutions for Long Term Climate Resilience

    In the face of climate change and biodiversity loss, the New York Botanical Garden is strengthening its commitment to plant-based climate solutions. Through its Nurturing Nature Initiative, NYBG is harnessing the unique power of botanical gardens to restore ecosystems, support communities, and protect biodiversity.

    Global Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JS6GNMN

    Nurturing Nature Initiative: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JS6GNMN

    With support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and in partnership with Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), NYBG’s Nurturing Nature Initiative is creating a science-based roadmap to advance climate resilience through plants. The initiative strengthens the role of botanical gardens as vital hubs for biodiversity, education, and community action. Working with BGCI and the Ecological Restoration Alliance of Botanic Gardens, the team will share knowledge, expand impact, and elevate the role of gardens in global restoration efforts.

    Botanical gardens hold rare plant collections, seed banks, and taxonomic expertise critical for restoration and climate adaptation. Yet they are often overlooked in climate strategies. Nurturing Nature aims to change that. With guidance from a global advisory group, NYBG and partners are developing an action plan to help gardens lead nature-based climate solutions—locally and globally.

  • Monday, October 20 – Sunday, October 26 – Birdability Week

    Birdability Week is a celebration of birders with disabilities and other health concerns, as well as an opportunity to share resources and ideas to help the birding community become accessible, inclusive, and welcoming to everybody! It is an annual collection of events the third week of each October, drawing inspiration from other inclusive celebrations such as #BlackBirdersWeek, Latino Conservation Week and Let’s Go Birding Together. For complete details visit https://www.birdability.org/birdability-week

    The Offbeat Photo and Video Contest is back for Birdability Week 2025. Birds doing weird things? Accidental beauty? Blurry but beloved? Submit your offbeat bird photos and feeder cam videos starting August 1 for a chance to win and have your work featured during Birdability Week. The event organizers want your weirdest shots and the best stories about them!

    Entries will be open through September 15, and you can find full details and entry guidelines at https://www.birdability.org/birdability-week.

  • Genetically Engineered Chestnut Tree Controversy

    The USDA is accepting public comments on its proposal to deregulate the Genetically Engineered (GE) Darling 54 Chestnut Tree developed by researchers at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science & Forestry (SUNY ESF). Deregulation would allow Darling 54 to be sold and planted anywhere in the United States despite significant known and disturbing problems with the tree.

    Send a message today opposing the approval of the Darling 54. If released on a wide scale, the trees could threaten our natural forests and put wild American chestnut trees at risk, for the sake of profit.

    In addition, chestnuts from the Darling 54 contain a wheat gene. There has been no safety testing of the chestnuts for allergenicity or toxicity. The potential impact on wildlife and humans who consume the nuts is unknown and concerning.

    READ MORE about why this GMO tree should ever see the light of day and speak up for our natural forests: tinyurl.com/StopGMOChestnutTrees

  • Wednesday, August 13, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Native Land Conservancy Bioblitz 2025

    Join the Native Land Conservancy’s fourth annual gathering of professional and citizen scientists on Wednesday, August 13 from 10 – 2 on Wampanoag Common Lands, 266 Bishops Highway in Kingston, Massachusetts. This annual survey helps NLC document and track ecological changes through time and assess the ongoing restoration efforts. Bring lunch, bug repellent, sun block, and your fully-charged smart phone to identify species using the free app, iNaturalist. Register online at bit.ly/NLCBioBlitz25

  • Tuesday, July 29 & Wednesday, August 6, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm – The Food Project Summer Socials

    Join the Food Project on Tuesday, July 29 from 5 – 6:30 at 1 Collins Street Terrace in Lynn or on Wednesday, August 6 at West Cottage Farm in Dorchester for a Summer Fair Social. The Root Crew on Ingalls and W. Cottage farms are hosting a summer celebrations! Current Events and Volunteer Manager and former Chef and Founder of Uncommon Feasts, Michelle Mulford, will be making homemade ice cream with Root Crew with flavors from the farms. There will also be family friendly activities and farm tours. For more information visit https://thefoodproject.org/events/ and rsvp to Michelle Mulford at mmulford@thefoodproject.org

  • Friday, July 25 – Deadline for Artist Proposals for Gnomevember at the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill

    A great gnome uprising is coming! In 1986, the Worcester County Horticultural Society purchased Tower Hill Farm in Boylston and began building New England Botanic Garden. It is said that gnomes inhabited the property, long before the Garden was ever built, but strangely, over the past two years gnome activity has been on the rise. But why? Perhaps the gnomes are tired of hiding. Or maybe they are curious about the visitors, or the new gardens we’re building. No matter the reason, we’re prepared for their return this year. Are you?

    We seek artistic individuals or groups to help us creatively decorate one of our 28-inch-tall concrete garden gnomes. The decorated gnomes will be displayed during our annual Gnomevember exhibition that takes place each November and will join our gnome family after the exhibition ends. Successful design proposals will be creative, fun, inclusive, and family-friendly. Please note that designs should only focus on painting the gnomes; extra added elements or altering the structure will not be accepted. Please click here for the proposal document and submission directions. Proposals are due by July 25, 2025.

  • Saturday, August 1 – Submission Deadline, Franklin Park Poster Design Competition

    The City of Boston, the Boston Society of Landscape Architects and the Franklin Park Coalition invite the public to participate in a Poster Design Competition celebrating the physical and cultural icons of Franklin Park, Boston’s largest open space.

    Nestled in the heart of the City, Franklin Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1885, is a beloved destination for residents and visitors alike.

    Historically, iconic destinations and landmarks in public parks have often been celebrated through collector-worthy poster series. Artists have captured the magic and beauty of beloved public spaces across the United States, from the stunning posters created through the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project in the 1930s to feature our national parks to the more recent series created in the mid 1990s for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is time for Franklin Park, a celebrated gem of Boston’s Emerald Necklace, to receive the same attention.

    Submissions are due on August 1, 2025. Visit https://www.bslanow.org/postercompetition for complete rules.