The Boston Tree Alliance Program is a grant program for tree planting, care, and education. The program focuses on expanding access to trees and their benefits in under-canopied, Environmental Justice communities in Boston. This program is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) through the City of Boston. Mass Audubon is contracted with the City to facilitate the distribution of grant funds and administer the program. This grant program provides funding support for nonprofit and community based organizations to pursue tree planting, care, and educational activities in partnership with land owners on non-publicly owned lands.
Through the program – the “Alliance” – a coalition of nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, and urban forestry professionals – works collectively to equitably grow and care for the urban forest. As the program’s fiscal agent, Mass Audubon oversees Alliance convenings that inform the program’s development. The Alliance works alongside the City of Boston to support and advance the goals of the Urban Forest Plan and the Heat Plan. For questions regarding the B.T.A. Tree Planting Grant, please email BostonTreeAlliance@massaudubon.org. Someone from the program team will be in touch with you.
The 8th annual Winter Walk in Boston will be held on February 11, 2024. This 2 mile walk through the streets of Boston during the coldest month of the year will begin and end on the Boston Common at the open field at the corner of Beacon and Charles St. Participants, housed and unhoused, will walk shoulder to shoulder and then share a meal together as we hear real stories of Boston’s homeless population.
Join us on the Boston Common on Sunday, February 11, 2024. Registration opens at 8:30 am, the walk sets off at 9 am and we complete our event by 11am. For those who cannot join us in person, we will offer a remote option to walk anywhere and everywhere, and then to celebrate with us on February 11th. Register at https://secure.qgiv.com/event/winterwalk2024-boston/
Slow Food USA’s 2024 Plant a Seed campaign will explore eight different roots and grains, and a partnership with Seed Savers Exchange and its ADAPT program will give gardeners the opportunity to build community and test out new seed varieties. This announcement came on December 5, on World Soil Day, an annual awareness day commemorated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Through educating the world about soil health, World Soil Day , this initiative emphasizes the vital connection between soil, human and planetary health.
In 2024, Seed Savers Exchange, a nonprofit dedicated to gardeners growing heirloom seeds, will bring Slow Food USA growers into its ADAPT program, allowing Slow Food USA’s garden-loving network to engage in this community science initiative. Sorghum and carrots are among the 10 experiments Seed Savers Exchange has planned for 2024, to intersect with next year’s Plant a Seed campaign, and interested participants can sign up here until January 26, 2024. Participants of this program will trial varieties from the seed bank in their own gardens and send feedback on their performance. This information will help highlight the adaptability of these seeds in different environments and will guide the selection process for new introductions into the Seed Savers Exchange catalog.
Audubon’s 124th Christmas Bird Count will be held from Dec 14, 2023 to January 5, 2024. The Christmas Bird Count occurs December 14 to January 5 every season. Sign up to receive information and results about all of Audubon’s community science programs through American Birds, our newsletter by email.
Click here for a map view of the circles expected to be included in the 124th CBC.
You can use ESRI’s free mobile app to view updated public maps of all CBC circles by state! Simply install the free ESRI Explorer app for iOS or Android and then find CBC circles by searching on your state’s full name + “Christmas Bird Count”. For more information visit www.audubon.org.
Mayor Michelle Wu today announced that the Boston Parks and Recreation Department will distribute over 15,000 daffodil bulbs for planting on public ways citywide through the “Boston Blooms with Daffodils” beautification initiative started in 2011.
Individuals, civic associations, church groups, sports leagues, scout troops, open space advocates, and parks friends are encouraged to sign up to participate. Last year, nearly a hundred community groups planted bulbs in neighborhoods across the City.
Those interested in participating may fill out a form online at boston.gov/boston-blooms. The online application form will remain open until late September on a rolling basis. Due to limited supply, groups are not guaranteed bulbs, but the Parks Department will strive to accommodate all requests. The application deadline is September 29 (or sooner if demand exceeds supply).
The plantings are anticipated to take place in approved locations on the weekends of October 21 and October 28. The Parks Department will contact interested groups and provide bulb pick-up instructions and dates. Groups and individuals are asked to use their own tools.
The Boston Parks and Recreation Department encourages volunteers to take photos of their groups on planting days and share them via social media using the hashtag #BostonBlooms.
For more information on “Boston Blooms with Daffodils,” call (617) 961-3004 or email parks@boston.gov. To stay up to date with news, events, and improvements in Boston parks, sign up for our email list at bit.ly/Get-Parks-Emails, and follow our social channels @bostonparksdept on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Thank you to the Boston Sun for the timely notification of this event.
The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History is excited to announce the Don Schall Memorial Cape Cod BioBlitz. This event has been created in honor of Don Schall; an educator, botanist, naturalist, wetland scientist, mentor, and long-time resident of Brewster. Don’s first job on the Cape was at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History and it is fitting that this Cape Cod BioBlitz will be held here at 869 Main Street, Brewster, Massachusetts. Don’s expertise and personality were inspirational to so many scientists and educators in the region and our goal is to continue his infectious enthusiasm for learning and appreciating biodiversity of the Cape Cod Region. The BioBlitz will require volunteers to be successful. The Museum will offer an Orientation Session at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in the coming weeks. Pre-registration is required. Visit https://ccmnh.org/events/don-shall-memorial-cape-cod-bioblitz-21226/2023-09-09
National Pollinator Week is an annual event celebrated internationally in support of pollinator health. It’s a time to celebrate pollinators and spread the word about what we can do to protect them. Utilize these resources to help you celebrate and promote your involvement in this year’s #PollinatorWeek (June 19-25, 2023). Additional information can be found at www.pollinator.org/pollinator-week or by contacting Pollinator Partnership at info@pollinator.org.
Historic New England’s Community Preservation Grants program has supported more than seventy small to mid-sized heritage organizations from northern Maine to western Connecticut in their efforts to save and share the stories that tell the full history of their communities. Together, we are raising awareness of the power of preservation throughout New England.
Past project support includes exhibitions, exterior building repairs, interior building conservation, oral history documentation, publications, research on untold stories, collections care and access, and more.
The 2023 Community Preservation Grant application deadline is June 30. We encourage you to spread the word and apply for support for your local community preservation project. Apply HERE. HNE welcomes applications from 501(c)3 organizations based in New England whose primary mission is heritage preservation – saving buildings, landscapes, collections, and/or stories from the past to today to share with the public.
The Community Preservation Grants Program is committed to supporting small to mid-size organizations in achieving their goals of saving and sharing their communities’ heritage. While an annual operating budget limit is not specified, funding priority will be given to organizations for which grants of this size will have impact on project success.
Help the Charles River Watershed Association free our trees! Join us on Saturday, June 10th to remove dangerous invasive bittersweet vines! 🌿 These fast-growing, tenacious vines threaten native species & mature trees. But with your help, we can remove them & restore the river ecosystem.
You don’t want to miss this fun, family-friendly event. It is a great way to explore our watershed, meet new friends, and make a difference for our river. Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Location to be announced upon registration.
