Boston Flora

Monday, January 6, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Achieving Coexistence with Coyotes

Come join Dan Proulx, founder of Dan’s Wildlife Rescue in Marblehead, MA and a Coyote Certified Problem Animal Control Agent in Massachusetts with many years of experience in wildlife rehabilitation and animal control as he shares his expertise with Eastern Coyote populations throughout Massachusetts. Dan will discuss coyote habitat and behavior; how to avoid conflicts between household pets and coyotes; and what to do and who to call if you experience problems with coyotes or come across a sick or injured one. Dan will offer tips on how to deal with the growing coyote population that calls Woburn home.

The overall goal of this program is to promote safe community coexistence with the local coyote population as well as to identify the benefits of having coyotes in the community.

The program will take place on January 6 at 6:30 at the Woburn Public Library, 45 Pleasant Street in Woburn. Sponsored by the Friends of Horn Pond. Register at https://mysticriver.org/events/2025/1/6/achieving-coexistance-with-coyotes

Boston Flood Survey

The Charles River Watershed Association, the Neponset River Watershed Association, and the Mystic River Watershed Association invite you to participate in an effort to make our community more climate resilient. If you see street or sidewalk flooding in Boston, let them know. By visiting bit.ly/floodsurveyboston and completing a brief form with a photo (a less than perfect shot from your phone is just fine!), the City of Boston Office of Green Infrastructure will develop a map of flood-impacted areas to inform policy decisions and design flood mitigation efforts. You may spot a corner drain that always overflows, a dip in the sidewalk that becomes a pond in heavy rain, or something much more significant, but please do report it. Add the link to notes on your phone so you have it the instant you see something.

Wednesday, January 15 – Application Deadline for 2025 Urban Ag Mentor Farm Program

UMass Extension will work with three urban farms across Massachusetts to provide tailored and sustained technical assistance to help them tackle their most challenging issues over the course of the next year. Application deadline is Wednesday, January 15. For more information email urbanag@umass.edu.

Last year’s farms were Nordica Street Community Farm in Springfield, the Regional Environmental Council’s YouthGROW program in Worcester, and Boston’s Urban Farming Institute. Each farm chose a program focus on pest management.

Saturday, December 21, 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm – Lantern-Lit Solstice Hike at Sibley Farm

Join the Greater Worcester Land Trust for the annual winter solstice celebration on Saturday, December 21 from 3:30 – 6:30.
Lanterns guide you from the parking lot to a bonfire, where hot cocoa and s’mores await!

If the skies are clear, the site is particularly great for stargazing. We encourage those with knowledge of astronomy to join and share what they know. New this year: at 2:30, Board Member Mike Peckar and David Prouty High School teacher, James Barnett, will lead a group for a longer hike from the David Prouty parking lot. Please indicate if you will be joining the earlier hike in your RSVP.

We suggest dressing warm and bringing a flashlight/headlamp and something to sit on.

RSVP is appreciated, but not required. Please email Olivia at olivia@gwlt.org. Parking: 131 Greenville St, Spencer, MA 01562.

Monday, December 23 – Deadline for Application to Master Urban Gardener Online Certification Course

Now in its twenty-seventh year, The Trustees’ Master Urban Gardening course (MUG) has long been a forum where both novice and experienced gardeners come to build their skills, sharing innovative and best practices for growing anywhere from the front porch to the community garden plot. MUG is an intensive, skill-building training for community and home gardeners from Greater Boston and beyond. Whether you’re just getting started or have been gardening for decades, MUG covers everything you need know to thrive in a community garden: soil science, botany for gardeners, organic pest and disease management, edible native perennials, garden planning, starting a community garden, preserving the harvest, composting, and more. MUG is not an official Master Gardener training—it requires fewer class and volunteer hours and focuses on small-space growing of edible crops. Master Urban Gardener is open to any community and residential gardeners who demonstrate a commitment to sharing skills with others. The program content is tailored to the climate and resources of Greater Boston but is open to gardeners from farther afield. We will have Spanish translation available upon request.

The course will take place primarily Zoom 10AM-12 PM Saturdays and 5:30-7:30PM on Tuesday, with in-person gatherings at the beginning and end of the course (January 26^th and March 15th). To receive their certificate, students will be expected to complete at least 10 hours of volunteer service for the Trustees Boston Community Gardens–and/or another approved garden/urban farm project over the course of the next year.

Click https://thetrustees.org/content/master-urban-gardener/ for more information, and to apply.

Now through June 15, 2025 – Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend

Often called the unicorns of the sea, narwhals have fascinated people across cultures for centuries. These highly recognizable creatures spend their lives in the Arctic waters of Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia. Dive deeper into the world of these unique ocean dwellers and learn about their changing arctic ecosystem through firsthand accounts of scientists and Inuit community members. Hear soundscapes of the Arctic and narwhal vocalizations and touch an 8-foot-long cast of a real narwhal tusk. This family-friendly exhibition in The Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center is part of Peabody Essex Museum’s Climate + Environment Initiative.

Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. This exhibition at PEM is made possible by Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation. We thank Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes, Chip and Susan Robie, and Timothy T. Hilton as supporters of the Exhibition Innovation Fund. We also recognize the generosity of the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum and the support and guidance of the Art & Nature Center Visiting Committee.

For more information visit https://www.pem.org/exhibitions/narwhal-revealing-an-arctic-legend

Friday, December 20, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Eastern – Advanced Bumble Bee ID: Midwest and Great Plains, Online

The Xerces Society will present the third of a series on bumble bee identification, this time covering the Midwest and Great Plains. We will cover the basics of bumble bee anatomy, introduce the different bumble bee species that may be encountered in the region, and discuss key characteristics to look out for when identifying bumble bees to species and sex. While this webinar series is geared toward Bumble Bee Atlas volunteers in the Midwest or Great Plains, we welcome anyone interested in learning more about bumble bee identification. Registration is required to attend. This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar. The live presentation on Zoom will be December 20 at 1 pm Eastern. We will cover the following species: Black-and-gold (B. auricomus), American (B. pensylvanicus), Southern Plains (B. fraternus), yellow-banded (B. terricola), lemon cuckoo (B. citrinus, pictured below), Ashton’s cuckoo (B. bohemicus), and variable cuckoo (B. variabilis) bumble bees.

Learn more and register today!

Tuesday, July 8 – Friday, July 11 – National Children & Youth Garden Symposium

Cool down in New England next summer and learn with colleagues in the heart of the Connecticut River Valley!

Save the Date for NCYGS 2025

The American Horticultural Society is excited to share that the 33rd annual National Children & Youth Garden Symposium will be held in Hartford, Connecticut from Tuesday, July 8 to Friday, July 11, 2025. The symposium will focus on “Science & History in Youth Gardening” and will be headquartered at the Connecticut Science Center. Full details and registration will become available in January. Mark your calendars now.

2025 NCYGS Call for Sessions

The American Horticultural Society is now accepting session proposals for the 33rd annual National Children & Youth Garden Symposium, “Science and History in Youth Gardening,” in Hartford, CT from Tuesday, July 8 to Friday, July 11, 2025. We encourage youth garden educators from across the fields to apply! Please review the proposal guidance and submit your session proposals by Friday, January 3, 2025. All submissions will be notified of decisions in January 2025. For further information and to submit a proposal, visit NCYGS 2025.

Gene Bollinger Named Interim President of The Friends of the Public Garden

Leslie Singleton Adam, Chair of the Board of The Friends of the Public Garden, is pleased to introduce Gene Bolinger as Interim President.

“Gene’s long-standing connection with our organization and his profound understanding of our mission and values will ensure the continuity of our efforts to enhance our community’s greenspaces into the new year. We are fortunate to have Gene’s decades of experience enhancing Boston’s open spaces, which will welcome an inspiring new chapter for the Friends.

The staff’s dedication and professionalism have allowed for an incredibly smooth leadership transition over a busy holiday season, demonstrating the stability and strength of our organization. Gene’s background in open space and landscapes, coupled with 38 years of working and advocating for improvements to Boston’s park system make him a valuable addition to our team.

Gene was appointed to the Boston Parks Commission in 2023 and has served as a volunteer on the Friends Common Committee and Council, becoming Council Co-chair this year. As Vice President and head of the landscape architecture practice of Weston & Sampson for decades, he participated in completing the recent Master Plan for Boston Common. Gene enjoys exploring our downtown parks through the lens of a park user, identifying ways to better the park experience.

Gene will work alongside Liz Vizza as she prepares to part with the organization on December 31, 2024. We are immensely grateful to Liz for her unwavering dedication, inspiring leadership, and countless contributions to the Friends over the last 15 years. Liz, your impact on our organization will be felt for years to come.

Please join me in welcoming our newest Friend, Gene. We are excited to harness his expertise and look towards the future as he supports us during this transition and sets the Friends up for success in our next chapter, which will begin with the appointment of a new President in the first quarter of the new year.”

Thursday, December 19, 7:00 pm Eastern – Terroir of Cacao: Chocolate Flavor from Around the World, Online

Terroir of Chocolate–Cacao Flavor from Around the World (Free Online Lecture) on December 19 at 7 pm is sponsored by the US Botanic Garden. Register at www.USBG.gov/Programs Chocolate can taste completely different when the cacao is grown in different places. You can even taste the difference between chocolate grown in different valleys of one Hawaiian island! Dr. Bletter will take you through the 12-step, 2-month journey of turning colorful cacao fruits into luscious chocolate bars. You will learn how the process was discovered in Latin America and how the steps affect the final flavor of the chocolate we all love to devour. We’ll also look back at the amazing ancient plant chemists of the Inca, Olmec, Maya, and Aztec who invented these processes and still to this day make incredible perfumed chocolate foams that rival modern molecular gastronomy techniques.

Presenter: Dr. Nat Bletter, ethnobotanist, founder and flavormeister for Madre Chocolate. Dr. Nat Bletter has 25 years of experience in botany, traveling the world documenting exotic fruits and vegetables, gathering food in the wild, and exploring herbal and traditional medicine. With his Ph.D. in Ethnobotany from the City University of New York and New York Botanical Garden and postdoc at University of Hawai’i Manoa, Nat is the founder of artisanal chocolate company Madre Chocolate and runs the edible landscaping company Natty by Nature.