Back Bay Fens

Saturday, April 26, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Muddy River Cleanup

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The Emerald Necklace Conservancy invites you to join them for this year’s Muddy River Cleanup on Saturday, April 26. The cleanup will take place at multiple locations: Charlesgate Park, Back Bay Fens, Riverway, Olmsted Park, Jamaica Pond, and two sites at Franklin Park. All volunteers will be required to wear a face covering and practice social distancing during the event. We advise that volunteers who feel ill within 72 hours of the event do not participate. All volunteers will be required to sign a COVID-19 volunteer waiver, along with our standard volunteer waiver, in order to participate.

The Muddy River Cleanup is a part of the Annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup; this event takes place throughout the Charles River Watershed and builds on a national effort as part of American Rivers’ National River Cleanup® which, to date, has removed over 25 million pounds of trash from America’s waterways. From 2016 to 2019, the Annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup was recognized by American Rivers for the Most Pounds of Trash Collected and Most Volunteers Mobilized.​

The Charles River Cleanup brings together over 3,000 volunteers each year to pick up litter, remove invasive species and assist with park maintenance along all 80 miles of the Charles River. Residents are drawn to the popular Charles River Cleanup from a desire to give back to their community while enjoying the beauty and wildlife along the river. Volunteers hold onto the connections they establish during this day of stewardship by returning to the Charles to exercise, play and enjoy nature throughout the year. Register for this year’s cleanup at emeraldnecklace.org

Wednesday, November 15, 6:00 pm – Back Bay Fens Pathways Community Design Meeting, Online

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Please join a community design meeting on November 15 with the City of Boston Department of Parks and Recreation. The project scope includes rehabilitation of pathways at the Back Bay Fens to improve accessibility and site conditions. This historic park is under the jurisdiction of the Boston Landmarks Commission. The project includes the assessment and prioritization of pathway work, as well as Boston Parks standard project design work. The project will also include items along and adjacent to pathways, such as site furnishings, utilities, and plantings. Read more at https://www.boston.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/improvements-back-bay-fens-pathways

Monday, November 12, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – A Garden in the Machine: The Back Bay Fens

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In merging hydraulic engineering with landscape design, Olmsted helped to redefine the role of public space in urban areas. Join the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site staff as we explore how sanitation – and imagination – helped create the Back Bay Fens. Note: This is Veterans Day observed. Meets at the Shattuck Visitor Center, 125 The Fenway, Boston. For more information visit https://www.nps.gov/frla/special-events.htm

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Wednesday, June 13, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm – 22nd Annual Rose Garden Party

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Please join Honorary Chairs Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Ms. Lorrie Higgins on Wednesday, June 13 at 5:30 pm in the Kelleher Rose Garden, Back Bay Fens, 73 Park Drive in Boston. Proceeds will benefit free family-friendly programs and events in Boston Parks. Enjoy passed hors d’oeuvre, a buffet, and more, plus live entertainment with a spirited, creative hat contest in a garden party setting, live and silent auction, and en plein air painting demonstration

At this time of the year, 3,000 rose bushes are at peak bloom at The Kelleher Rose Garden in the Back Bay Fens. Garden Party attire is enthusiastically encouraged!

Enter the “Hats Galore” Contest by dressing up your finest Rose Garden Party hat! Judges will choose the winners for: Best Fascinator, Most Creative, Most Elegant and Just for Men. $150 per person. Purchase tickets online at http://www.boston.gov/rose-garden-party or call 617-635-4032. Photo from Rouvalis Flowers.

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Saturday, June 3, 8:00 am – Lace ’em Up: No Ordinary Tour

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Lace ’em Up: No Ordinary Tour:  On Saturday, June 3 beginning at 8 am, walk the entire Olmsted Emerald Necklace. Enjoy a seven-mile walk on a spring day through Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace—from the Fens to Franklin Park— with Conservancy President Karen Mauney-Brodek and some very special guests. Brief stops along the way will allow participants see recent park improvements and hear about the exciting things to come for the Emerald Necklace, considered by many to be one of the greatest park systems ever designed.

Starting at the Shattuck Visitor Center, the walk will traverse the Back Bay Fens to Charlesgate and continue along to the restored Muddy River, where the brand new Justine Mee Liff Park takes center stage overlooking the recently day-lighted river. From there, walkers will stroll the banks of the river along the Riverway, glimpsing, perhaps, the turtles and herons that are frequent visitors. Iconic structures loom large in this park—the picturesque Round House, bridle path and granite bridges.

Next up is Olmsted Park with its scenic waterways and ponds and on to Jamaica Pond where we’ll stop for a lunch break at Pinebank Promontory before heading to the Arnold Arboretum for some floral sights and scents. The walk continues on to Franklin Park, which Olmsted himself considered to be one of his greatest achievements. Participants will enjoy vistas that transport the viewer back in time — Schoolmaster Hill, the 99 Steps and Ellicott Arch, to name a few. This event has reached its capacity, but people’s plan change, so contact Jeanie Knox at jknox@emeraldnecklace.org or call 617-522-2700 to join the waiting list.

Thursday, June 18, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm – 19th Annual Rose Garden Party

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The Mayor’s Rose Garden Party is an annual fundraiser which benefits year-round programs in City of Boston parks and allows thousands of children and families to enjoy arts, science, and fitness programs as well as special events in their neighborhoods. Now in its 19th year, the annual Rose Garden Party has become one of Boston’s signature events. The party takes place in the Kelleher Rose Garden in the Back Bay Fens, when 3,000 rose bushes are at peak bloom. There will be passed hors d’oeuvre, buffet, and complimentary libations, plus live entertainment and a spirited creative hat contest in a garden-party setting; live and silent auction, en plein air painting demonstration and a Hollywood red carpet experience with a Step and Repeat backdrop courtesy of StepandRepeat.com. Proceeds from the ticketed event directly fund free programming in neighborhood parks throughout the city. Tickets are $150 and may be purchased online at http://www.cityofboston.gov/parks/rosegarden/rosegardenparty.asp.

Sunday, June 7, 8:00 am – 2:00 pm – The Emerald Necklace Walk

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Beginning in Franklin Park, this free six-hour National Park Service walking tour on Sunday, June 7 from 8 – 2  will examine Olmsted’s masterpiece of linear park design, The Emerald Necklace. Pastures, ponds and parkways were woven into the city’s fabric and combined both state-of-the-art engineering with artistic sensibility. The walk will end in the Back Bay Fens where people can ride the “T” back to Franklin Park or anywhere they wish. Bring a lunch. REGISTRATION is required – please visit http://www.nps.gov/frla/planyourvisit/walks-and-talks.htm.  We don’t need to emphasize that comfortable shoes are a must.

Saturday, May 23, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm, and Sunday, May 31, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – History and Landscape of the Fens

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From foul muddy flats to the parkland of today, the Fens has undergone many transformations in the last 125+ years.  Join Emerald Necklace docents as they talk and walk this historic landscape.  The May 23 and May 31 tours include stops at the Kelleher Rose Garden with its 1,500 roses and recently restored fountain and statuary, and a stroll along the paths of the oldest continuously operating WWII Victory Garden in the country.  Meet at the Shattuck Visitor Center, 125 The Fenway, at 11 am if you attend on May 23, or at 1 pm if you attend on May 31.  Free.  For more information contact info@emeraldnecklace.org. Image from www.bostoncommittee.org.

Saturday, May 16, 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Back Bay Fens: Visions and Revisions

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This two-hour National Park Service walking tour on Saturday, May 16, from 9 – 11, will examine the multifaceted history of the Fens focusing on its transformation from “the foulest marsh and muddy flats to be found anywhere in Massachusetts” into an urban oasis of greenery. Afterwards, we will visit one of the many Boston cultural institutions that migrated to the surrounding neighborhood following the Fens’ creation, Boston Symphony Hall. REGISTRATION is required – please click on to http://www.nps.gov/frla/planyourvisit/walks-and-talks.htm. Aerial view from www.pressleyinc.com.

Saturday, May 9, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm, and Sunday, May 17, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Historic Treasures of the Back Bay Fens

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What do a 17th-century Japanese Temple Bell, an historic bridge made of Roxbury puddingstone, and a tree once thought extinct have in common? They all reside in the Back Bay Fens.  Learn about these and other treasures on a guided walking tour of the Back Bay Fens that is sure to bring out the history detective in you.  The tours, presented by the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, will take place Saturday, May 9 from 11 – 12:30, and Sunday May 17 from 1 – 2:30.  Free and open to the public – meet at the Shattuck Visitor Center, 125 The Fenway.  Contact 617-522-2700 or email info@emeraldnecklace.org for more information. Dan Tobyne photo below.