Boston Flora

Tag: Boston Natural Areas Network

  • Monday, December 19, 10:30 am – Fair Food: Growing a Sustainable Food System for All

    The Boston Gardeners Council and The Roxbury Community College Service Learning Garden Project sponsor, with Boston Natural Areas Network, The Boston Urban Gardening Book Group on Monday, December 19, from 10:30 – 12 at Roxbury Community College, Academic Building #3, Room 130, discussing Oran B. Hesterman’s Fair Food: Growing a Healthier Sustainable Food System for All.  A host of books and films in recent years have documented the dangers of our current food system, from chemical runoff to soaring rates of diet-related illness to inhumane treatment of workers and animals. But advice on what to do about it largely begins and ends with the admonition to “eat local or “eat organic.” Fair Food is an enlightening and inspiring guide to changing not only what we eat, but how food is grown, packaged, delivered, marketed, and sold. Oran B. Hesterman shows how our system’s dysfunctions are unintended consequences of our emphasis on efficiency, centralization, higher yields, profit, and convenience–and defines the new principles, as well as the concrete steps, necessary to restructuring it. Along the way, he introduces people and organizations across the country who are already doing this work in a number of creative ways, from bringing fresh food to inner cities to fighting for farm workers’ rights to putting cows back on the pastures where they belong. He provides a wealth of practical information for readers who want to get more involved. For more information contact Stephanie Bostic at sb2178@gmail.com, or Karen Chaffee at karen@bostonnatural.org.

  • Saturdays, January 14 – February 18, 2012 – Want to be a Master Urban Gardener?

    The Master Urban Gardener (MUG) program covers all you need to know to grow food in one of Boston’s community gardens- from composting and seed starting to community organizing. The 2012 MUG classroom sessions will be offered on 6 consecutive Saturdays from January 14 – February 18.

    The MUG program consists of 30 hours of classroom instruction, followed by 30 hours of volunteer service. The 2012 MUG classroom sessions will be offered on 6 consecutive Saturdays from January 14 – February 18. The classes will be hosted at the Boston Natural Areas Network office, at 62 Summer Street in Downtown Boston.

    Each Saturday will feature topical lectures as well as participatory activities. Topics include:

    • Vegetable garden planning for bigger harvests
    • Botany and soil science for gardeners
    • Managing weeds, pests & diseases without chemicals
    • Composting in community gardens
    • How to facilitate garden meetings and workshops

    Rather than paying a fee, Master Urban Gardeners give 30 hours of volunteer service to Boston’s gardening community. The program is open to Boston resident who are community gardeners. Applications for the MUG course are available at www.bostonnatural.org/MUG.htm and are due December 1. Questions? Contact Erika Rumbley, Garden Educator at 617-542-7696 x15 or erika@bostonnatural.org.

  • Monday, November 21, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Boston Urban Forest Council Meeting

    For all those interested in improving and expanding Boston’s Urban Forest, you are invited to the Boston Urban Forest Council Meeting on Monday, November 21, from 6 – 7 at the Boston Natural Areas Network offices, 62 Summer Street in downtown Boston. Become a part of a citizen based stewardship group whose goals are to plan trees and educate the public about the benefits of trees. Please RSVP to reserve your spot at 617-542-7696 ext 20 or email: mathew@bostonnatural.org.

  • Saturday, November 19, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – First Annual Citywide Seed Swap

    Join gardeners from around the city for the Boston Gardeners Council’s first annual seed swap, to be held Saturday, November 19, from 2 – 4 at the Boston Natural Areas Network office at 62 Summer Street in Boston. Bring your favorite or extra seeds and discover what other gardeners love to grow. Come share your wisdom, tips and tales of beloved crops. Contact: karen@bostonnatural.org or call 617-542-7696 for more information.

  • Saturday, August 27, 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Grow Greens All Fall

    Not ready for the growing season to end? In this Boston Natural Areas Network hands-on workshop on Saturday, August 27, from 9 – 11, you’ll learn easy, affordable techniques for growing delicious salads into the cold months. The class will take place at the Nightingale Community Garden in Dorchester. For more information please call BNAN at 617-542-7696 or email info@bostonnatural.org. BNAN programs and events are free, all are welcome.

  • Saturday, August 27, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Attracting Native Pollinators to Your Garden

    Join The Trustees of Reservations ecologist Russ Hopping for a workshop on how to attract native pollinators to your vegetable and ornamental gardens. Learn how to create habitat that will support many of these essential species. The program will take place Saturday, August 27, from 10 – 12 at City Native in Mattapan. Registration required.For more information or to register for a program (unless otherwise noted) please call BNAN at 617-542-7696 or email info@bostonnatural.org. Clethra alnifolia, below, provides nourishment for butterflies and other native pollinators.  Photo from Grow Native Massachusetts.

  • Saturday, August 6, 10:30 am – Nightingale Community Garden Grand Opening

    As the interest in community gardens continues to grow rapidly nationwide and around the Boston area, Boston Natural Areas Network (BNAN) will celebrate the grand opening of Nightingale Community Garden — the largest community garden to open in Dorchester — on Saturday, August 6, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon at 512 Park Street in Dorchester. Mayor Thomas M. Menino will join gardeners, neighbors, partners, and supporters to celebrate the first planting season of this remarkable new 1.5-acre garden in the heart of the city’s largest neighborhood. All are invited to come learn more about this new community treasure and enjoy music and refreshments. The event is free and open to the public.

    Once the site of the former Boston Public Florence Nightingale School, and long gardened by a small group of local residents, Nightingale Garden was acquired by BNAN in 2006 as a permanent community garden. BNAN is a Boston-based nonprofit that works to preserve, expand, and enhance urban open space, including community gardens, greenways, and urban wilds throughout the City of Boston. After years of advocacy efforts and a thorough community planning and design process, renovations to Nightingale Garden began in earnest in late 2010 and were completed in June.

    BNAN has significantly expanded Nightingale Community Garden from 30 to 132 plots and raised beds under cultivation by more than 150 resident gardeners who represent a wide array of cultures and generations. The new garden features healthy, nutrient-rich soil, fully accessible paths, a complete irrigation system, benches and picnic tables, a tool shed, bulletin board, and a common gathering area with gazebo sun shelter that also captures rain water in barrels. The gardeners began planting on July 1, and even with the late start due to construction constraints, Nightingale Garden is already demonstrating its bountiful potential. Blueberry bushes were saved from the old garden and fruit trees will be planted in the fall. Nightingale is quickly becoming the hub of community gardening and urban agriculture in Dorchester, hosting programs focused on cultivating fresh healthy food, including gardening, cooking, and fitness workshops, as well as concerts throughout the summer. All programs and events are free and open to all gardeners and the public to enjoy.

    “Nightingale Garden is a real community success story,” says Valerie Burns, president of Boston Natural Areas Network. “The project represents years of steadfast efforts by residents, the city, BNAN, and many donors and partners to create a permanent garden where the community can gather and grow healthy food for years to come.”

    This garden renovation is part of a Dorchester-wide program called Boston Is Growing Gardens (BIGG), which BNAN founded in 2009 for the purpose of doubling the growing capacity of community gardens in the neighborhood and promoting the health and wellness of its residents. The BIGG program combines improved and expanded gardens with no-cost programs to build interest, participation and skill in growing fresh vegetables and inspire healthier eating and more active lifestyles. Through coordinated outreach and skill-building and mentoring programs, BIGG works to connect Dorchester residents to these new gardening programs and resources.

    “The opening of the Nightingale Community Garden in Dorchester signifies a big step forward in community-building, neighborhood renewal and preservation for the City of Boston,” Mayor Menino said. “Community gardens add many dimensions to our open urban space as they provide a viable source of inexpensive and healthy food and also promote regular physical activity and a rewarding personal experience.”

    Major funders for the project include the Boston Public Health Commission through its Community Putting Prevention to Work program, Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development Grassroots program, the Manton Foundation, the Claneil Foundation, the Amelia Peabody Charitable Fund, the Towards Sustainability Foundation, the American Heart Association, the Cabot Trust, and the Boston Foundation. Boston University School of Public Health provided in-kind services to insure healthy soil.

    If you would like to learn more about BIGG or how to get involved in community gardening in your Dorchester neighborhood, please contact BNAN at info@bostonnatural.org or call the BIGG Project Manager, Grantley Payne, at 617.542.7696 x21.

  • Wednesday, July 27, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Summer Cooking in the Garden

    Learn to prepare quick, healthy and affordable dishes using your own fresh picked herbs and produce at this Summer Cooking in the Garden workshop hosted by Boston Natural Areas Network on Wednesday, July 27, beginning at 5:30 at City Natives, 30 Edgewater Drive in Mattapan. Phoebe Flemming, Registered Dietitian and community gardener, will demonstrate some fun and exciting ways to use your garden crops, reduce sodium and saturated fat in your diet and cook healthy and save money at the same time! Registration required. To register call 617-542-7696 or email info@bostonnatural.org.

  • Valerie Burns Receives Liff Spirit Award

    Boston Natural Areas Network (BNAN) and its affiliate, The Trustees of Reservations are pleased to announce that Valerie Burns has been chosen as the 2011 recipient of The Emerald Necklace Conservancy’s Liff Spirit Award. The award honors the vision, wisdom, humanity and joy that Justine Mee Liff brought to her work as Boston Commissioner of Parks and Recreation from 1996 until 2002. It is presented annually to an individual or individuals whose leadership, commitment to cities, passion for public places and ability to inspire others, best reflects Justine’s spirit and legacy. Burns received the award at the 8th Annual Party in the Park in the Back Bay Fens on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.

    As president of Boston Natural Areas Network (BNAN), Burns demonstrates a strong commitment to conserving and expanding urban green spaces and encouraging community members to advocate and work for all the city’s parklands. “It is an honor to receive this award,” says Valerie. “As Justine did in her work, it is important to celebrate the beauty, joy and community that Boston’s parks and green spaces bring to our city.”

    BNAN’s mission is to improve, preserve and expand special kinds of urban open space such as community gardens, urban wilds, and greenways, always guided by local residents. The organization involves over 20,000 individuals and families each year in the stewardship of these green spaces. In 1995, BNAN introduced an initiative under Burns’ direction called, Greenways to Boston Harbor, which created the Neponset River Greenway and the East Boston Greenway that has leveraged to date $43 million in public funding for new parklands in the neighborhoods of Dorchester, Mattapan, Hyde Park and East Boston.. These two greenways, moving towards completion, now provide 9 miles of walking and biking trails and almost 100 acres of parks as the expansion of public parks in parts of the city underserved by open space. BNAN is also the leading organization for community gardens in Boston, providing services to all 150 community gardens and owns and protects 43 gardens.

    Boston Natural Areas Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing together local residents, partner organizations, public officials and foundations to preserve, expand and enhance urban open space, including community gardens, greenways and urban wilds. For more information about the organization, becoming a member or the calendar of events, visit www.bostonnatural.org.or call 617-542-7696.

  • Saturday, June 4, 10:00 a.m. – Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop

    The Shirley-Eustis House, a National Historic Landmark house museum and carriage house in Roxbury, Massachusetts is pleased to announce another fruit tree pruning workshop on Saturday, June 4, 2011.  As part of the Boston Orchard Program, The Shirley-Eustis House is partnering with Boston Natural Areas Network and The Food Project to bring you this free pruning workshop where you will learn how and when to make pruning cuts that will boost fruit production and improve the health of local trees. Ben Crouch, sole proprietor of Jamaica Plain’s Land of Plenty Gardens will provide information and hands-on demonstrations about pruning at the Shirley-Eustis House Orchards located at 33 Shirley Street in Roxbury.

    This free program, for everyone interested in learning more about protecting their trees, will begin at 10 a..m. Reservations are required by Thursday, June 2. Contact the Shirley-Eustis House at 617-442-2275 or email at governorshirley@gmail.com. You may also contact Boston Natural Areas Network at 617-542-7696 or email them at info@bostonnatural.org.