Boston Flora

Tag: Boston Nature Center

  • Tuesday, September 22, 10:00 am – Field Trip to the Boston Nature Center & Wildlife Sanctuary

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay will hold its first meeting of 2026/2027 on Tuesday, September 22 at the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Boston Nature Center & Wildlife Sanctuary in Mattapan, followed by a picnic lunch. This is a members only event. The Sanctuary is an oasis not far from the center of the city that is home to over 150 species of birds, 40 species of butterflies, and more than 350 plant species. We’ll explore a young Miyawaki Method mini-forest, as well as learn about an exciting new initiative to de-channelize the canterbury brook with a full restoration of the brook and its wetlands.

    Bring your lunch and enjoy an optional picnic with fellow GCBB members outside if the weather cooperates, or inside if it doesn’t. If you are not yet a member of the Club but wish to become one, visit https://gardenclubbackbay.org/join

  • Friday, September 11, 10:30 pm – 12:00 noon – City Streams Walk

    The Charles River Watershed Association is sponsoring a City Streams Walk on Friday, September 11 from 10:30 – noon. It’s part of the Meet Your Watershed Event Series. Meet at Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center & Wildlife Sanctuary, 500 Walk Hill Street in Mattapan. Join CRWA and Mt. Hope Canterbury Neighborhood Association for a walking tour of Canterbury Brook. For more information visit https://www.crwa.org/events

  • Saturday, November 16, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm – The New Garden Party

    Join The New Garden Society, Saturday, November 16th, for a sunset celebration at the Boston Nature Center, complete with a silent auction, food and drinks. Hear from members of our organization about the past decade of work, and join us in envisioning the decades to come.

    Since 2013, TNGS has been teaching and planting behind the walls of Greater Boston prisons, jails, and juvenile detention centers. We transform these landscapes into productive gardens that provide a therapeutic space, access to fresh food, and educational resources for our incarcerated neighbors. Through our programs, incarcerated individuals practice job skills and connect with their peers and their environment.  We’ve trained nearly 1000 individuals in the art and science of plants. We don’t do it alone. Donations from friends, family, and businesses have sustained this transformative work.

    As well as being a celebration, this is a fundraiser to support our ongoing work. We are offering a limited slate of tickets at no cost. We hope that those who can afford to do so will donate generously. If free tickets run out, and cost is a barrier to you, reach out to info@thenewgardensociety.org to attend. To purchase sponsor tickets, visit https://www.thenewgardensociety.org/decade

  • Saturday, September 28, 12:00 noon – 3:00 pm – Rockin’ with Raptors

    The Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Rockin’ with Raptors is a community event that’s fun for all ages. Get up-close with live raptors, learn about bees, and watch charming puppet shows. It all takes place at the Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary in Mattapan on September 28 from 12 – 3. Register at https://www.massaudubon.org/programs/boston-nature-center/93578-rockin-with-raptors

    The day will include programs for children and adults, entertainment, food (cookout, popcorn, & cake!), arts & crafts, and face painting. Explore tables and activities offered by our many collaborating cultural, community, and green organizations!

    Fun for all age. Rain or shine. Free but registration required.

  • Sunday, August 25, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm – The Golden Hour: Goldenrod Exploration

    Did you know that goldenrod is a keystone plant? That is, a species or group that other species heavily depend on – they are the keystones that hold our ecosystem together! Goldenrod justly earns its keystone status by serving as a host plant to over 100 species of moths and butterflies. It also provides an abundant source of pollen and nectar that supports a multitude of other native pollinators including bees, beetles, flies and wasps. As summer settles into autumn, when not much else is in bloom, these yellow blossoms are an irreplaceable resource. In this program, we will take a closer look at goldenrods and the animals that depend on them. Following a short presentation, have your phone or camera ready for a sunset meadow exploration.

    Join the Massachusetts Audubon Society on Sunday, August 25 from 6 – 7:30 pm at the Boston Nature Center in Mattapan for a fascinating lecture and tour. $13 for Mass Audubon members, $15 for nonmembers. Registration required at www.massaudubon.org Gordon Dietzman photo.

  • Friday, June 14, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm – Birds & Brew

    Join the Massachusetts Audubon Society at the Boston Nature Center & Wildlife Sanctuary on Friday, June 14 from 7 – 10 for Birds & Brew under the moon and stars. The evening features beer tastings from many local breweries, plus delicious food. Meet live birds from Blue Hills Trailside Museum. There will be live music, a raffle, and trivia games with prizes. $45 per person in advance, $55 at the door. Call 617-983-8500 or purchase online at https://www.massaudubon.org/boston

  • Wednesday, October 18, 6:00 pm Eastern – People’s Forum for Nature-Based Solutions, Live and Online

    The Crane Ledge Woods Coalition invites you to the People’s Forum for Nature-Based Solutions on October 18 at 6 pm. This will be an inclusive community update meeting and roundtable discussion. Mayor Michelle Wu and Chief of Staff White-Hammond have been invited. Nature-based solutions are an essential element in addressing the climate challenge and its impacts on Boston’s environmental justice neighborhoods. Co-sponsored by Speak for the Trees, Alternatives for Community & Environment, Boston Clean Energy Coalition, Boston Green Action, Environmental Health is Wealth Coalition, Friends of Melnea Cass Boulevard, Green New Deal/Nature Based Solutions Committee, Sierra Club Massachusetts, The Trustees of Reservations, and Trees as a Public Good. The hybrid meeting will take place live at Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center, 500 Walk Hill Street in Mattapan, and on Zoom. Contact craneledgeinfo@gmail.com or visit https://savecraneledgewoods.org

  • Wednesday, December 1, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Boston Nature Center’s Annual Meeting, Online

    Join the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the Boston Nature Center for the Boston Nature Center’s Annual Meeting on Wednesday, December 1 from 6:30 – 7:30 via Zoom. Sanctuary Committee Chair Jim McGuinness and Anne & Peter Brooke Sanctuary Director Julie Brandlen warmly invite you to attend. Kindly RSVP by November 30
    Please reply to Zaskya Perez at 617-983-8500 x6904 or by email. The featured speakers, on the topic of From Local to Global: Climate Change Mitigation, are Crane Ledge Woods Coalition facilitator Lokita Jackson, who discusses a broad-based effort to save a 24-acre unprotected urban wild in Boston, and Brookline science educator Mark Goldner, who presents Climate Change in the Arctic from his PolarTREC research.

  • Saturday & Sunday, October 23 & 24, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins

    Celebrate the fall harvest by creating your own carved pumpkin with your family group at your own table, playing pumpkin games, and enjoying a fall socially distanced scavenger hunt. Learn about the history of pumpkins and the Jack-O-Lantern story. Register at least a week in advance to ensure a pumpkin of your own.

    PLEASE NOTE: This program will be conducted in accordance with current Municipal, State, and Mass Audubon Covid-19 protocols. Groups are limited to 25 pre-registered participants. Participants are required to wear a face covering inside, and when less than 6 feet apart outdoors.

    Each time slot (10 – 11:30, 12:30 – 2, 2:30 – 4) will have a maximum of 25 people.

    Please call 617-983-8500 to register. Mass Audubon members $13.00, Nonmembers $15.00 per person. Pumpkins are available for an additional $6.00 each, or bring your own pumpkin to carve! Registration is required. Register now with our secure payment portal.

    The program takes place at the Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, 500 Walk Hill Street in Mattapan.

  • Sunday, July 25, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm – Summer Tree Identification Hike

    Who goes there? Is that a maple, oak, black locust, or birch? If you would like to learn more about our tree friends at the Boston Nature Center on July 25 at 3 pm, and perhaps the ones that inhabit your yards and parks, join us for an afternoon walk as we take a closer look at the forest around us.

    Please Note: Masks are optional for outdoor programs, but required when entering the building for bathroom use and water bottle filling. Registration is required. Register now with our secure payment portal. For more information contact Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary 500 Walk Hill Street Mattapan, MA 02126 bnc@massaudubon.org Mass Audubon members $10, nonmembers $13.