As many know, The Garden Club of the Back Bay is an affiliate member of the Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America (read about the organization at www.bostoncommittee.org) and is invested in the latest project to be funded by The Blossom Fund in honor of the upcoming 25th anniversary of The Boston Committee.  The Fairmount Greenway and Windermere Road Project is an initiative sponsored by the Boston Natural Areas Network, now part of the Trustees of Reservations.

Background: The 9.2-mile Fairmount Indigo Line is a MBTA commuter rail service running from Boston’s South Station to Readville in Hyde Park, passing through some of the city’s lowest income neighborhoods. For decades the rail line has offered only very limited service, with few stops and relatively high prices. The City of Boston and the MBTA are now working to improve transit options for the 100,000 residents who live within a half-mile the Fairmont Line. In particular, the MBTA is constructing four new stations and improving access to the railway, and the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) is investing in the half-mile corridor adjacent to the rail line. As part of this effort, many organizations are working to enhance access to parks and open space along the Fairmount corridor. The BRA’s plan calls for connecting existing parks and gardens through pedestrian and bicycle pathways and expanding community gardens. Meanwhile, community development corporations and neighborhood groups are working to create a Fairmont Greenway. The Greenway will convert City-owned vacant lots along the corridor into parks and gardens, and connect them via bicycle lanes and street improvements that make it safe and pleasant to walk between Fairmount station stops, parks, and neighborhood destinations. Ultimately, the Fairmount Greenway will complement the Emerald Necklace; the Boston HarborWalk; and the Rose Kennedy, East Boston, and Neponset River Greenways as signature linear parks in Boston, drawing visitors to new sections of the city and providing green space and pedestrian access for residents.
Progress to Date: The MBTA has now opened three of the four planned stations along the Fairmount Indigo Line, and plans for the Fairmount Greenway are taking shape. Several pilot projects along the greenway have been identified, and the first of these to be completed is the Woolson Street community garden in Mattapan, built by the Boston Natural Areas Network (BNAN) in partnership with the BRA and community members. This garden provides a healing oasis in a neighborhood marked by violence, and its opening on September 6, 2014 was heralded by the Mayor as an outstanding example of teamwork and collaboration.

Next Steps: BNAN is continuing to work in partnership with the Fairmount Indigo Corridor Collaborative to plan the Fairmount Greenway, and is partnering with the BRA to convert vacant lots along the corridor into community gardens. This year the BRA has offered BNAN four vacant City-owned lots for conversion to community gardens, along with partial funding for construction. BNAN is now raising the remaining funds needed and preparing to begin construction. The next garden to be completed as part of Fairmount Greenway project will be the garden at Windermere Road in the Uphams Corner neighborhood. This 4,095 square foot lot is located a 9 minute walk (0.5 miles) from the Uphams Corner station on the Fairmount line, a few blocks southeast of the Strand Theater. The property will provide approximately 12 new garden plots and will draw in visitors and neighbors for community gardening workshops and garden events. BNAN will provide water for irrigation, terraced beds, garden paths, decorative plantings, and a fence to secure the property. The BRA has provided $75,000 in funding for the project, and BNAN is working to raise the remaining $34,890 needed to cover construction costs such as masonry, fencing, site furnishings, plantings, utilities/drainage, and civil engineering. If funding is secured this fall, BNAN looks forward to completing the project and opening the garden by June 2015. The Uphams Corner neighborhood is one of the most densely populated in the City of Boston, with more than 54,000 people living within one mile of the Uphams Corner commercial district. The neighborhood has a long and distinguished history, having been originally settled in the 1630s, and becoming home to the first one-stop supermarket in Boston in 1915. The district has several historical sites, including the Strand Theatre built in 1918; the Blake House, Boston’s oldest extant house built in 1661; and the Dorchester North Burying Ground which dates to 1634. In nearby Edward Everett Square, a 12-foot bronze sculpture of Clapp’s Favorite Pear celebrates the agricultural history of this section of Dorchester. Today, the Uphams Corner neighborhood is experiencing a surge in reinvestment after decades of decline. The City of Boston is investing $3.1 million to improve streets, sidewalks, and public spaces, and new businesses are opening up to serve the tens of thousands of residents and visitors who pass through this lively crossroads each day. The Windermere Road garden will contribute to the overall revitalization of the area by bringing much needed green space to the densely built streets and an opportunity for residents to garden.

Track Record of Success: BNAN owns 60 community gardens across the city, and has a well-established protocol for planning gardens in partnership with neighborhood residents, constructing gardens using high quality materials, and helping gardeners to manage and maintain the properties over the long term. BNAN gardens have long been recognized by City as valuable contributions to Boston’s neighborhoods, and this year Mayor Walsh awarded first place for community gardens in the 2014 Garden Contest to one of BNAN’s gardens. BNAN looks forward to continuing to partner with the BRA, the Fairmount/Indigo Corridor Collaborative, and others to develop community gardens along the Fairmount Greenway.