Boston Flora

Tag: City Of Boston

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

    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

  • Wednesday, November 1 – Boston Urban Forest Plan

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay will hold its November meeting on the first of November (time to be announced) at The Chilton Club, 152 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. Speakers Amy Whitesides and Todd Mistor will present on the new City of Boston Urban Forest Plan. Amy, a Design Critic in Landscape Architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design, works with Stoss Landscape Urbanism, the design firm that played a central role in developing the plan, and is currently the Resilience Advisor. Todd, a former priest turned urban forester, is the new Director of Boston Urban Forestry for the City of Boston. This is a members-only event, but to attend, all you need to do is join, at https://bostonflora.com/ You will receive sign up details and be set for the rest of the 2023/2024 program year, while supporting the not for profit organization, now entering its 56th year.

  • Wednesday, June 28, 7:00 pm Eastern – Tool House Public Meeting, Online

    The Friends of the Public Garden and the City of Boston encourage members of the public to join them for the next Tool House Public Meeting on June 28 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. The City will present the final design plans for the Tool House in the Public Garden with a Q&A session to follow. Learn more about the project here and find more details about the public meeting here.

    This project is a partnership between Public Facilities and Parks and Recreation Department and is looking to improve the Tool House which is home to the maintenance for the Public Garden and storage for the Swan Boat operations.

    For more on the history of the public garden please visit the public gardens page.

  • Tuesday, February 7, 2:00 pm – Improvements to Commonwealth Avenue Mall Public Meeting

    The City of Boston will host a public meeting on The Improvements to Commonwealth Avenue Mall on Tuesday, February 7, at 2 pm at Kenmore Abbey. Neighbors and community members are encouraged to attend. The meeting will focus on the Kenmore Block, west of Charlesgate. Kenmore Abbey is located at 490 Commonwealth Avenue.

  • Sundays, October 9 & October 23, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Leaf and Yard Waste Drop-Off

    The City of Boston will hold two periodic leaf and yard waste drop off events on October 9 and October 23 from 10 – 2 at 500 American Legion Highway in Mattapan. For more information on what is or is not accepted, and for information on November dates, call 617-635-4900.

    Leaf and yard waste tips

    • Common yard waste material includes leaves and grass clippings, branches, and yard brush.
    • Place leaves and yard debris in large paper bags. Do not use plastic bags.  
    • Tie branches with string. The maximum size for branches is three feet with a one-inch diameter.

    For more dates and other information visit https://www.boston.gov/calendar/leaf-and-yard-waste-drop-10

  • Monday, August 1 – City of Boston Curbside Food Waste Collection Begins

    Starting in August 2022, the City of Boston is launching a free, curbside food waste collection service for residents. To participate, residents must live in buildings with 6 units or fewer. Enrollment is limited, so sign up today.

    This program will begin on August 1st and is available to the first 10,000 households who sign up. Composting ‘starter kits’ (instructions, a roll of liners, a kitchen bin and a collection bin to put on the curb on collection days) will be delivered to enrolled households in July. 

    For more about the program (and to register) go to: https://www.bostoncomposts.com

  • Monday, March 14, 5:30 pm – Urban Forest Plan Virtual Open House

    The City of Boston, with the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of the Environment, will hold a Virtual Meeting on March 14 at 5:30 pm.

    Project page: boston.gov/urban-forest-plan Add to calendar: Event page Join the meeting: bit.ly/Urbanforestplan

  • Boston’s First Urban Forest Plan

    Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Boston Parks and Recreation Commissioner Ryan Woods announced on February 12 the consultants selected to develop Boston’s Urban Forest Plan. Boston landscape architecture firm Stoss Landscape Urbanism and forestry consultant Urban Canopy Works have been selected to co-lead the effort to develop the City of Boston’s first Urban Forest Plan. Stoss was awarded the contract with Urban Canopy Works as a subconsultant. The 20-year plan will set citywide goals for canopy protection, be responsive to climate change and development, and enhance the quality of life for all Bostonians. The Urban Forest Plan will be a collaborative effort that includes a community advisory group, interdepartmental working group and community outreach. Recognizing that environmental injustice exists in Boston, the planning process will embed support for communities that have been disproportionately impacted by environmental stressors. Planning will touch upon a wide variety of topics, such as ecology, design, policy, practices and funding. 
    This collaborative project with Stoss Landscape Urbanism and Urban Canopy Works will prioritize community input to ensure that residents in our neighborhoods have a central voice in this process.”

    “It’s no coincidence that many of the communities disproportionately impacted by poor air quality and the urban ‘heat island’ effect, also have inadequate tree cover,” said Commissioner Woods. “We’re excited to collaborate with these partners to find opportunities for growing tree canopy in the places that need it most.”
    The project team will also work closely with a community advisory group and an interdepartmental working group with input from residents, community organizations, businesses, and institutions. Kicking off in spring of 2021, the planning process will take approximately one year to complete. The community advisory group will be formed in late spring of this year. The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on the plan in early fall, after the assessment and scoping phases. 

    One of the project tasks, along with scoping the project and assessing the existing state of the canopy, will be to develop a plan for engaging the community. The outreach plan will prioritize populations that have been disproportionately exposed to environmental stressors; be sensitive to differences in cultures, economic realities, and built environments across Boston; incorporate City of Boston Language and Communications Access guidelines; consider equity and accessibility in both in-person and online engagement strategies; and retain flexibility to adapt engagement strategies in response to changing public health recommendations. 

    Joining Stoss Landscape Urbanism and Urban Canopy Works, the plan will be developed with contributions from American Forests, Nitsch Engineering, PlanITGeo, local experts, and the public. Dr. Neenah-Estrella Luna of Northeastern University will support the effort to make environmental justice the foundation of the project. 

    The final plan document will highlight policy tools to control canopy loss on private property, as well as guidelines for protecting and expanding canopy on public property, like streets and parks. Over the past five years, tree removals on residential, private, and institutional property have been the main contributors to canopy loss. The finalized plan will provide recommendations for canopy protection and expansion through proposed changes to the development review process, as well as new policies and ordinances, including draft language and methods of enforcement aimed at protecting and expanding the tree canopy.

    The Urban Forest Plan is a critical piece of the vision for the City’s tree canopy goals laid out in Imagine Boston 2030 and Climate Ready Boston. The City launched Climate Ready Boston in 2016 to develop resilient solutions to prepare for the effects of climate change: flooding due to sea-level rise, increased storms, and extreme heat. Urban Forest planning is closely aligned with Climate Ready Boston, as trees provide cooling shade, reduce the risk of heat illness, and are key to making Boston’s communities resilient to climate change. Targeted investments in green infrastructure will be important, as heat island exposure is greater in neighborhoods with limited green space. The City of Boston Environment Department will be launching a heat resilience planning study this spring.

    In addition to the $500,000 budgeted for the Urban Forest Plan, historic investments in Boston’s tree canopy this year will also support the hiring of a new arborist and the added capacity for up to 1,000 additional tree plants, doubling the total capacity to 2,000 trees planted per year. The Tree Canopy Assessment, released in September, supports efforts to increase access to trees and their benefits in “under-treed” neighborhoods, as a part of the City’s commitment to environmental justice. Information provided in the report is foundational to the Urban Forest Plan, as well as future policy and planning efforts. 
    For more information about Boston’s Urban Forest Plan, please email parks@boston.gov.

  • Saturday, March 20 – Monday, March 22 – 45th Annual Gardener’s Gathering, Online

    The Trustees of Reservations (The Trustees) announces the 45th Annual Gardener’s Gathering will take place March 20-22 online, focusing on how community gardens are not only food sources, but can become hubs of social activism and community support.  

    Hosted by the Trustees Boston Community Gardens and the City of Boston, the Gathering is free and has something for both beginners and skilled gardeners, as well as those curious to learn more about urban gardening. This year’s event will be headlined by Michael W. Twitty, award-winning chef and author of The Cooking Gene, who will deliver a special guest presentation on culinary justice, sharing knowledge around crops, and practicing integrated learning across intergenerational linguistic and ethnic spaces. 

    Continuing a long tradition of partnership with the City of Boston, the Mayor will kick off the Gathering on Saturday with a keynote address and present the Community Garden Awards to the “Most Valuable Gardener,” “Rookie Garden of the Year” and “Hall of Fame Garden.”

    Twitty will deliver his special presentation on Saturday at 11 am. A two-time James Beard award winning author, chef from Washington, D.C., and also a culinary historian, he draws on his African-American and Jewish cultural backgrounds to explore the ways that recipes, heirloom crops, and food shape and evolve with our identities and our history. He will speak about gardens as healing spaces and places to work through the issues of living in a multicultural democracy.

    Skill-building workshops are the backbone of the Gardeners’ Gathering. This year’s lineup will feature some garden basics for the many new gardeners who started last spring and summer: seed starting; composting; and how to save your own seeds. More advanced workshops will include no-till gardening, building your own self watering containers, and how to grow and use medicinal herbs. Young people from The Food Project will show participants how to build and plant raised bed gardens. For those looking to start a community garden, Shani Fletcher from the City of Boston’s Grassroots program will walk them through that process and share what resources the City has available. Building on the theme of Twitty’s talk, veteran community gardeners will share their tips on growing crops that are important to their culture and family history, including okra, callaloo, and sweet potatoes.

    Several sessions will focus on how gardens can be hubs for community organizing, activism, and mutual aid. Eastie Farm will highlight how they mobilize their site for meal distribution, community resources and advocacy efforts. Representatives from different community gardening organizations in New York will speak to how they’ve activated their gardens not just for growing food and building community among gardeners, but also channeling that into broader action on social and environmental justice. A discussion led by two experienced urban growers and educators from Boston will focus on how we can activate our city’s community gardens as hubs for social change.

    Free registration is available at www.thetrustees.org/gathering.

  • Thursday, January 14, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm – Green Infrastructure: Climate Resilience Block by Block, Online

    Thursday, January 14, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm – Green Infrastructure: Climate Resilience Block by Block, Online

    How are advocates and agencies working to create a more resilient Boston? During this unprecedented year, we know that despite the value parks have shown during this pandemic, challenges lie ahead.

    Fortunately, committed leaders have been working for a more resilient future for our parks and city. Join Boston Park Advocates online on January 14 at 6 pm to explore potential strategies to help build resilience block by block.

    • Boston City Councilor Kenzie Bok (District 8) will share her perspective about needs and opportunities for Boston’s green spaces in addressing climate resilience, including the proposed Conservation Corps.
    • Christopher Cook, Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space for the City of Boston will offer remarks about funding and the intersectionality of climate resilience, racial equity, and workforce development as they relate to urban green spaces. Bring your questions or share them in advance. 


    The last portion of the event will be dedicated to advocates sharing their experiences caring for greenspaces across the city during the pandemic. Register HERE – link will be emailed to registrants in advance.