Drop off your hazardous waste on Saturday, September 7, from 9 – 2 at the University of Massachusetts, Morrissey Blvd Parking Lot D in Dorchester. No latex or acrylic paints, please. Electronics recycling and paper shredding will be available at Bayside Expo as well. For Boston residents only, no commercial waste accepted, and proof of residency required. For more information please call the Mayor’s hotline at 617-635-4500, or visit www.cityofboston.gov/recycle.
The City of Boston is preparing a new citywide Open Space Plan for the years 2015 to 2021. As part of this effort, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department has developed a questionnaire to enable the public to provide valuable input about their park use and preferences.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino understands the importance that Boston’s citizens place on open space and parks and the need for balanced development. With that in mind, the Parks Department is developing a multi-year integrated plan for open space protection and development.
The Open Space Plan will look at all public open space, regardless of ownership, including parks, playgrounds, squares, malls, urban wilds, community gardens, cemeteries, greenways, trails, thoroughfares, and harbor islands. The Plan will also look at city residents to understand demographic and socio-economic trends which impact the use of open space.
As part of the data collection process, an environmental inventory is compiled enabling natural areas to be targeted for protection and stewardship in a priority plan. Natural features of our parks, rivers and harbors, wildlife, geologic features, soils, and vegetation become part of this truly comprehensive Open Space Plan.
Public participation is crucial to the success of the Plan and the key ingredient to helping us make our parks and open spaces better. The Department is reaching out to users of the parks, playgrounds, and other open spaces in the city, both residents and visitors, to learn about how they use open space in Boston and how their experience can be improved.
PLEASE FILL OUT THE QUESTIONNAIRE ONLINE!! IT’S EASY AND QUICK. You will find links to the questionnaire in English, Spanish, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Cape Verdean Creole, and Portuguese available at http://www.cityofboston.gov/parks/about/questionnaire.asp.
The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay will host a workshop to address Groundwater Depression issues in the Back Bay and the risk of damage to house foundations on Wednesday, November 14, beginning at 6:30 pm at The French Cultural Center, 53 Marlborough Street. Brian Swett, the City’s Chief of Environment and Energy, will talk about the City’s continuing commitment to resolve groundwater issues in the Back Bay. John Sullivan, Chief Engineer of the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, will address efforts to overcome continuing low groundwater levels centered on Dartmouth Street. The Boston Groundwater Trust will be represented by (pictured below) Elliott Laffer, Executive Director, and Christian Simonelli, Technical and Recharge Coordinator. They will explain how to use water level data and other information posted regularly on the BGWT website, provide an update on current conditions in the Back Bay, and also talk about ways residents can recharge rain water to help raise levels.
This August the ICA presents the first solo exhibition in the United States of Brazilian twin brothers Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo. The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy is excited to partner with the ICA as a site for an accompanying public mural. The 70′ x 70′ temporary mural is in process and will be displayed in Dewey Square Park on the Air Intake Structure located between Summer and Congress Streets.
Best known as Os Gemeos (pronounced “ose zhe’-mee-ose”, meaning “the twins”), the two artists started painting the mural Wednesday, July 25 and plan to complete the artwork by Friday, August 3. We invite you to watch as this giant mural takes shape! The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy will host an opening event in celebration of the mural on Wednesday, August , with activities on Dewey Square lawn including art projects for the kids, music and cuisine all inspired by the Brazilian twins’ mural. An evening after party will follow. The Os Gemeos mural on the Greenway is made possible by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Boston Art Commission and the City of Boston. For complete times and descriptions, visit www.rosekennedygreenway.org.
Circle The City will feature a car-free corridor on Sunday, August 5, between 10 – 1, along the Rose Kennedy Greenway downtown. Come out and walk, bike, roll and play on Open Streets. All Circle The City events will include free live performances, outdoor fitness, dance and yoga classes, Farmer’s Markets, bike clinics, children’s activities, culinary demonstrations, roller skating, hula hooping, and countless other opportunities to have fun on the streets and in the parks. A 2012 Urban Signature Project of the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative, Circle The City is a collaborative venture of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Boston Collaborative for Food and Fitness, LivableStreets Alliance, Franklin Park Coalition and the City of Boston. Demonstrating an innovative model connecting conservation and recreation, Circle The City will serve as a national leader for exemplifying healthy living in the city and improved accessibility to urban green spaces. For more information, visit www.emeraldnecklace.org/circle-the-city/.
In crowded cities around the U.S. and the world, Open Streets initiatives are drawing people out of their homes and cars and onto miles of safe, car-free streets to celebrate active urban living in our most public space. With community-building, healthy lifestyles and park accessibility at the heart of these events, Open Streets engage participants of every age and background. The goals of Circle The City focus on encouraging healthy engagement with our parks by all residents of Boston, and include:
Improving neighborhood accessibility to parks and open space.
Gathering the community for free activities and performances on safe, car-free streets.
Increasing the involvement of youth in our parks through summer employment programs and regularly scheduled activities for children.
Circle The City is not a parade, nor is it a race. Rather it is a unique opportunity to safely enjoy the streets and explore new neighborhoods and parks.
Circle The City will feature a car-free corridor on Sunday, July 15, between 11 – 4, between Franklin Park and Jamaica Pond. Come out and walk, bike, roll and play on Open Streets. All Circle The City events will include free live performances, outdoor fitness, dance and yoga classes, Farmer’s Markets, bike clinics, children’s activities, culinary demonstrations, roller skating, hula hooping, and countless other opportunities to have fun on the streets and in the parks. A 2012 Urban Signature Project of the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative, Circle The City is a collaborative venture of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Boston Collaborative for Food and Fitness, LivableStreets Alliance, Franklin Park Coalition and the City of Boston. Demonstrating an innovative model connecting conservation and recreation, Circle The City will serve as a national leader for exemplifying healthy living in the city and improved accessibility to urban green spaces. For more information, visit www.emeraldnecklace.org/circle-the-city/.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino and First Lady Angela Menino invite you to the 16th Annual Rose Garden Party on Thursday, June 28, from 5:30 – 8 in the Kelleher Rose Garden, Back Bay Fens. The event features the popular Hats Galore! contest (hat below was designed for this year’s Boston Flower & Garden Show, and would be a smash at the party.) To purchase tickets and learn about sponsorship opportunities, please call 617-635-4032, or visit www.cityofboston.gov/parks.
Fishing demonstrations, tips and techniques will be on display at Jamaica Pond Thursday and Friday, April 19 and 20, from 10 – noon. Try out available fishing gear. A valid fishing license is needed, however. For more information, call 617-635-4505, or email parks@cityofboston.gov. The lyrical picture below, taken at Jamaica Pond, is available for purchase at www.nedhorn.deviantart.com.
Join Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the Province of Nova Scotia, WCVB-TV Channel 5, and MAGIC 106.7 FM for the lighting of Boston Common, the Public Garden, and the City of Boston’s Official Christmas Tree. Acts to be announced, check at www.cityofboston.gov/parks for updates.
This season’s Leaf & Yard Waste Collection in Boston begins Monday, October 17 and continues through Friday, December 2. Place leaves or waste in large, paper leaf bags or open brrels marked “Yard Waste.” Remember that branches must be cut to a three foot maximum length, 1 inch maximum diameter, and be tied with string. Place leaves and yard waste out behind your building on your recycling day. For more information, call the Mayor’s 24 hour hotline, 617-635-4500. Check the City of Boston website as well: www.cityofboston.gov/publicworks.
