Join Docents from The Emerald Necklace Conservancy on Sunday, July 31 for a free interpretive tour of the Back Bay Fens. The tour traces the evolution of the area from what a city engineer in the 1870’s called “the foulest marsh and muddy flats to be found anywhere in Massachusetts” to the tranquil parkland of today. Starting at the Visitor Center located at 125 The Fenway, participants will embark on a leisurely excursion that will take them along the Muddy River, through the fragrant Kelleher Rose Garden (below) and the historic Fenway Victory Gardens. Along the way, they will learn how the park developed under the guiding philosophies of celebrated landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Highlights include stops at hidden treasures such as the Japanese Bell and the rustic Agassiz Bridge, made of Roxbury puddingstone. For more information, visit www.emeraldnecklace.org. Rain or shine, no reservations required.
Tag: Emerald Necklace Conservancy
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Garden Club of the Back Bay Announces Annual Grant Recipients
Thanks in no small part to the continued success of our recent Twilight Garden Party, The Garden Club of the Back Bay announces that the following organizations will receive a total of $20,000 in financial grants for 2011:
The Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee – $5,000 to be credited to the Hereford Street to Massachusetts Avenue air spading project fund.
The Friends of the Public Garden – $4,000 to continue the inoculation of elms at risk for contracting Dutch elm disease.
The Esplanade Association – $2,500 for the Elliot Oval Landscape Restoration, planting new trees and treating trees already on site, near the newly restored Community Boating docks.
Emerald Necklace Conservancy – $2,500 for a planned meadow to be developed with native species and wildflowers.
Boston Nature Center/Massachusetts Audubon Society – $2,500 to support six full scholarships for its summer camp. The children attending the camp range in age from 5 to 14 and are from the local neighborhoods of Mattapan, Roslindale, and Jamaica Plain.
Charles River Clean Up Boat – $2,000, to help continue the project of keeping the Charles River trash-free.
Urban Ecology Institute – $1,000 to help with its Grow Boston Greener tree planting initiative.
The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America – $500 to the Blossom Fund, which is accumulating funds over a five year period to be awarded to a deserving project on or about the Rose Kennedy Greenway.
For more information on all these important organizations and to learn more about the work they do, visit their website links above. In addition to the above grants, The Garden Club of the Back Bay will spend an additional $20,000 on planting, pruning, and treating the street trees in our neighborhood over the coming year. Thank you to all our volunteers and contributors for making our horticultural endeavors happen!
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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.â€
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.
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Thursday, May 12, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – The Olmsted Legacy: America’s Urban Parks
The Arnold Arboretum, in conjunction with the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, will offer an evening of film and discussion on Thursday, May 12 in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum, from 7 – 8:30 pm. The documentary The Olmsted Legacy: America’s Urban Parks explores the formation of America’s great city parks, including Boston’s own Emerald Necklace, through the eyes of 19th Century landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.  The film traces the life of Olmsted: his early struggles in school. his personal tragedies and his unorthodox career path. Olmsted and his firm carried out more than 500 commissions, nearly 100 of which were public parks. His work includes the linear park system that stretches from the Back Bay Fens to Franklin Park known as the Emerald Necklace. A Q & A session will follow the screening. For more information on the documentary, visit www.theolmstedlegacy.org. The admission fee is $10, and you may sign up by logging in to www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu.
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Saturday, April 30, 12:00 noon – Grand Opening of the Emerald Necklace Visitor Center
Celebrate the grand opening of the Emerald Necklace Visitor Center at 125 The Fenway, Boston, on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1. All events are free and open to the public. At noon, Mayor Thomas M. Menino will cut the ribbon along with special guests. From noon until 3:30, a very special Art in Bloom floral arrangement inspired by the Back Bay Fens will be on display, courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. From 12:30 until 2, Gerry Wright will appear in his “other” persona, Frederick Law Olmsted, and the Park Rangers Mounted Unit “Adopt a Horse” program will be featured. At 2, 2:30 and 3, there will be screenings of Stories from the Emerald Necklace, a documentary film depicting the variety of visitor stories found in the Necklace. Also, between 12:30 and 1:15, artist Dustan Knight will talk about the creative process as Dustan works in watercolors to capture the special Art in Bloom floral arrangement on paper.
From 12:45 – 3 pm, you may meet the gardeners at the Fenway Victory Gardens and visit the newly renovated Special Needs Garden, as well as participate in hands-on workshops. From 1 – 2:30, Alan Banks, Supervisory Park Ranger, will lead an interpretive walk through the Back Bay Fens beginning at the Visitor Center entitled “Garden in the Machine.” For the athletes, join a fun run with 3, 5 and 7 mile options led by Mark Lowenstein, author of Great Runs in Boston, with a route starting at the Visitor Center, continuing along the Necklace out to Jamaica Pond, and returning to the Visitor Center, starting at 1:15 pm.
Over at the Wentworth Institute, Frederick Law Olmsted, a one-man play written by performed by Gerry Wright, will begin at 3 pm, followed by a short reception, and at 4:30, in the same venue, there will be a screening of The Olmsted Legacy: America’s Urban Parks documentary. If you prefer, at 3 pm you may join Conservancy president Julie Crockford and City Councilor Mike Ross for a bike ride to Franklin park, and stay for the 4 pm Weeds as Feed walk led by a Franklin Park coalition naturalist. For complete times and directions, log on to www.emeraldnecklace.org/visitorcentergrandopening/.
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Thursday, April 28, 6:30 pm – Ghost Bird
To kick-off the 6th annual Birds and Bards Festival, The Arnold Arboretum, the Boston Nature Center, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, and the Franklin Park Coalition will screen the movie Ghost Bird —a fascinating look at the controversial “rediscovery†of the extinct (or is it?) Ivory-billed woodpecker.
The screening will take place at 6:30pm on Thursday, April 28th at the Boston Nature Center, 500 Walk Hill Street, Mattapan, Massachusetts 02126.
In 2005, scientists announced that the Ivory-billed woodpecker, a species thought to be extinct for 60 years, had been found in the swamps of Eastern Arkansas. Other creatures have wrongly been presumed extinct, but the reappearance of the Ivory-bill was celebrated around the world as the rediscovery of a lifetime, prompting the largest recovery effort ever undertaken for a lost species. Millions of dollars poured in from the government while ornithologists and birders flooded the swamps to find the rare bird.
Down the road, the town of Brinkley, Arkansas – itself on the brink of extinction – was transformed by the hope, commerce and controversy surrounding their feathered friend. But continued sightings by expert birders only highlighted the mysterious absence of credible evidence. Now six years later, the woodpecker remains as elusive as ever. Ghost Bird brings the Ivory-bill’s blurry rediscovery into focus revealing our uneasy relationship with nature and the increasing uncertainty of our place within it.
Following the film, there will be a panel discussion about the state of conservation and endangered species in Massachusetts and around the world. Experts from three of the leading conservation organizations in MA will be available to answer questions:
Pearl Yusuf, Asst. Curator of the Hooves and Horns, Franklin Park Zoo
Joan Walsh, Director of Bird Monitoring, Mass Audubon
Wayne Klockner, Director of the Massachusetts Program of The Nature Conservancy
For more info visit
http://arboretum.harvard.edu/news-events/birds-and-bards/
http://www.massaudubon.org/Nature_Connection/Sanctuaries/Boston/news.php?id=1430&event=no
Contact: Marc Devokaitis 617.384.5209 marc_devokaitis@harvard.edu
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Wednesday, May 18 – 11:30 a.m. – Party in the Park
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy cordially invites you to attend the annual Party in the Park to benefit the Justine Mee Liff Fund, Wednesday, May 18 in the Kelleher Rose Garden, The Fenway, Boston. Cocktail reception begins at 11:30, and at 12:30 the Luncheon and Presentation of the Liff Spirit Award will begin. Valet parking available.   Please reserve by April 29. Individual ticket prices begin at $375. Mail your check to Emerald Necklace Conservancy, 891 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130. For more information, or to reserve by telephone, call 617-522-2700. Visit www.emeraldnecklace.org for more information, or to buy tickets online.
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The Friends of the Boston Park Rangers
The Garden Club of the Back Bay web site has a new link on the right hand side of our home page – the Friends of the Boston Park Rangers. The Boston Mounted Horse Project: Preserving Boston’s Park Ranger Mounted Unit, can be found at www.SaveBostonsHorses.org. The friends group, led by Julie Donahue and Cokie Perry, has applied for independent non-profit status, but on a temporary basis, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy is serving as the fiduciary agent for the friends and welcomes donations payable to the Justine Mee Liff Fund, designated for the Boston Park Ranger Program. Checks may be sent to the Emerald Necklace Conservancy at 125 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115.
The Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit was created in 1982 through an initial effort by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. It has since grown into a program that once boasted more than twelve patrol horses and twenty-four year-round park rangers plus the addition of seasonal rangers. However, due to budget constraints, the program has been halved and is under consideration of total disbandment.
When the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit faced disbandment last year, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy raised $140,000 in donations to maintain the unit through the fiscal year 2010 and the early part of 2011. The efforts of the Conservancy saved jobs and protected the safety of the park system by providing funding to local enforcement to continue providing mounted security to the Emerald Necklace.
Now, facing a renewed effort to cease the mounted program, the Friends of the Boston Park Rangers have taken up the cause. Through fund-raising and donations, they hope to reach their goal of providing the city of Boston with $155,000 to maintain the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit through the fiscal year, and further prove the mounted program’s importance and necessity in maintaining the safety of Boston’s park system. Some very nifty aprons are available for purchase, too.
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Sunday, February 13, 2:30 pm – 5:00 pm – Children’s Tea and Fashion Show
The Friends of the Boston Park Ranger Mounted Unit invites you to a Children’s Tea and Fashion Show on Sunday, February 13 at the Four Seasons Hotel, 200 Boylston Street, Boston, from 2:30 – 5. Mrs. Angela Menino is Honorary Chair, and the event MC is J.C. Monahan of Channel %. Enjoy coloring and stickers, cookie decorating, adopt-a-stuffed-pony, photo opportunities with a Boston Park Ranger, an auction, and a raffle. Fashion presentation by Pollywogs.  $85 adults, $45 child, $850/table. Children 2 and younger are free. Contact Ashley at 617-522-2700. Checks may be made out to Justine Mee Liff Fund for Friends of the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit and mailed to the Friends of the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit, c/o The Emerald Necklace Conservancy, 125 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115. Names will be held at the door.
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The 2011 Trees of Boston Calendar
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy announces the availability of The 2011 Trees of Boston Calendar, featuring Erik Gehring’s beautiful photographs of trees of the Arnold Arboretum. Erik generously donates a portion of sales to support the Conservancy’s work in the parks. You may view and purchase the calendar ($12 for one, $33 for three, and $50 for five) on the Conservancy’s website, www.emeraldnecklace.org.