Boston Flora

Tag: Franklin Park Coalition

  • 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/.

     

     

     

     

     

  • 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://ghostbirdmovie.com/

    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

  • Tuesday, April 26, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm – How to Have a Great Volunteer Day

    Christina Poff of the Franklin Park Coalition and Nataka Crayton of United Neighbors of Lower Roxbury will talk about planning volunteer stewardship projects, coordinating with agencies, finding support from neighborhood businesses, and doing effective publicity and outreach at a workshop on Tuesday, April 26, hosted by Boston Park Advocates.  The evening will begin with pizza and networking at 5:30, followed by the workshop at 6.  The event takes place at Boston Natural Areas Network, 62 Summer Street in Boston.  RSVP at http://bit.ly/fjSkyD.

  • Saturday, April 16, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Franklin Park Walking Tour

    Join the Franklin Park Coalition and Historic New England’s Phillips House Site Manager Julie Arrison for a series of free walking tours in the “crown jewel” of Boston’s Emerald Necklace—Franklin Park. Each tour explores a portion of the 527-acre park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. This first tour, on Saturday, April 16 from 10 – noon, meets at the Ellicott Arch (pictured below on a vintage postcard) and ends at the Nursery. Please call Franklin Park Coalition at 617-442-4141 to register or for more information.

  • Thursday, June 24, 5:30 pm – Roxbury Bike Tour

    The Forest Hills Trust, in collaboration with Discover Roxbury and the Franklin Park Coalition, are planning a Roxbury Bike Tour on Thursday, June 24, beginning at 5:30 pm at the main gate at Forest Hills, 95 Forest Hills Avenue in Boston.  Ride to the southern reaches of Roxbury and tour historic green spaces: Forest Hills Cemetery and Franklin Park.  The cemetery was originally founded as a public burial ground in 1848 by the Mayor of Roxbury and is the final resting place for prominent Roxburyites such as abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, surgeon Susan Dimock, entrepreneur Joseph “Wally” Walcott, and arts leader Elma Lewis. After touring the cemetery, ride through Franklin Park alongside the 200-acre forest and catch the view from Schoolmaster Hill where Ralph Waldo Emerson once lived. At the end of the ride, purchase a light meal at the Golf Clubhouse and watch the setting sun on the terrace. Helmets are required. The tour has a 20 person limit, and will be held weather permitting.  Tickets are $5, and may be purchased on line at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/111407.  For more information, log on to www.discoverroxbury.org or www.foresthillstrust.org.

    http://www.discoverroxbury.org/communities/4/004/006/401/624/images/4528123433.jpg

  • Elimination of the Mounted Unit of the Park Rangers

    The following  letter has been received by The Garden Club of the Back Bay from Michele Hanss, Chairman of The Boston Committee:

    It has come to our attention that the Mounted Unit of the Park Rangers for the City of Boston may be eliminated later this month on June 30th due to cuts in the Parks and Recreation budget. This poses serious consequences primarily affecting the safety of the parks by sharply decreasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Park Rangers. A number of park related non-profits such as the Friends of Jamaica Pond, Franklin Park Coalition, and the Emerald Necklace Conservancy are working hard to influence the outcome of this and our support is needed right now.

    Monies are being raised privately through several sources and you can help by sending contributions to:

    The Emerald Necklace Conservancy
    891 Centre Street
    Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts 02130

    Please include in the memo section of your check: horses. If, despite all this effort, the unit does not survive these tough financial times, the checks will be returned. If you have any questions concerning this please e-mail Julia Owens at jowens@ridgewayadvisors.com since she is handling all requests for information.

    Thank you for your consideration in supporting our park lands.

    http://www.friendsofjamaicapond.org/images/ParkRangers/Ranger3470s.jpg