Boston Flora

Tag: franklin park

  • Tuesday, May 14, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Emerald Necklace Conservancy’s 15 Year Celebration

    The Emerald Necklace Conservancy will celebrate 15 years connecting people and parks, and conserving the Emerald Necklace, on Tuesday, May 14, from 6 – 8 in the Kelleher Rose Garden in the Back Bay Fens. The Olmsted Award of Excellence will be presented, and Emerald Necklace Parks Champions John Blackwell (posthumous) of the Arnold Arboretum, Isabella Callanan (posthumous) of the Riverway, Christine Cooper and John Iappini of Jamaica Pond, Sarah Freeman of the Emerald Necklace Parkways, Walter Little and Dan Richardson of Franklin Park, Arlene and Hugh Mattison of Olmsted Park, and Freddie Veikley of the Back Bay Fens will be honored.  Individual tickets $50, patron tickets $150. Purchase tickets at http://www.emeraldnecklace.org, or send a check to the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, 125 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115.  Kindly respond by May 1. For more information contact Jillian Levine at 617-522-2700, or email her at jlevine@emeraldnecklace.org.

    http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs057/1101800735703/img/43.jpg?a=1108955821088

  • Sunday, October 21, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Franklin Park: Country in the City

    Join the National Park Service at Franklin Park, the last of Olmsted’s classic urban parks, one of his finest design achievements, and a prime example of his social ideals. Discover Olmsted’s vision for the park on our walk through the landscapes of Scarboro Pond, Schoolmaster Hill, and the Wilderness. Meet at the Resting Place Picnic Area, in front of Shattuck Hospital, Jewish War Veterans Highway. Free – no reservations required. For more information visit www.nps.gov.

  • Sunday, July 15, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm – Circle the City

    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/.

  • Saturday, May 19, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm – Franklin Park Kite Festival

    Join in the fun at Franklin Park on Saturday, May 19 from 11 – 6 to celebrate the arrival of spring! Bring your kite or make one in the park. Tour the park with a free bike rental or bring your own. Participate in interactive games and snack on a variety of food. This event for all ages takes place at the Franklin Park Playstead Ballfield, between the Stadium and the Zoo. Call 617-442-4141 for more information, or visit www.franklinparkcoalition.org.

  • Saturday, February 4, 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Franklin Park Snow Festival

    Considering the weather we’ve been having lately, this event might not come to pass.  However, just in case, here is the information you need to attend the Franklin Park Snow Festival on Saturday, February 4, from 12 – 3: Sign in at the Franklin Park Golf Clubhouse. Come sled, snowshoe, build snowpeople (politically correct term these days, we guess,) and track animal prints in the snow! If you have cross country skis, a guided tour will begin at 1:30. Warm up with hot chocolate and board games in the clubhouse. Bring a sled if you have one, we’ll have plenty for those without. Wear warm clothes and mittens! RSVP and Questions? www.franklinparkcoalition.org / 617-442-4141.  We just couldn’t resist the picture below, although we can’t determine the original photographer.

  • Saturday, January 21, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Winter Volunteer Day

    Believe it or not, there’s important woodlands restoration work to be done during the coldest months! An invasive vine that wraps itself around trees and kills them is easiest to cut in the winter (see bittersweet, below.)  The Franklin Park Coalition sponsors its annual Winter Volunteer Day Saturday, January 21, from 10 – 12. Wear old clothes and layers, heavy cotton or wool is best, nylon will snag on branches. If you have cold hands bring liners for under leather gloves. Meet at Valley Gates Parking Lot midway along the main park road. RSVP and Questions? www.franklinparkcoalition.org  or 617-442-4141.

  • Saturday, November 19, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Fall Leaf Raking

    Join Franklin Park neighbors and volunteers on a crisp fall day as they rake leaves and spruce the park up. Feel free to bring your favorite gloves or an extra rake, although we’ll have plenty on hand for those without.  Perhaps you should also bring your favorite spouse or partner, since the more the merrier. Meet at Valley Gates parking lot (midway down the main park road across from the golf course and near Pierpont Rd.) Call to RSVP at 617-442-4141 or email: RSVP@franklinparkcoalition.org.

  • Saturday, May 14, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Franklin Park Kite & Bike Festival

    Bring your kite or make one in the park, “rent” a bike (at no cost), play games, and have a spring picnic at the Franklin Park Kite & Bike Festival, to be held Saturday, May 14, from 1 – 4 at The Playstead.  An event for all ages, all activities are free.  For directions, email rsvp@franklinparkcoalition.org.  Cell phone contact number on the day of the event is 617-908-4002.

  • 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.

  • 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