Boston Flora

Tag: Leominster

  • Monday, October 19, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon – Guiding the Rain: Aesthetic Form, Ecological Function

    Rain gardens guide the rain away from storm drains while attracting wildlife and protecting streams, lakes, and ponds. Planted with native flowers, shrubs, and grasses, rain gardens can thrive without fertilizers and pesticides. Tree filter systems are another solution that integrate street trees with stormwater collection. These systems are unique in that they integrate above-ground vegetation with subsurface bio-remediation principals to treat and cleanse stormwater pollutants prior to infiltration to groundwater and aquifers. Join tour guides Ed Himlin from the Massachusetts Watershed Coalition and stormwater engineer  Paul Iorio to learn more about Leominster’s stormwater solutions that combine aesthetic form and ecological function. Learn more, get the map of the meeting place, and register today at http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/guiding-the-rain-aesthetic-form-ecological-function/ ELA members $22, nonmembers $32.

  • Wednesday, August 27, 7:00 pm – Boston Beer: A History of Brewing in the Hub

    Porter Square Books, 25 White Street in Cambridge, will host Norman Miller, author of Boston Beer: A History of Brewing in the Hub, on Wednesday, August 27, beginning at 7 pm. Free, but please rsvp at www.portersquarebooks.com. 

    Since before Patriots like Paul Revere and Sam Adams fermented a revolution in smoky Beantown taverns, beer has been integral to the history of Boston. The city issued its first brewing license in 1630, and breweries like Haffenreffer Brewery and American Brewing Company quickly sprung up. This heady history took a turn for the worse when the American Temperance Movement championed prohibition, nearly wiping out all of the local breweries. In 1984, the amber liquid was revitalized as Jim Koch introduced Samuel Adams craft brews to the Hub and the nation. Shortly after, Harpoon Brewery emerged and became the largest brewery to make all its beers in New England. From the planning of the Boston Tea Party over a pint at Green Dragon Tavern to the renaissance of the burgeoning craft brewing scene, join author and “Beer Nut” Norman Miller as he savors the sudsy history of brewing in the Hub.

    Norman Miller grew up in the birthplace of Johnny Appleseed and plastic pink lawn flamingos: Leominster, Massachusetts. Despite being a late bloomer as a beer drinker, he has been writing the Beer Nut column for the MetroWest Daily News in Framingham, Massachusetts, and the GateHouse Media family of newspapers since 2006, as well as a blog of the same name.

    Currently, Norman lives in his childhood home in Leominster with his dog Foxy, his cats Trouble and Tweak and his prized possession, Beatrice the beer fridge, which is always stocked up with Boston beers.

  • Wednesday, July 21, 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm – The Doyle Reservation: Conservation & Restoration

    Join Russ Hopping, Ecological Program Manager for the Trustees of Reservation (TTOR), for this walking tour through the three eco-types that make up the Doyle Reservation, 464 Abbott Avenue in Leominster, Massachusetts.

    The Doyle Reservation is a 170 acre conservation property that includes meandering trails, woodlands, meadows, fields and gardens, all part of two former early 1900’s estates.  Today the Reservation includes Pierce Park, the Doyle Center, and Doyle Estate. Pierce Park is made up of ten of the original landscaped grounds from the Pierce estate – most of the trees and shrubs are from the estate’s original design and plantings.  The Doyle Center (below), with a LEED Gold-Certified “green” building as its heart, is the hub of the Reservation, and is where the tour will begin.

    Discussion will include efforts made to remove and control invasive species, demonstrate site restoration, and highlight TTOR’s ecological management plan.  This event is co-sponsored by the Ecological Landscaping Association.  $20 for ELA or TTOR members, $25 for non-members.  For more information, or to register, email ela.info@comcast.net, or call 617-436-5838.

    F.Siteman

  • Thursday, May 20, 4:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Rain Gardens in Successful Stormwater Management

    A program entitled Rain Gardens in Successful Stormwater Management, co-sponsored by the Ecological Landscaping Association and the Massachusetts Watershed Coalition will take place Thursday, May 20, from 4:30 – 8 pm, at the Doyle Conservation Center. 325 Lindell Avenue, in Leominster.  The participation fee is $20 for ELA Members, and $25 for non-members.

    Explore the possibilities of improved water quality through collaborative efforts at storm water management.  Partnerships among city officials, community groups, businesses, state and federal agencies, and the Massachusetts Watershed Coalition are restoring Monoosnoc Brook in Leominster.  Rapid runoff had increased frequent flooding that erodes stream banks, and dirty, oily storm water deposited into the brook created lethal conditions for stream life.  Thirty-two rain gardens, tree box filters and bio-retention areas are now helping to cleanse runoff from streets and parking lots.  Designs for additional treatment practices, including a constructed storm water wetland, will be installed and continue to improve Monoosnoc Brook and the North Nashua River.

    Starting at the Doyle Conservation Center and then traveling out to a variety of installation sites, tour guides Ed Himlan, Bob Levite, and others will discuss and demonstrate the successful installations of a variety of storm water management techniques.  For more information, call 617-436-5838, or email ela.info@comcast.net.  Walk ins welcome.

    http://www.thetrustees.org/assets/images/prop/central-ma/Photo%20Gallery/C_DR_girlonbridge_TKates.jpg

  • Saturday, November 28, 10:00 am – 12 noon – Doyle Reservation Tree Tour

    Join a self-proclaimed lover of trees (and forester) on a guided tour of the grounds at the Doyle Estate and Pierce Park on Saturday, November 28, from 10:00 am – 12 noon.  You will be introduced to the over fifty species of trees which call the estate home.  This is a free event, sponsored by The Trustees of Reservations, and you may sign up by calling 978-840-4446, x 1900, or emailing central@ttor.org.  Driving directions to Leominster are available at www.thetrustees.org.

    At the turn of the 20th century, Harry W. Pierce assembled a grand estate featuring a 29-room stucco mansion, stable, horse paddocks, a pond, and an extensive system of bridle paths. Today, this estate is the Doyle Reservation, with Pierce Park and the Doyle Conservation Center at its heart.

    Pierce Park is made up of 10 of the original landscaped grounds from the estate (most of the trees and shrubs are from the estate’s original design and plantings). Doyle Conservation Center, a LEED Gold-Certified “green” building, serves as one of The Trustees of Reservations’ regional offices.  Pierce Park is a link in the Monoosnoc Trail. More trails are planned.

    http://www.mikesjournal.com/November%202007/Maple%20Tree.jpg