Boston Flora

Tag: mass audubon

  • Wednesday, March 13, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Knowing Our Wild Edibles: Finding, Growing, Eating

    Whether you’re interested in your health, sustainability, or simple pleasure, knowing your wild edibles is a skill worth cultivating. From wild broccoli to cucumber root, wild edibles are around us everywhere. Explore some of the best wild edibles for foraging and cultivating in this New England Wild Flower Society seminar on Wednesday, March 13, from 10 – 12 at Garden in the Woods in Framingham. Focus on specific species as well as harvest and learn preparation techniques from Dan Jaffe, Propagator and Stockbed Grower at NEWFS. Sustainable practices will be stressed. Wild broccoli image from www.crabappleherbs.com.  Co-sponsored by Massachusetts Audubon Society Drumlin Farm. $26 for sponsor members, $32 for nonmembers. Register at www.newfs.org.

    http://crabappleherbs.com/blog//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/creasygreens.jpg

  • Saturday, March 16, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm – 21st Annual Birders’ Meeting

    Saturday, March 16, the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the Brookline Bird Club (BBC) — one of the largest bird clubs in the state—will co-host the 21st annual Birders Meeting at Bentley University in Waltham. Exploring the theme Birding: Past Present, and Future Challenges and Opportunities, we will take a look back at 20th century birding through the lens of one of America’s oldest bird clubs, as well as examine how modern technological advances are revolutionizing our understanding of bird classification, migration, and key conservation issues. This popular event, which supports Mass Audubon’s Science and Bird Conservation work, draws birders of all levels as well as photographers, students, and conservation and academic professionals from across the state for a day of presentations, workshops, exhibitors, silent auctions, and raffles.

    Proceeds from the Birders Meeting help to strengthen Mass Audubon’s statewide bird monitoring initiatives aimed specifically at protecting species at risk at a time when more than one-third of Massachusetts’ breeding bird species have suffered significant declines. For complete event details, including a comprehensive agenda, speakers list, and registration information, visit www.massaudubon.org/birdersmeeting.

  • Sunday, January 20, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Window Gardens

    Is your green thumb going to waste during the winter months? Join the Massachusetts Audubon Society on Sunday, January 20 from 2 – 3:30 to learn how to garden right inside your home. We will begin by discussing and practicing techniques for planting, care, and harvesting. Going beyond herbs, we will explore growing everything from micro-greens to sugar snap peas right in your kitchen window.

    Registration is required. The price is $5 for Mass Audubon members, $7 for non members, and the class will take place at the Boston Nature Center, 500 Walk Hill Street in Mattapan. To sign up, visit www.massaudubon.org, or call 617-983-8500.  Image from www.harvesttotable.com.

  • Through January 13 – Nests, Eggs, Heartbreak & Beauty

    A rare 19th-century book, with stunning illustrations and a dramatic history, was donated to Mass Audubon in June, and now an exhibition has been organized around it. Nests, Eggs, Heartbreak & Beauty is on view at the Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center in Canton.  Joy Kiser, whose research uncovered the story behind this remarkable volume, is the author of a new book on the subject, America’s Other Audubon.

    The historic volume bears a dry, unwieldy title, Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio. In fact, it is a compelling blend of ornithological observation and artistry, and its creation was a triumph of love through adversity.

    In 1876, 29-year-old amateur artist and naturalist Genevieve Jones saw Audubon’s Birds of America at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and conceived the idea for a companion publication—of similarly high quality—to depict the nests and eggs of American birds. Her father, who had forbidden her to marry the man she loved, financed the project to provide her a distraction from heartbreak.

    Jones’ brother Howard collected the nests and wrote the text, and she learned to draw on lithographic stones to create the printed images (which would later be colored by hand). After completing only five drawings, Genevieve died of typhoid fever, and her grieving family determined to finish the book, with her mother taking the role of artist.

    Only 90 copies of the book were printed, and fewer than 25 are known to exist today. Mass Audubon’s copy, which belonged to Howard Jones, is considered the most significant because its color plates served as the patterns for other copies, and it includes a unique gilt title-page and important manuscript material.

    In 1878, Harvard ornithologist William Brewster, who would later be Mass Audubon’s first president, described one of Jones’ drawings as “in its kind a perfect masterpiece.”
    http://www.massaudubon.org/Nature_Connection/Sanctuaries/Visual_Arts/exhibits.php#top

    The Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center, 963 Washington Street in Canton, is Mass Audubon’s art museum, offering exhibitions and programs that connect people and nature through art. Exhibitions are open Tuesday-Sunday, 1-5 pm. Trails through the 124-acre wildlife sanctuary are open Tuesday-Sunday and Monday holidays, 9 am – 5 pm. Admission is free to Mass Audubon members. Non-member fees are $4 for adults and $3 for children and seniors. For information: 781-821-8853 or visual-arts@massaudubon.org.

  • Saturday, November 3, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Snowy Owls: A Photography Exhibit

    Greg Lessard is a professional photographer specializing in dynamic nature and landscape images. Through years of dedication and devotion to his craft, Greg has become an artist with a unique vision and talent. He is able to captivate viewers and evoke powerful emotional responses with his art. Based in Massachusetts, Greg has established an extensive portfolio of images from New England, with an emphasis on Acadia National Park. His photographs have been shown in numerous galleries from Massachusetts to Maine, and have been published in many newspapers, magazines and web sites.

    During the fall and winter of 2011-2012, Greg turned his eye toward Duxbury Beach and the record Snowy Owl irruption, capturing this iconic northern species watching, hunting, surviving the New England winter. On Saturday, November 3,  join the photographer at 2 pm for an opening reception debuting his new photography exhibit at the North River Wildlife Sanctuary celebrating the Snowy Owl.

    Instructions and Directions: The exhibit will take place at the North River Wildlife Sanctuary, 2000 Main Street in Marshfield. This is a free event. Light refreshments will be served.  Registration is required. Register online at www.massaudubon.org or call 781-837-9400 to register by phone.

  • Friday, November 9, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm – Birds and Brew Fundraiser

    Have a hoot while supporting Boston Nature Center’s education programs, on Friday, November 9, from 7 – 10 at The Boston Nature Center, 500 Walk Hill Street in Mattapan.  The evening will feature beer tastings with local breweries, live music, trivia contests with prizes, bird demonstrations by Blue Hills Trailside Museum, and great pub food.  For tickets please call 617-983-8500, or purchase on line at www.massaudubon.org.  This is a 21+ event and valid ID will be required.  Tickets are $50 in advance and $60 at the door – last year’s event sold out in advance!

  • Monday, September 24, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Boston Nature Center: Urban Landscape Restoration

    Join Mass Audubon Director Julie Brandlen, along with soil and environmental remediation specialist Bruce Fulford, for a tour of the recent restorations at the Boston Nature Center (BNC) including an expanding urban orchard, green roof, butterfly garden, and BNC’s Nature Nook (below), a nature play area made from natural and recycled materials. In addition to the enriched landscape elements, BNC also features the greenest municipal building in Boston. $20 for Environmental Landscaping Association and Mass Audubon members, $25 for non members. Register today at https://www.eventville.com/catalog/eventregistration1.asp?eventid=1009614.

  • Thursday, August 2, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Boston Nature Center: Urban Landscape Restoration

    Located in Mattapan and surrounded by residential neighborhoods in the city of Boston, Massachusetts Audubon’s Boston Nature Center (BNC) is a 67-acre oasis and landscape restoration success story. Formerly the site of the Boston State Hospital, this restoration has transformed BNC into open space and natural habitats including more than two miles of trails and boardwalks through meadows, fresh-water marsh, woodlands, and gardens. The Garden Club of the Back Bay has held a meeting in its green building and members were impressed.  Visit with the Ecological Landscaping Association on Thursday, August 2, from 10 – 12.  Register online at www.ecolandscaping.org.  $20 for ELA or Mass Audubon members, $25 for nonmembers.

  • The Garden Club of the Back Bay Announces 2012 Grants at Annual Meeting

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay Announces 2012 Grants at Annual Meeting

    The Annual Meeting of The Garden Club of the Back Bay, Inc. took place Monday, May 14, and $66,000 in grants and expenditures were unanimously approved by the membership. Co-President Jackie Blombach is pictured below announcing the grants to the attendees.

    Thirty thousand dollars has been set aside for street tree care, including planting, pruning, and inoculating.  In addition to this amount, the following organizations will benefit from our Club’s fund raising successes, including our holiday wreath project and our upcoming Twilight Garden Party:

    $5,000 to The Friends of Copley Square, for treating with fertilizer and fungicide the diseased trees (the ones not being removed) for root stress due to canker stain and compacted ground conditions.

    $5,000 to The Friends of the Public Garden, to continue the inoculation of elms against Dutch elm disease.  The street trees to be treated are not on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, but are located on Commonwealth Avenue beyond Massachusetts Avenue.

    $5,000 to The Esplanade Association, for the Eliot Memorial Demonstration Garden.

    $5,000 to the Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee, for its Historic Elm Preservation Project.

    $3,000 to the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, to help pay for plant material for the completion of Mother’s Rest, at Boylston Street and The Fenway.

    $3,000 to City Roots/Urban Ecology Institute, for plant materials (trees and shrubs) for a project underway in Allston/Brighton, which also includes a citizen science and education component.

    $3,000 to the Boston Nature Center of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, supporting some level of scholarships to twenty children for the summer camp.  The children range in age from 5 to 14 and are from the local neighborhoods of Mattapan, Roslindale, and Jamaica Plain.

    $2,000 to the Charles River Clean Up Boat, helping keep our beloved river trash free.

    $500 to the Ellis Neighborhood Association, to inoculate an historic elm tree in the South End against Dutch elm disease. This contribution will cover half the expense of the treatment, with the other half being paid by the Ellis Neighborhood Association.

    $500 to The Blossom Fund of The Boston Committee of The Garden Club of America, for our five year fund raising effort to be awarded next year to a project in or around The Rose Kennedy Greenway.

    Additionally, we are purchasing four tree fences to be installed in the neighborhood, three in front of The First Lutheran Church on Berkeley Street, and one in front of The French Cultural Center of Boston, on Marlborough Street, at a total cost of $4,000.

    We congratulate all our grant recipients, and thank our supporters for giving us the ability to beautify Boston.

  • Tuesday, May 22 – Thursday, May 24 – Hands On Wetland Creation Workshop

    As part of the Spadefoot Toad Restoration Project, the Massachusetts Audubon Society, in collaboration with the Center for Wetlands and Stream Restoration, Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the SFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, will conduct a two day hands on wetland creation workshop in Barnstable on Tuesday, May 22 through Thursday, May 24.

    Isolated wetlands provide vital habitat to many species of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Unfortunately, a majority of these ecosystems have been lost due to draining and filling throughout North America. These landscape modifications are now affecting recovery efforts for endangered species, reducing water quality, increasing flooding, and reducing ground water supplies. Fortunately, it’s now possible to construct ponds and wetlands that look and function similar to natural wetlands, with desired hydro-periods, aquatic vegetation, and animal life. While protection and restoration of natural wetlands remain the highest priorities, creation can be an important option where wetland habitats have been lost. This hands-on workshop is designed for individuals interested in learning how to use practical, low cost techniques for building wetlands for wildlife. Participants will see how wetland projects can be planned in forested and open areas, on vast expanses of public land, and even on school grounds to benefit plants, animals, and people. Attendees will discover how to select the best locations for building wetlands, test soils, choose construction techniques, work with heavy equipment operators, and establish native plants. Also, through a series of presentations, participants will learn about conservation efforts using reintroduction, translocation, and habitat restoration techniques and learn about Eastern spadefoot toad conservation efforts on Cape Cod. A field trip to a nearby spadefoot population is included.

    Who should attend? Biologists, foresters, hydrologists, engineers, technicians, educators, land trusts, and other non-profit and environmental org professionals.

    Cost: $240 which includes lunches on three days, hand-out materials, signed copy of the book Wetland Restoration and Construction – A Technical Guide by Thomas Biebighauser, and more!
    Location: 345 Bone Hill Rd. Barnstable, MA .  Please hurry, registration is limited to 30 participants! Visit www.massaudubon.org to download the complete brochure.