Boston Flora

Tag: National Park Service

  • Saturday, March 7, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Revelry & Revolution Cruise

    A Boston Harbor cruise highlighting the real history of the British evacuation of Boston in 1776 with live historical music takes place March 7, sponsored by Boston Harbor Islands National & State Park.

    The Evacuation Day Cruise is a two-hour excursion through the Boston Harbor that tells the story of the Siege of Boston (June 1775 to March 1776). Park rangers will provide historical narration of events as we pass key landmarks, all while navigating the waters the British used to evacuate town.

    The trip will begin at Long Wharf, cruise by the Charlestown Navy Yard with the view of the Bunker Hill Monument, pass Fort Independence (Fortress William in 1776) with a view of the Dorchester Heights, and cruise by several harbor islands including Little Brewster, home of Boston Light. Swinging around Little Brewster, we will head back to Boston with entertainment by the duo Tobias Tripp and Prudence Merriweather for a 3:00pm return to Long Wharf.

    On this cruise you will enjoy:

    Narration by local historians
Boston Harbor Islands park staff available for questions
Period music and merriment aboard the cruise
Views of Boston Light, America’s oldest light station
Full bar and other refreshments available for purchase onboard

    This event is a part of Rev250 – Unfinished: America at 250

    The American Revolution remains unfinished. Early revolutionaries engaged in deep debates about how voices are heard and what liberty looks like. While the founding generation set forth one set of answers to these questions, they did not resolve the debates. Every subsequent generation has continued to grapple with these fundamental questions.

    Unfinished: America at 250 is a partnership of historical and cultural institutions, National Park Service sites, historians, and changemakers. This partnership harnesses the stories of the past and activates historic spaces to provoke community conversations about the ongoing American Revolution. Make your voice heard – especially if you are dissatisfied with the direction we’re going. Tickets are $15. Register at www.bostonharborislands.org

  • Thursday, January 4, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Eastern – National Parks of Washington State: North Cascades, Olympic, and Mount Rainier, Online

    Journey with Smithsonian Associates to high volcanoes, ancient temperate rainforests, glaciers, and big rivers in these geographically and topographically interrelated national parks. Among the most unique public lands in the country, these parks harbor a dazzling array of habitats and recreational opportunities.

    Naturalist Keith Tomlinson discusses the region’s geologic evolution, biological diversity and unique hydrology from glaciers to the sea. His tour highlights ways to access and enjoy these extraordinary natural treasures and covers conservation priorities in all three parks. 

    Chris Williams, Interpretive Park Ranger with the National Park Service working in Olympic and North Cascades National Park, will join the program as a guest speaker. This program is presented on Zoom on January 4 from 7 – 8:30 pm Eastern. $25 for Smithsonian Associates members, $30 for nonmembers. Register at https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/national-parks-washington-state

  • Saturday, August 20, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm – Stewardship Saturday at Grape Island

    Come join National Park Service biologists and volunteer stewards for Stewardship Saturday on Grape Island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area on August 20. Help us control non-native invasive plants and enhance native ecosystems and natural processes in the park. We will explore the local flora and fauna and discuss the ecology, natural history, and cultural significance of landscapes in the park as we work to understand and improve habitat for the native birds, bugs, trees, and flowers of the Boston Harbor Islands.

    We will be departing from a dock at the Charlestown Navy Yard, 21 2nd Ave, Boston MA. We are able to offer free parking at the park- individuals will need to share their vehicle information with park staff in advance for entrance. There are also a variety of public transit options nearby. We will send more information to registrants about parking prior to the event. We will be going to Grape Island.

    Timing: The boat departs at 9am. We will return by 3pm.

    What to wear: Long-sleeved shirts, long pants, socks, and closed-toe shoes. Conditions can be unpredictable so please monitor the weather in the days leading up the event and dress appropriately.

    What to bring: Please bring a lunch and reusable water bottles. Bring all your water for the day! Sunscreen and a hat are always recommended. Tools will be provided.

    Event will run rain or shine, however, may be cancelled due to severe weather.

    Special consideration:

    • MASKS may be required to be worn on transportation to the island based on local COVID levels at the time of the event.
    • Do not attend if you have had recent exposure to a positive COVID case or if you are experiencing symptoms.

    Work consists of natural or cultural resource field stewardship. Potential hazards include transit by boat, the use of hand tools, carrying moderate weight, working in varied terrain, dense brush, thorns, poison ivy, and/or ticks. Tasks may include data collection, clearing vegetation, debris, and/or trash, consolidating cut material into bags or piles, carrying materials, planting, trail clearing and/or light maintenance. Work may be conducted in extreme heat or cold.

    Program destination is subject to change based on field conditions. For questions please contact Erin Drumm at 617-780-1057 or erin_drumm@nps.gov Free. Register on the Eventbrite site HERE.

  • Wednesday, January 26, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm – Lost on the Freedom Trail: The National Park Service and Urban Renewal in Postwar Boston, Online

    Boston National Historical Park is one of America’s most popular heritage destinations, drawing in millions of visitors annually. Tourists flock there to see the site of the Boston Massacre, to relive Paul Revere’s midnight ride, and to board Old Ironsides—all of these bound together by the iconic Freedom Trail, which traces the city’s revolutionary saga. Seth C. Bruggeman of Temple University discusses the Freedom Trail’s role for tourism, how it was devised to lure affluent white Americans into downtown revival schemes, its success hinging on a narrow vision of the city’s history run through with old stories about heroic white men. When Congress pressured the National Park Service to create this historical park for the nation’s bicentennial celebration in 1976, these ideas seeped into its organizational logic, precluding the possibility that history might prevail over gentrification and profit. Professor Bruggeman will present his book on January 26 online through the Massachusetts Historical Society, and then be joined by experts with knowledge of the Freedom Trail today and in the past. Free. Register to attend online

  • Tuesday, November 30, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Conversations with Olmsted: Challenges and Opportunities for Olmsted Parks, Online

    Olmsted 200 invites you to join the fourth webinar in our Conversations with Olmsted series. In this series, we examine different aspects of Olmsted’s far-reaching influence on America’s physical landscape and social fabric, exploring how best to continue his legacy of parks for all people.

    Parks and public spaces face more challenges and threats than ever before. In some cases, development has nearly destroyed these historic landscapes, altering them with highways, towers, and more. Unfortunately, once open spaces are gone, they’re gone forever. 

    In the age of the pandemic, our nation’s parks and open green spaces have served as places of healthful recreation and respite – but they are not self-sustaining, and greater use has meant greater demand for care and attention, often with far smaller budgets. 

    This November 30 panel discussion will be moderated by Stephanie Crockatt, executive director of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, a member of the NAOP Olmsted Network. The panel will explore the threats and opportunities facing Olmsted parks and how to protect these natural and historic assets for future generations. 

    Panelists include:

    • Charles Birnbaum FASLA, FAAR,  President, CEO, and founder of The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), a founding partner of Olmsted 200. Before creating TCLF, Birnbaum spent fifteen years at the National Park Service Historic Landscape Initiative (HLI) and a decade in private practice in New York City, focusing on landscape preservation and urban design.
    • Karen Mauney-Brodek,  President of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy. Mauney-Brodek is working to restore and improve the Emerald Necklace’s 1,100 acres. She spearheaded the Conservancy’s 20th Anniversary celebration in 2018 and is currently leading a significant revitalization of Charlesgate Park with neighborhood group Charlesgate Alliance. 
    • Andy Mitton, Principal, The Berger Partnership. Mitton is a landscape architect, board member, past president, and nine-year member of Seattle’s Friends of Olmsted Parks (FSOP). He is currently working on the Olmsted 200 Tree Project to identify opportunities to reinvigorate Seattle’s historic parks. He was also part of a task force that compiled recommendations in a report, “Rebirth of Olmsted’s Design for Equity,” for the Superintendent, Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Seattle Board of Park Commissioners. 

    Register today on Eventbrite, free, to participate in this event.

  • Friday, November 23, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Learn & Burn: Mr. Olmsted’s Neighborhood

    Won’t you join the National Park Service on our annual post -Thanksgiving walk? Expect brisk walking, along with a little talking, while we weave our way to and through some of the places that make up the neighborhood the Olmsteds called home. Due to safety concerns, enrollment for this walk is limited. Please RSVP at https://www.nps.gov/frla/special-events.htm .

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  • Saturday, November 17, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – Olmsted’s Neighbors: Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Green Hill

    This National Parks program on Saturday, November 17 from 11 – 12:30 will explore the cultural and botanical history of the former home of “Mrs. Jack”. An illustrated lecture will be followed by a walk over a 5 acre portion of the estate that since 2001 has been administered as part of Frederick Law Olmsted NHS. Enrollment for this walk is limited. Please RSVP at https://www.nps.gov/frla/special-events.htm

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  • Thursday, June 21, 5:00 pm – Longfellow House Garden Party and Lecture

    The Friends of Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters, invite you to a Garden Party at the Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters, 105 Brattle Street in Cambridge, on Thursday, June 21 from 5- 6:30 pm. There will be a tour of the Garden with a Park Ranger at 5:30. Refreshments will be served. Donations to the Friends are gratefully accepted.  Additionally, directly following the Garden Party, at 6:30 pm, hear a lecture by Judith B. Tankard, author of Ellen Shipman and the American Garden. The lecture is hosted by the National Park Service. Lecture seating is limited so please rsvp for the lecture by calling 617-876-4491, or email reservationsat105@gmail.com.

  • Thursday, December 7, 6:00 pm – Beyond Drawings: The Olmsted Archives as Muse and Vision

    Lucinda Brockway, noted garden designer, landscape historian, and preservation specialist, began her career with an internship at Fairsted as it moved from a design office to part of the National Park Service. The Olmsted Archives play an invaluable role in her current work as Cultural Resources Program Director for The Trustees of Reservations, as they did in her previous private design practice. In this Friends of Fairsted presentation, Lucinda will bring her research stories to life, illustrating the relevance of the Archives to historic preservation projects and design work, both present and future. 6:00pm Reception | 7:00pm Lecture, to be held at Wheelock College, Brookline Campus, 43 Hawes Street, corner of Hawes and Monmouth Streets, Brookline. Seating is limited and reservations are required. Visit http://friendsoffairsted.org/programs/ for more details.

  • Saturday, November 25, 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Learn and Burn

    The Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site is continuing what has become a holiday season “tradition” with the third annual Learn and Burn walk that offers a chance to learn about an Olmsted landscape and burn off calories from holiday meals. The last two years we were at Jamaica Pond. This year we are moving to Franklin Park. Sign up so you can get some exercise, and learn about Olmsted’s “country park” in the city! Rain or icy conditions will cancel. This walk is popular so sign up soon! Reservations are required by Wednesday, November 22 at noon. Visit https://www.nps.gov/frla/special-events.htm with name and contact information.