You are invited to the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy on Tuesday, November 12 at the Linda K. Paresky Conference Center at Simmons College, 300 The Fenway, Boston, Massachusetts.  Reception begins at 5:30, program at 6 pm.  Please join them and come together to thank volunteers, celebrate our parks community, and share a vision of the Emerald Necklace.  The Keynote Address will be given by Ned Friedman: The Emerald Necklace – Urban Gems of Landscape and Biodiversity.  There will be a special presentation of the 2013 Volunteer of the Year Award to Gerry Wright, co-founder of Olmsted 2022, Friends of Jamaica Pond, and Friends of Olmsted Park – Boston.  Hosting sponsor of this meeting is Simmons College, and the meeting sponsors are MASCO and Colleges of the Fenway.  This event is free and open to the public.  RSVP by November 4 online at www.emeraldnecklace.org, or by calling 617-522-2700.

William (Ned) Friedman is Director of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, and Arnold Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology.  He received an A.B. in Biology from Oberlin College and a Ph.D. in Botany from the University of California, Berkeley.