Boston Flora

Tag: Tom McNichol

  • Monday, May 8, 5:00 pm – Annual Meeting of The Garden Club of the Back Bay, Inc.

    Monday, May 8, 5:00 pm – Annual Meeting of The Garden Club of the Back Bay, Inc.

    The Annual Meeting of the Garden Club of the Back Bay will take place Monday, May 8 at 5:00 pm at The College Club of Boston, 44 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston.  We will welcome Tom McNichol from the Charles River Clean Up Boat, a GCBB grant recipient, who will give a short talk on the work of his organization, and following the business meeting where we will vote on grants and select new officers for 2017/2018, there will be a reception.  Members will receive written notice, but if you are not a member and wish to attend please email info@bostonflora.com before May 5.  Image courtesy of the Christian Science Monitor.

  • Charles River Clean Up Boat Update

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay is proud to support Tom McNichol and the Charles River Clean Up Boat.  Below is Tom’s end of season wrap up and a link to an article published in The Boston Globe. To contribute, visit www.cleanupboat.org:

    It’s been a wonderful year on the Charles. The Spring was rainy and it upset our schedule for a while, but by the end of June we were right on track.

    The 4th of July was a great party and a credit to the City and all the people and organizations involved in putting it on.

    For the Clean Up Boat it is always a day we need to prepare for. This year, in an effort to get some new donors, we worked to get some publicity. Anne Benaquist worked hard to get articles in the Cambridge and Newton Tabs. The Metrowest Daily News wrote a nice article on the Clean Up Boat. But nary a donation materialized from these efforts. Peter DeMarco wrote an article in the Globe when we were starting (9 years ago) and it generate a number of donations that got us going. Since this was our 10th year he agreed to do another story, only if I guaranteed that there would be trash. The first time he came, we went all day and got very little trash. So I set it up for him to come right after the 4th, and we did not disappoint him.  By the way, David Solomon was the crew for that day, and the article included a nice picture of him.

    The volunteers have been wonderful. Always on time. Always cheerful, enthusiastic and hard working. Our schedule was basically full in late July and we have had only a rare cancellation.

    We are doing a great job. Last Friday, Bob Gaffney, a 10 year veteran captain of the Clean Up Boat, reported he had never seen the river so clean.

    Our combined efforts have kept the river clean, for so long, that people assume it is always clean. Not so, but our efforts have made it so. As always take a few moments and enjoy this unique asset that we have right in the middle of our metropolitan area.

    Link to Boston Globe article: http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2013/08/19/tom-mcnichol-for-decade-charles-river-not-unofficial-garbage-man/wZDgF6xZNU5Kb8ZA0s9vLI/story.html

    http://www.bostonglobe.com/rf/image_r/Boston/2011-2020/2013/07/09/BostonGlobe.com/Lifestyle/Images/maeda_CleaningtheCharles_g1.r.jpg

     

  • Charles River Clean Up Boat Update

    Charles River Clean Up Boat Update

    From our friend Tom McNichol of the Charles River Clean Up Boat, a post Fourth of July update:

    “We got the river clean early this year with help for the Charles River Yacht Club, and kept it clean until the 4th of July.

    Again we all had a world class party, one the whole city can be very proud to be part of. Even the evacuation and rain had little effect on the enthusiasm, and patriotism, displayed. Part of the deal is after every party you have to clean up. We expect it every year, and consider it our contribution to the bash. We started our part of the clean up on July 5th.

    Now a little information on fireworks. Every rocket has a tube it is fired from. These tubes are loaded days in advance and each one has a colorful plastic cap covering the upturned end. It’s purpose is to keep water and debris out of the charges prior to firing. When the weather is good these caps are removed prior to firing. This year it is a good thing that they were not removed, as it began to pour just as the first rocket was fired. You guessed it, the down side is hundreds, maybe thousands were fired into the river in addition to the normal residue from the rockets. See attached photos.

    We will keep finding them for months as they come out from under docks and the bushes. The good news is, after 4 days on the river, we have picked up all of the obvious ones. The rest we will get on subsequent trips, but you should not see any as you walk along the river. In fact we are back to a clean beautiful river.

    Funding wise we are getting to where we need to be. I am sure a number of our supporters just haven’t got around to sending the check.. I need to get on the phone and make some calls. Just not my favorite activity and I tend to procrastinate.

    As to volunteers…WOW… we already have crews for every scheduled day for the rest of the year. This is the first time we have filled up so early. Thank you very much, everybody

    The boat is running strong, the weather has been clear and dry, for the most part, the river is clean and the concerts are in full swing.

    You have played a part in keeping the wonderful playground beautiful. Come out and enjoy.”

    If you are interested in making a donation to support the operation of the Clean Up Boat, please contact Tom McNichol at 508.877.3624, or email  cleanupboat@yahoo.com.