Boston Flora

Tag: Urban Farming Institute

  • Monday, July 6 – Friday, August 14 – Young Farmers Project Internship

    This summer the Urban Farming Institute is inviting a small cohort of youth to join us on the farm in our movement toward building a healthy community. Young Farmers Project is a program that will serve as a site of belonging and transformation for youth where we will combine hands-on land-based skills, art, collective leadership, civic engagement, and political education to develop a loving relationship with the land, ourselves, and each other.

    Together we will…

    Learn how to grow food through hands-on farming

Explore nature and our local ecosystems

Make art, share food, and move our bodies

Design a community action project based on the needs in our lives and community

Share what we learn with our community

Consider our passions, experiences, and skills in creating positive social change

    Program Dates:
    July 6 – August 14 (6 weeks)
    This program will run from Monday – Friday (28 hours/week)
    9:00 am – 3:00 pm (Wednesdays 9:00 am – 1:00 pm)

    Location:

    Urban Farming Institute
    487 Norfolk Street
    Mattapan, MA 02186

    Compensation: $16/hour; 28 hours per week

    For complete information visit https://www.urbanfarminginstitute.org/young-farmers-project

  • Saturday, May 8, 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm – Growing Fruitful Peach Trees

    The Urban Farming Institute will conduct a workshop in its Grow Series on Saturday, May 8 at noon with guest speaker Ryleigh Rivers. The event takes place at the Fowler Clark Epstein Farm, 487 Norfolk Street in Mattapan. Registration is encouraged – email info@urbanfarminginstitute.org or call 617-989-9920.

  • Saturday, February 7, 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm – Winter Houseplant Care

    The Urban Farming Institute will hold a Grow Series Workshop on Saturday, February 7 at noon at the Urban Farming Institute , 487 Norfolk Street in Mattapan, with guest speaker Cassandra Desroches. Registration encouraged at info@urbanfarminginstitute.org or call 617-989-9920.

  • Saturday, March 28 – Save the Date: Massachusetts Urban Farming Symposium

    The Urban Farming Institute’s Urban Farming Symposium will be back on March 28, 2026. This one-day, in-person gathering will bring together farmers, growers, youth, policymakers, and community leaders from across the Commonwealth.

    Registration opens in February at https://www.urbanfarminginstitute.org/events/the-massachusetts-commercial-urban-farming-symposium
    For more info: rose.arruda@mass.gov

  • Wednesday, January 15 – Application Deadline for 2025 Urban Ag Mentor Farm Program

    UMass Extension will work with three urban farms across Massachusetts to provide tailored and sustained technical assistance to help them tackle their most challenging issues over the course of the next year. Application deadline is Wednesday, January 15. For more information email urbanag@umass.edu.

    Last year’s farms were Nordica Street Community Farm in Springfield, the Regional Environmental Council’s YouthGROW program in Worcester, and Boston’s Urban Farming Institute. Each farm chose a program focus on pest management.

  • Saturday, October 28, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Mattapan Free Tree Giveaway

    Join Speak for the Trees at the Urban Farming Institute as they host a FREE Fall tree giveaway. The Urban Farming Institute (UFI) is located at 487 Norfolk Street, Mattapan, MA 02126. UFI is building on its strength to turn the neighborhood of Mattapan green. They envision deep and distributed farming networks, in which any location can be a place where food is grown for local consumption, local sales and local distribution. Register in advance at https://treeboston.org/events/event/ufi-trees/

    Mattapan is listed as an EJ (environmental justice) community, where tree canopy coverage is at an inequitable level in comparison to other areas in Boston. At Speak for the Trees, we work at the intersection of environmental justice, racial and social equity, public health, and climate change to advocate for a healthy and equitable urban forest in all Boston neighborhoods. First come, first served. Boston residents only until 1pm. All residents are welcome to come after 1pm for remaining trees.

  • Saturday, October 28, 10:00 am – Mattapan Tree Giveaway

    Join Speak for the Trees at the Urban Farming Institute on October 28 as we host a FREE Fall tree giveaway. The Urban Farming Institute (UFI) is located at 487 Norfolk Street, Mattapan, MA 02126. UFI is building on its strength to turn the neighborhood of Mattapan green. They envision deep and distributed farming networks, in which any location can be a place where food is grown for local consumption, local sales and local distribution.

    Mattapan is listed as an EJ (environmental justice) community, where tree canopy coverage is at an inequitable level in comparison to other areas in Boston. At Speak for the Trees, we work at the intersection of environmental justice, racial and social equity, public health, and climate change to advocate for a healthy and equitable urban forest in all Boston neighborhoods. First come, first served. Boston residents only until 1pm. All residents are welcome to come after 1pm for remaining trees.

  • Thursday, October 5 – Saturday, October 7 – America in Bloom National Symposium

    The 2017 America in Bloom National Symposium is coming to New England for the first time this October.  The Town of Holliston will host the event October 5 – 7, and attendees from out of state will lodge at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel & Conference Center.

    The conference kicks off with an East Coast Garden Tour on Thursday, October 5 from 10 – 4, advance registration required. If you want to experience horticultural heritage in the Boston area at its best, this tour is for you! We’ll start by visiting one of the oldest and finest garden centers in the Boston area, Weston Nurseries. Known for offering exceptional plants and garden ideas, this nursery in Hopkinton, MA also has an amazing railroad garden. After touring the garden center we’ll enjoy lunch hosted by Peter Mezitt, fourth generation nursery owner. Then we will head to The Gardens at Elm Bank in Wellesley, MA, headquarters of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Here we will enjoy special tours of 12 display gardens, including an historic Olmsted Italianate Garden as well as the Bressingham Garden designed by English nurseryman Adrian Bloom. The last stop on the tour is to Wellesley College, rated one of the most beautiful small college campuses in the country. We will have a special tour of their botanic garden which now focuses on the fundamental role of plants in nature and culture. The cost is $50 and includes lunch. Tour is limited to 50 people so register early.

    If you prefer, take a tour of the Urban Farming Institute from 1 – 4. If you believe in sourcing local, fresh food, don’t miss this tour! The Urban Farming Institute is a brand-new concept in the historically-diverse Roxbury/Dorchester/Mattapan neighborhoods of Boston. The Institute’s mission is to develop and promote urban farming as a commercial sector within the city and to create green collar jobs for residents. It is also committed to engaging its urban community in building a healthier and more locally-based food system. The Fowler-Clark-Epstein Farm, currently under reconstruction, is becoming the center for celebrating the agricultural heritage of the Boston area as well as the cultural and historic heritage of this unique community. On this tour, you will see first-hand the work the Institute is doing to enable urban farming through farm creation, farmer training, public education, and policy change, and how the Institute brings people in urban neighborhoods closer to food production. Your tour leader is Barbara Knecht, partner in “Strategies for Cities.” Barbara has brought 30 years of developing urban land for public good and a love of all things edible to her work developing urban farm sites. The cost is $35. Tour is limited to 11 people so register early.

    Prior to that evening’s silent auction and cocktail reception there will be a Mayor and Elected Leaders Reception, and later, a Celebration Dinner.

    The Symposium begins in earnest on Friday, with a Keynote Presentation by Ken Kruckemeyer, board member of LivableStreets Alliance and partner in “Strategies for Cities.” Ken specializes in the design of civil infrastructure focusing in pedestrian and bicycle corridors as well as roadway and bridge design. Historic preservation has become a fundamental tool for strengthening communities. When understood as a combination of physical and human attributes, it can provide a framework for communities to build on their assets and improve health, affordability, prosperity, and well-being. Historic preservation can make it possible to achieve a wide range of public goals, including small business incubation, affordable housing, sustainable development, neighborhood renewal, heritage tourism, and economic development. By examples primarily drawn from his Boston experience, Ken will address the importance of historic preservation and the role that walkable corridors play in an effective immersion in the historic character of a community.

    Friday brings a host of panel presentations such as Creating a Sense of Place Downtown, and a How-To Guide to Improving Your Town Through Horticulture. Afternoon and evening tours of the Freedom Trail and the Rose Kennedy Greenway, plus Mount Auburn Cemetery, are on offer.

    On Saturday the Showcase of Innovation continues, and America in Bloom President Katy Moss Warner will take a brief look at collective successes in her morning Keynote Speech. A lunch and Holliston Walking Tour round out the afternoon, and that evening, the America in Bloom Awards Banquet will take place.

    Full registration is $345, and by registering online at http://www.americainbloom.org/Symposium/Registration.aspx before September 8 you will receive a discount. You may also call 614-453-0744, or email aib@AmericainBloom.org.