GreenDorchester (Dorchester Environmental Health Coalition)

There are plenty of plots still available in Dorchester’s community  gardens. Contact the garden coordinator for more information about tending your own plot!  Gardens with available plots are listed below.

29 Josephine Street Garden
Contact Nolan Smith, 617-282-5994

33 Bullard Street Garden
Contact Karen Chaffee, 617-542-7696 x19
info@bostonnatural.org

39 Barry Street Garden
Contact Karen Chaffee, 617-542-7696 x19
info@bostonnatural.org

Julian, Judson & Dean Streets Garden
36 Dean Street
Contact Domingos Ramos, dramos@bidmc.harvard.edu

Leyland Street Garden Extension
20 Leyland Street
Contact Pansy Carlton, 617-445-0088

74-76 Lucerne Street, Corner of Balsam
Contact Mary Bleach, 617-436-0282

96 Spencer Street Garden
Contact Eulie Fair, 617-288-4432

To find another community garden in Dorchester, visit BNAN or see the full list after the break. Continue Reading »

Last Wednesday, we had the opportunity to attend the Green Roof workshop sponsored by the Urban Ecology Institute and CityRoots.  At the workshop, Filomena from CityRoots installed an extensive green roof on a tool shed at the Claybourne Street Community Garden.  The tool shed had been built last year with the help of YouthBuild with the intention of installing a green roof in the future.

Rooftop gardens can be built on any horizontal or slightly tilted roof, and they have many benefits.  They provide insulation, cooling in hot weather and keeping warmth in during the winter; they reduce pollution caused by excessive storm water runoff, and when installed properly, they prevent roof leaks.

Here’s a quick guide to installing your own extensive (shallow) green roof:

• Choose a roof that can support between 15 to 30 lbs. per square foot
• Install a root barrier – a heavy-duty waterproofing layer.  A good choice is a double layer of 20 mil. pond liner.
• Add a drainage layer – Urban Ecology Institute recommends a lightweight granular medium, such as pebbles, or a synthetic layer that helps retain moisture.  An absorbent old carpet or a recycled blanket can work.
• Install a filter fabric on top of the drainage layer, with a honeycomb texture that can prevent fine soil particles from passing into the drainage layer.
• Add a lightweight, easily draining soil medium.  A good guideline is approximately 75% inorganic (such as crushed slate, clay or vermiculite) and 25% organic (compost or clean topsoil).  The picture to the left shows a mixture containing lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA) round stones.
• Choose a hardy and drought-tolerant plant such as sedum, hens and chicks, ice plants, chives, or columbine for the final layer.  Some species of grass are an option if you are planting in a soil mixture deeper than 6 inches.
• Weed once or twice per year – roots of invading woody plants can damage the waterproof roof lining.

For the full guide to building a simple green roof, written by CityRoots and the Urban Ecology Institute, click here.

From the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources:

“6 red maples infested by the Asian Long-Horned Beetles were discovered on the property of the Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain.  The trees have already been removed by the US Dept. of Agriculture and the State team.  Everyone is hopeful that this was an isolated infestation but USDA, MADA, DCR and others will be surveying  areas within a 1 1/2 mile radius of the infestation. This means that officials will want to survey trees on both public and private property over the next months.  USDA will provide photo ID’s to all tree personnel.”

What you can do:

• Inform yourself. See this site for how to recognize and report the beetle.  It is very important to be as informed as possible now that the beetle has been found on the Faulkner Hospital grounds, next to the Arnold Arboretum and not far from Franklin Park and Forest Hills Cemetery.
• Attend public meetings like the one at the Franklin Park Golf Clubhouse on Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 6:00 pm to discuss strategies with the Parks Department and the USDA so you can pass all necessary information on to your friends and neighbors.

—–

More from the Mass. Deprtment of Conservation & Recreation, 7/16/2010:
FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL OFFICIALS HOLDING ADDITIONAL PUBLIC MEETINGS TO DISCUSS ASIAN LONGHORNED BEETLE PRESENCE IN BOSTON
WHAT: Officials from the US Department of Agriculture, the MA Department of Conservation and Recreation, the MA Department of Agricultural Resources, the town of Brookline, and the city of Boston have scheduled two public meetings in Brookline and one in Boston this month to discuss the recent discovery of Asian longhorned beetles (ALB) in Jamaica Plain and the eradication efforts, which began immediately.
Over the July 4th weekend, six trees on the grounds of Faulkner Hospital were found to be infested by ALB. The trees were removed on Tuesday morning, July 6, and ALB project workers immediately began surveying trees within a 1.5-mile radius of the infested trees to look for evidence of additional beetles. Since then, no further infestation has been found in Boston.
—–

Information materials on the ALB are available at the following Boston and Brookline public library branches:
Boston -
West Roxbury Library, 1961 Centre Street, West Roxbury
Connolly Branch Library, 433 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain
Roslindale Library, 4238 Washington St., Roslindale,
Egleston Square Branch Library, 2044 Columbus Avenue, Roxbury
Jamaica Plain Library, 12 Sedgwick Street, Jamaica Plain
Brookline – Putterham Branch Library 959 West Roxbury Parkway
—–

PUBLIC MEETINGS:
Brookline
WHEN: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 and Thursday, July 29, 2010
6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. each night
WHERE: Brookline Public Library
Hunneman Hall, 361 Washington St., Brookline
—–
Boston
WHEN: Saturday, July 31, 2010
10 a.m.-Noon
WHERE: Curtis Hall Community Center, 20 South Street, 2nd floor, Jamaica Plain

—–

Wondering what to make for dinner?  Pick up some fresh food at the Dorchester House Farmers Market and get a free food sample from the UMass nutritionists while you’re there!  Today, from 11:30 am to 1:30pm, visit the Dorchester House Farmers Market at Dorchester House Multi-Service Center, 1353 Dorchester Avenue (map).

Find fresh produce from Flats Mentor Farm, ReVision House Urban Farm and Serving Ourselves Farm (at Long Island Shelter), all farms connected to socially-responsible programs.

Flats Mentor Farm still has Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares available and you can feel good about buying from them, since FMF “assists and supports small farmers of diverse ethnic backgrounds with the land, farming infrastructure and marketing assistance needed to promote and sustain successful farming enterprises”.

Victory Programs’ ReVision Urban Farm is locally based in Dorchester, and has transformed “over an acre of abandoned lots into productive and vibrant farmland”. The ReVision Urban Farm provides job-training for youth and Boston’s homeless, and partners with Victory Programs’ Revision House shelter in Franklin Field to promote healthy eating and sustainable farming while providing residents with free produce to use in their family meals.

The Farm at Long Island Shelter (Serving Ourselves Farm) is located right in Boston Harbor, each year producing nearly 30,000 pounds of high-quality vegetables, flowers, and herbs for the over 850 homeless individuals served each day. The Farm provides hands-on job training, work-readiness skills, life skills and education for homeless individuals as part of the Serving Ourselves Job Training Program. Individuals in the Culinary Arts track of the program have gone on to gain permanent, gainful employment in restaurant, food, horticulture and landscaping industries using skills they developed at the Farm.

In 2009, advocates in the neighborhood were able to enjoy some hard-earned new and improved open spaces in the neighborhood, like the new Elmhurst Playground in the Talbot Norfolk Triangle neighborhood, the new “Paul’s Park” at Washburn and Howell Streets in the Polish Triangle, and the improvements to the Geneva Cliffs Urban Wild in Bowdoin-Geneva.

DEHC was involved in a number of these efforts as an integral part of the larger community, and we look forward collaborating for a strong 2010 Continue Reading »

Boston Natural Areas Network (BNAN) announces the 2010 session of the Master Urban Gardener-AT HOME (MUGatHOME) program this spring.  This new program in its second year trains backyard gardeners in sustainable residential gardening techniques suitable for urban spaces. The MUGatHOME course uses elements of the MUG program – 35 hours of free landscape training in exchange for 35 hours of volunteer service assisting other backyard gardeners. The next course takes place beginning Saturday, April 3, 2010, through Saturday, May 15 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The program is for Boston residents with yards, rooftops, decks and other small spaces to garden. It includes techniques for growing ornamentals and vegetables using environmentally friendly techniques. The program addresses design planning, urban soil remediation, plant selection and placement, composting, and much more.

The volunteer service bank of MUGatHOME provides opportunities for students to solidify their learning while serving the larger community. Both MUG programs will create a new larger group of urban stewards, informed and willing to help make Boston a greener city.

Apply now for MUGatHOME; the application deadline is March 5, 2010.
Download the MUGatHOME Application from the website or call BNAN at 617-542-7696 to have an application mailed to you. Complete the application and send in by mail: BNAN c/o Stewardship Manager, 62 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02110-1008; email; or fax: 617-542-0383.

On Thursday January 14, 6:30 PM, please attend the Nightingale Community Gardens Community Meeting at the Codman Square Health Center Tech Center, 450 Washington Street (corner of Park Street, across from KFC).
Anyone who is interested in community garden space in Dorchester, especially in the Park Street/Washington Street vicinity, is invited to attend this open community meeting hosted by the Boston Natural Areas Network (BNAN) to discuss proposed renovations at the existing community gardens at 512 Park Street.

This is a huge underutilized green space near Codman Square. BNAN expects the following to be included in the plans for the construction phase:

• Removal of soil contamination and soil remediation
• Replace 10-foot tall fence with more inviting 5-foot tall fence
• Install metered water connection and spigots
• Remove or prune many of the trees in the garden
• Re-grade the garden
• Lay out and build new plots, including raised beds, to accommodate many more additional gardeners
• Establish new and level garden paths
• Build a common area for social gathering, meetings and community events
There will be a significant increase in the number of garden plots available.
Questions? please call Pat at 617-542-7696 or email pat@bostonnatural.org