Winter Ready: Caring For The Greenway’s Fountains in the Cooler Months
The fountains along The Greenway are some of the most beloved parts of the park. Whether you’re splashing your way through the Rings Fountain or enjoying views in our North End park, they bring a level of ambiance to the space. The fountains shut off for the year on the second Tuesday in October until […]
Chin Park Lighting Project: Construction Updates & Background
The Greenway Conservancy has almost completed the construction of major lighting projects on The Greenway in Chinatown. These upgrades are focused on safety and community use and were informed by community feedback and input, as well as by recommendations of the Conservancy’s Chin Park Lighting Study, funded and supported by the Greenway Business Improvement District […]
Q&A with Javier Arrudas
Morning Team Lead/ Supervisor and Ambassador at Block by Block In order to maintain The Greenway to a high standard and provide a friendly park presence for the public, The Conservancy partners with Block by Block on basic services including snow removal, mowing, and cleaning. As an organization, Block by Block recruits and supports individuals […]
2022 Season Reflections: Drought on The Greenway
Written by Julia Lloyd, Lead Horticulturist This season you might have noticed The Greenway has been looking a little less green in some areas and a little more brown and crispy. Currently all of Massachusetts is experiencing some degree of drought, but the Boston area specifically is experiencing extreme drought. Rivers and watersheds throughout the […]
2022 Season Wrap Up: Ecological Healthcare Horticulture Intern
Written by Phoebe Westbrook, Ecological Healthcare Horticulture Intern Hello! My name is Phoebe Westbrook, and I am the Ecological Healthcare Horticulture Intern at the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy in Boston. I’ll be heading into my senior year at the University of Maine this fall, graduating with a degree in Environmental Horticulture, with a concentration in […]
North Meadow on The Greenway – History & Background
The Greenway Conservancy is delighted to announce the completion of North Meadow on The Greenway, the newest park space in Boston’s contemporary public park formerly known as Central Artery Parcel 2. North Meadow on The Greenway is a site of constant reinvention. Originally open water within the Charles River estuary, this location was dammed to […]
No Mow May on The Greenway
Have you noticed that the mowing crews are skipping certain lawns on The Greenway this spring? Don’t fret! The Greenway Conservancy is participating in Plantlife’s No Mow May, an international initiative meant to support pollinators, reduce lawn inputs, and grow healthier lawns. No Mow May, first popularized in Europe, challenges landscapers and homeowners to let […]
Park Renovations – The Greenway in Chinatown
The Greenway Conservancy is thrilled to announce the completion of the first round of park renovations on The Greenway in Chinatown. These upgrades are focused on safety and community use and were informed by community feedback and input, as well as by recommendations of the Conservancy’s Chin Park Lighting Study, funded and supported by the […]
Earth Day 2021
Earth Day is an opportunity to reflect on the environment around you, educate yourself and others on the health of the planet, and take action. In a regular year, Earth Day would bring 100 volunteers to The Greenway to join a park-wide community cleanup. While we won’t be celebrating in large groups yet, we are […]
Parting Words: A Decade of Sustainability on The Greenway
Written by Jesse Brackenbury, Executive Director As I prepare to depart in late April to lead the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, I wanted to reflect on the Greenway Conservancy’s efforts over the eleven years I’ve worked here. I’ve been lucky to work on the care and improvement of The Greenway since the first year […]
Climate Change and The Greenway
The Rose Kennedy Greenway, located one block west of Boston’s downtown waterfront faces significant and growing risks of damage and disruption from climate change and extreme storm events. In 2020, the Greenway Conservancy commissioned a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Asset Management Plan. Reassuringly, the Conservancy has sufficient funding to implement the report’s high-priority recommendations […]
The Greenway “State of Good Repair” is Great
The Greenway Conservancy recently completed a State of Good Repair (SGR) Study to assess the condition of the park infrastructure. Commissioned with funds from the Greenway Business Improvement District (BID), SGR consultant VHB provided the Conservancy with a geospatial database detailing 1,028 assets on The Greenway, ranging from paving to fountain components to benches. The […]
Spill the (Compost) Tea: Questions & Answers on Greenway Conservancy Organic Practices
Thank you to those that joined our October 22 webinar, diving deeper on the what, why, and how of the Conservancy’s organic practices, especially the brewing and application of compost tea to promote healthy soils. Greenway Conservancy Director of Programs and Community Engagement Keelin Caldwell moderated a lively conversation engaging perspectives from Conservancy horticultural experts […]
COVID-19 | Updates from the Greenway Conservancy
The Greenway remains open for the public to enjoy while observing safe physical distancing guidelines. We have made changes to our day-to-day operations and care of The Greenway, such as increasing the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting of high-use surfaces in the park and requiring non-essential staff to work remotely. This below information is no […]
What’s blooming on The Greenway this July
Written by Darrah Cole, Senior Horticulturist and Designer and Nicole Semeraro, Seasonal Horticulturist How does a bear know when it’s time to hibernate? Why do April showers bring May flowers? Many plants and animals don’t have calendars but take cues from the changing seasons. Changes such as temperature, precipitation, and length of day signal organisms […]
What’s blooming on The Greenway this May and how we know!
Written by Darrah Cole, Senior Horticulturist and Designer How does a bear know when it’s time to hibernate? Why do April showers bring May flowers? Many plants and animals don’t have calendars but take cues from the changing seasons. Changes such as temperature, precipitation, and length of day signal organisms to enter new phases of […]
Supporting our Native Pollinators at home and on The Greenway
Written by Tori Hiney, Ecological Health Care Horticulturist Spring is in the air and on The Greenway as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day! The park is coming back to life after our mild winter, blooms abound, and we are starting to see our polli-neighbors emerge. In case you need a reminder, we […]
Water Conservation on The Greenway: Match Precipitation & Cup Count
Written by Michael Bestoso, Landscape and Irrigation Specialist The Greenway Conservancy constantly strives to improve our irrigation system throughout the park, making it more efficient and sustainable in both practice and performance. Today, in celebration of Earth Day, we’ll be discussing one of our strategies in depth, a process called match precipitation. Match Precipitation involves […]
Earth Day 2020 | A Message from the Greenway Conservancy
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and the Greenway Conservancy is ready to celebrate! Earth Day is an opportunity to step back and think about the environment, to educate yourself and others on the health of the planet, and to take action. Typically, Earth Day on The Greenway has been a […]
Voices of Volunteerism: Karen Bergstrand
Written by Isabel Smith, Volunteer Programs Coordinator As a non profit, the Greenway Conservancy depends on the efforts of our many talented volunteers, both in the park and in the office. It is their dedication to The Greenway that makes it possible for us to have such a dynamic public space. Volunteer Spotlight: Karen Bergstrand […]
Looking back at 2019
As the Greenway Conservancy wraps up our tenth (10!) season maintaining and operating The Greenway, we wanted to take a moment to look back at some of our favorite moments of the last year on Boston’s contemporary public park. From our ever-changing public art installations to free public programming, sustainably maintained lawns and gardens to […]
Keeping our Greenway Lawns Healthy and Happy
Written by Keelin Caldwell, Director of Programming and Community Engagement As this hot and humid summer winds down, we wanted to share a bit more about how our #GreenwayHort staff cares for our lawns during this challenging growing season! Turf plants have some amazing adaptations that allow them to be grown and managed as […]
Zone Gardening on The Greenway
Written by Karla Noboa, Volunteer and Programs Coordinator The Greenway’s ribbon of parks was conceptualized and installed by a range of landscape designers, resulting in distinct plant palettes, design elements and care needs in each major park area. We at the Conservancy often think of these major areas as the North End, the Wharf District, […]
Carolyn Lynch Garden on The Greenway opens to the public!
Today in the North End, the Carolyn Lynch Garden on The Greenway opens to the public! Though the renovation area is no longer fenced off, improvements will continue for the next few weeks as we install new furniture and planters, and introduce additional plants to the boxwood garden beds. The Carolyn Lynch Garden on […]
Part II: Our Pollinator Ribbon on The Greenway
Written by Tori Hiney, Plant Health Care Horticulturist How do we maintain our Pollinator population? If you missed Part One of this blog or you are unfamiliar with The Greenway, we are an organic park that sits atop the I-93 tunnel. Given our close proximity to the Boston Inner Harbor, we are dedicated to promoting and maintaining […]
