Why the Greenway Conservancy is a Top-Rated Nonprofit in the Boston Parks Community
Have you heard? The Greenway Conservancy is a Top-Rated Nonprofit in Boston for 2024! This recognition from Great Nonprofits shows that it truly takes a village to make The Greenway such a special place. A beautiful downtown park in Boston requires an exceptional team, and we are grateful for the contributions of our volunteers. Your […]
Meet our 2019 Greenway Interns!
Will Palauskas Outreach Intern Will is a rising junior at Emerson College where he is studying Marketing Communication with a minor in Environmental Studies. He is the President of Emerson Green Collective, an environmental advocacy organization at his college. Will also was one of the first riders of the Greenway Carousel when it was first […]
Meet our 2018 Greenway Interns!
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 […]
Meet our 2017 Greenway Interns
Alex Carbone, Horticulture Intern Alex is a graduate of UMass Amherst with a degree in Environmental Design and concentration in Horticulture. He has held several positions as an environmental technician, horticultural intern, and urban volunteer. Aside from working locally, Alex has traveled to Copenhagen to study European design and sustainable development. He is currently a […]
Volunteer Feature: Peter Zalewski
In 2010, when we started our volunteer program, nearby resident Peter Zalewski was one of the first to join, and has been a dedicated volunteer since. With a recent move that relocated him a distance from Boston, he can no longer commit to his monthly hours, but he is still a friend and a Greenway […]
A Great Year for Greenway Volunteers!
The Greenway Conservancy has a robust volunteer program that is crucial in supporting a variety of our operations. Each January we take a look back at how our volunteers have helped us and how to improve for the coming year. Here’s a peek at some of our metrics and data, and plans for the future! […]
Eat & Drink Local: Greenway Herbs Showing Up On Local Menus!
A few years ago we told you about plans to develop a multi-faceted Demonstration Garden in our Dewey Square Park. At the time, our Senior Horticulturist and Designer, Darrah Cole, spoke to the Conservancy’s intent to create a raised edible garden and outdoor classroom for instruction: We want the garden to serve as a great example […]
Spring Lawn Aeration & Treatments Begin
Today, Wednesday, May 6, 2015, The Greenway Horticulture team continues the Spring time Lawn Aeration and fertilization process. Our Horticulture foreman, Anthony, is on the Greenway tractor using our fracking aerator (it’s a good thing) to loosen our lawns, while our Seasonal horticulture staff (Mike, Tori, Alaina and Gary) aerate the lawn in and around […]
Staff Planting Day: Wharf District Park
Our Horticulture staff held a big planting day on Monday to get a number of plants into a Wharf District Park bed that we are revitalizing on the Greenway between High St. (Rowes’ Wharf Plaza) and India St. The rains that we’re enjoying beginning today will help tremendously. Our trees and plant leaves are starting […]
Opuntia – the only native New England cactus
Opuntia humifusa, or Eastern Prickly Pear is our only native cactus. It is surprising we have even one, and it is blooming right NOW on the Greenway. The specimen on the Greenway is planted in the Wharf district – close to the art installation titled Harbor Fog. Our plant came as 5 single, rooted cuttings […]
Classifying Wonder: One Approach on Getting to Know the Greenway
I am not a biologist. I’m not a horticulturalist, a botanist, a dendrologist. I can only tell you so much about the pH levels in soil, or the bug crawling around in that soil, or the delicate relationship between the two. But I still really, really love Nature. Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of […]
Organic Turf Maintenance on the Greenway
Note: This article appeared in a recent issue of the Ecological Landscape Association newsletter and was written by Anthony Ruggiero, our Horticulture Foreman. The Greenway is a mile-and-a-half-long public park that stretches from Chinatown to the North End in downtown Boston. It is a linear series of small parks that sit above the I-93 tunnel […]
Green & Grow Summer Interns are Back!
The Conservancy is so excited to have our summer interns again! Joining us this year (from the left of Darrah, a Greenway Horticulturist) are: Waverly, Andrew, Humberto, and Sam. All have graduated from the Green & Grow Apprenticeship Program and Sam and Waverly both completed the summer internship in 2012. “Things have really grown, I […]
It Pays to Volunteer!
There are lots of ways in which volunteering for the Greenway Conservancy can benefit you! Here are just a few reasons to come out and join our staff in caring for the parks: Kelly, our Seasonal Horticulturist, trained our volunteers how to prune roses two weeks ago in the Fort Point Channel Parks. If you have […]
Working with Volunteers on the Greenway This Week
We have a number of volunteer workdays scheduled during this week bookmarked by Earth Day (on Monday, April 22nd) and Arbor Day (on Friday, April 26th). It’s a busy time on the Greenway, with daffodils in full flower, trees and plants budding or showing great spring color and lots of work to complete. Before we […]
4/2/13 North End Community Meeting Summary
Our thanks to more than 30 people who attended our North End Community Meeting on April 2nd at Fairmont Hotel in the North End. Our opening presentation is linked here and we’ve done our best to summarize the questions (and answers) as well as input from participants. From the Facilities and Maintenance Breakout, Steve Anderson, […]
What’s In Bloom
I find great delight in the surprise of a brilliant flash of red, the crisp lines of twigs swollen with next year’s leaf buds, and the soft, antler-like show of Magnolia flower buds.
Transplanting
There’s been a flurry of fall projects continuing on portions of the greenway these past few weeks focusing on drainage improvements, transplanting shrubs and trees, and turf replacement. Our Horticulture staff is been in the thick of it, working with a variety of contractors to get all of the work done. We spoke with […]
National Public Lands Volunteer Day
Our first National Public Lands volunteer day on Saturday, September 29th on the Greenway had a rainy start, but by the time volunteers began to arrive at six different locations to dig into their tasks for the morning, the rain had departed and we had a cool, overcast day to tackle the mountain of work laid out by our horticulture and maintenance staff.
The Grass is Greener
During the past week, several sections of turf that had experienced compaction due to rain and then heavy foot traffic have been replaced. We spoke with Stu Shillaber, Superintendent of Horticulture for the Greenway Conservancy, about the process.
What’s In Bloom
August is always one of our showiest months of flowers on the Greenway. From dinner plate-sized Hibiscus to aromatic Mountain Mint, we’ve got a flower for every style and predilection.
First Dewey Harvest Donated
We have donated our first batch of home grown veggies to Lovin’ Spoonfuls—a local nonprofit that collects and distributes food to crisis centers, soup kitchens, and other social service entities.
What’s In Bloom
In late June we observed a very exciting and unique horticultural event: the first flowering of our Eastern Prickly Pear! The Eastern Prickly Pear is a member of the cactus family, and is native to Massachusetts. These plants are listed as endangered, and we have enjoyed introducing them into the park and observing how well they have survived in our urban public space.
What’s in Bloom
Our organically maintained landscape provides shelter and food for many organisms. We have observed a plethora of pollinators enjoying our plant material already this year, and we have also encountered our fair share of pests and disease, but we have been pleased to see evidence of our cultivated environment working to protect itself. Our commitment to organic land care has given us a great appreciation for beneficial insects.
