Planting at the Russell School 10/20
On Wednesday, October 20, volunteers are needed to work with students from the Russell Elementary School to help plant the area at the front entrance of the building. Members of the McCormack Civic Association’s CityRoots project will be planting with the kids (K and 1st) from 1 – 2 PM.
If you are available to help out that day, please give CityRoots Coordinator Filomena Riganti a call at 617.349.8856.
This is a great volunteer opportunity for older community members who enjoy planting, as the work with the students will not be physically demanding.
For those who are up for a bit more work, hands are needed at the school between 10AM and 1PM to help with prep work (planting a few larger shrubs and digging holes beforehand).
If you are available to help out during that 10:00-1:00 time, again please contact Filomena at friganti@urbaneco.org.
Volunteer day in urban orchards, 10/17
Earthworks has one last open volunteer day to clean up the orchards and put them to rest for winter.
On Sunday October 17th from 10am – 1pm Earthworks will be working with volunteers to help to pick any last fruit lingering on trees, cleaning up in and around the orchards, taking down summer pest control management, and making sure that the trees are lovingly tucked away for winter.
DEHC volunteers will be focusing on the several Dorchester orchards, so if you are interested in helping out for an hour or so, please call 617.442.1059 or email info@earthworksboston.org to RSVP, and specify you’d like to help out in Dorchester.
Today: Sweep for Bike Safety in Franklin Park
From DotBike:
Bicyclists owe a huge thank you to the Franklin Park Coalition and the Parks Department for the decision earlier this summer to officially allow bicyclists to ride the paved off-road paths through Franklin Park. So as a thank-you note, let’s help give the park some bike-friendly care by helping sweep excess sand and gravel off of frequently traveled areas.
Please join us on Wednesday August 11th at 6 pm on Pierpoint Rd. – close to the intersection with Circuit Drive where there are two stone shelters on
each side of the road. The Franklin Park Coalition has clean up tools such
as brooms and shovels that we can take around the park to tidy up the sandy scratchy bits. If you have a bike trailer and can tow it along to help
carry tools, that would be especially wonderful.
After the clean up, join us for pizza out on the porch behind the club
house.
Hope to see you there!
JP Bikes, Rozzie Bikes, Dot Bike and the Franklin Park Coalition
Green Jobs Available in Dorchester
Boston Project Ministries is looking for a Structural Engineer:
“We would like to add a large rooftop vegetable and flower garden to The Boston Project’s garage to help with food costs, improve the environment, and to be an example in our city. Our current need is for a structural engineer to examine the garage to assess if it can handle the weight of a garden.
If you know of someone in this field who would have interest in this volunteer project, please help connect us. Contact Paul with any recommendations. Future opportunities to volunteer with this project exist as well.”
The Community Assessment of Freeway Exposure and Health seeks a Community Outreach Worker:
“We seek committed and mature people who want to make a difference and care about the health and safety of their community. This initiative will study health effects as well as the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs participants have about highway pollution. Educational information will be developed about possible health risk from highway pollution. The ideal candidates for these positions are people who communicate clearly and enjoy working with and listen to others.”
See the full job description for contact information: CAFEH Boston Dorchester Job Flyer.
Volunteer to Clean Up the Neponset Estuary, July 18
Join the Neponset River Watershed Association for a fun morning in the salt marsh, removing trash from this beautiful and unique ecosystem. This is a great activity for families, teens, and adults alike!
The salt marsh acts as a filter for the Neponset, catching nutrients and debris as the water flows out to sea. As a result, we get a rich wetland habitat that supports a diversity of plants, fish, mollusks, insects and birds, but we also get an accumulation of trash from the water. You’ll be helping clean the estuary so it can offer its beauty to many more generations.
Gloves and tools will be provided, but please wear rain boots or other mud-worthy shoes, and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Hats, sunscreen and insect repellent are recommended.
The NepRWA will provide coffee and bagels in the morning, and pizza for lunch — many thanks to Radio Coffeehouse, Brueggers Bagels, and The Currach Bistro & Pizza!
Meet at 10AM in the parking lot off Granite Avenue at Hill Top Street, in Dorchester. View a map of the area. Public transit options: Butler Station on the Mattapan Trolley line, or Granite Ave on the 215 Bus from Quincy Center / Ashmont Station. RSVP to NepRWA Intern Alexa McKenzie at alexamck@yahoo.com or 781-575-0354 ext. 306.
volunteer to monitor water pollution
Come volunteer with the Citizen Water Monitoring Network (CWMN) program & help Neponset River Watershed Association (NepRWA) find & fix local water-pollution problems.
CWMN volunteers sample water at designated streams and ponds in the watershed on six Wednesday mornings, April through October. Volunteers take water samples between 6AM and 7:30AM. Free training is provided. Learn more about the CWMN program here.
To volunteer, contact NepRWA Environmental Scientist Bill Guenther at 781-575-0354 x302.
Be a Beetle Rancher!
Its that time of year again! The Neponset River Watershed Association is looking for Beetle Ranchers. Little beetles (“Galerucella”) are raised in local backyards then released to help control the exotic, invasive Purple loosestrife plants that have spread throughout local wetlands.
The vigorous Purple loosestrife outcompetes local, native wetland plants and changes habitat and food for native wildlife.
Galerucella change this trend. By feeding on Purple loosestrife, these beetles and their larvae can prevent the plants from growing as vigorously. Light is allowed into the wetland once again to nourish native plants, and fewer Purple loosestrife seeds are added to the seedbank.
NepRWA’s goal is to release enough Galerucella beetles in Fowl Meadow to reduce Purple loosestrife over the long-term, enable native plants to grow successfully, improve habitat and food for wildlife, and encourage wildlife to return. Continue Reading »
Apply Now! MUGatHOME Spring Session
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.
Lead Action Collaborative: Community Volunteer Day, Oct. 31
RAIN DATE - volunteer with the Lead Action Collaborative to help prevent childhood lead poisoning in Boston!
When: Saturday October 31, 2009, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM
*LUNCH PROVIDED FOR ALL VOLUNTEERS*
Where: Columbia Road, Dorchester – meet at 270 Columbia Road, in the parking lot of the Frederick Middle School
Since 1993 the Lead Action Collaborative (LAC) has played a leadership role in the fight to eliminate childhood lead poisoning in Boston. Childhood lead poisoning still affects hundreds of children in Boston every year. Made up of Continue Reading »
new green spots pop up all over dot
A busy group in the Polish Triangle – the John W. McCormack Civic – dedicated the new “Sharon’s Park” on Columbia Road last September, which they designed and built as a tribute to the late Sharon Yokaitis, a community activist who passed away in 2002 at age 47.
The same busy folks are building a new park this year, the Washburn Howell Green Space – with its rain gardens it will be a new buffed-up spot of green on Dorchester Avenue. There is still lots to get done, and they are asking for help on the project, check out the Dorchester enviro events calendar for dates and times to get your hands dirty.
