Olmsted Summer Sundays with a Visiting Park Ranger
2022-07-03 10:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Shattuck Visitor Center, 125 The Fenway, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
For Frederick Law Olmsted’s Bicentennial in 2022, park rangers from Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site in Brookline are partnering with the Emerald Necklace Conservancy on a new interpretive program.
Stop by the Shattuck Visitor Center from 10AM to 4PM each Sunday this summer to meet a park ranger and learn about Olmsted’s “most important work,” the Emerald Necklace park system!

Olmsted Summer Sundays with a Visiting Park Ranger is an interpretive program by Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site hosted by the Emerald Necklace Conservancy as part of Olmsted Now: Greater Boston’s Olmsted Bicentennial. Learn more at olmstednow.org

Tuesdays with Roses
2022-08-16 17:30 - 19:30, 2022-08-23 17:30 - 19:30, 2022-08-30 17:30 - 19:30, 2022-09-13 17:30 - 19:30, 2022-09-20 17:30 - 19:30, 2022-10-04 17:30 - 19:30 | Kelleher Rose Garden, Back Bay Fens, Boston, MA, 02115
Join Emerald Necklace Conservancy staff and volunteers in the Kelleher Rose Garden to deadhead and prune roses and to weed the rose beds and borders. Training and tools are provided.
Registration is required in order to participate. Those who register will automatically receive an email with further details, including the necessary waiver to sign and specific information on where to meet and what to expect on the day of the event.

Olmsted Now Public Dialogue #8
2022-08-17 18:00 - 19:00
Each third Wednesday of the month, Olmsted Now invites the community to a public dialogue on shared use, shared health and shared power in parks and public spaces. These hour-long discussions are a platform to explore our bicentennial themes through the perspective of a guiding community voice.
Join us on August 17 from 6-7 PM for a public dialogue on Shared Power, which will feature a discussion lead by local youth who are tasked with stewarding public lands this summer. The youth will share how their experiences will impact their professional and personal legacies.
Click THIS ZOOM LINK to register.

Parks as Platform: JP Porchfest by Dunamis Boston at Jamaica Pond
2022-08-20 12:00 - 18:00 | Jamaica Pond Boathouse, 507 Jamaicaway, Boston, Massachusetts, 02130
For Olmsted Now, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy expands its annual free event series Summer on the Emerald Necklace into a shared resource for cross-neighborhood collaboration and community-generated public events from April through October 2022.
Each month, the Conservancy will collaborate with a site partner to anchor programming with extra support: securing permits, coordinating volunteers and providing amenities like signage, presentation/performance/convening space, portable utilities and restrooms, food trucks and more. The goal is to increase park access, amplify partner capacity to welcome expanded audiences and maximize impacts of diverse public offerings using the parks as platform.
August Parks as Platform:
Presented with Dunamis Boston, organizer of JP Porchfest
The next Parks as Platform will extend this annual neighborhood tradition to the park and transform the Jamaica Pond Boathouse into a lively “porch” music venue! JP Porchfest has been a pillar to the JP community since 2014, bringing together performers and local neighbors for a day of music, dance, theatre and more on porches throughout JP’s central streets.
Artist Lineup:
Hazel Afrodite – 12:00-12:30pm
R.O.D. – 12:30-1:00pm
Anju – 1:15-1:30pm
KDuran Music – 2:00-3:00pm
[60-minute intermission]
Saafyr – 4:00-4:30pm
Full Color – 5:00-6:00pm
Also featured:
ReachYou, an immersive augmented reality installation by Katrina and Jonah Goldsaito

Canceled: Tuesdays with Roses
2022-09-06 17:30 - 19:30 | Kelleher Rose Garden, Back Bay Fens, Boston, MA, 02115
Due to inclement weather, this installment of Tuesdays with Roses has been canceled.
Join Emerald Necklace Conservancy staff and volunteers in the Kelleher Rose Garden to deadhead and prune roses and to weed the rose beds and borders. Training and tools are provided.
Registration is required in order to participate. Those who register will automatically receive an email with further details, including the necessary waiver to sign and specific information on where to meet and what to expect on the day of the event.

Second Saturdays: Volunteer Stewardship in Olmsted Park
2022-09-10 10:00 - 12:00 | Olmsted Park, 217 Jamaicaway, Boston, MA, 02130, United States
Join Emerald Necklace Conservancy staff and volunteers with land stewardship and invasive species removal work in the Emerald Necklace parks on Saturday, September 10! We will be removing brush, debris, and invasive species from Olmsted Park.
Registration is required in order to participate in this event. Those who register will automatically receive an email from Alyx Britton, the Land Stewardship Coordinator, with further details, including the necessary waivers to sign and specific information on where to meet and what to expect on the day of the event.

Parkfest Bluebikes Registration
2022-09-19 08:00 - 2022-09-23 16:00
We are so excited to partner with Bluebikes this year to get you free rides for the day of Emerald Necklace Parkfest on September 24, 2022! Once you complete the sign-up form below you will be forwarded a single use code to use on the Bluebikes app to get free rides for the day! See below for details:

Each code is valid for one single use, only for the Adventure Pass (in the Bluebikes app) or Explorer Pass (at Bluebikes kiosk) on 9/24 only.
A credit card is required.
Passes are valid for 24 hours from the time of purchase and include an unlimited number of rides up to 2 hours
Rides longer than 2 hours incur Usage fees of $2.50/hour.
Once you fill out this form, you will receive an email confirmation, followed by a one-time use code on September 23 to use on the Bluebikes app.
Bluebikes will put a $50 hold on your card while you are using your bike and refund it in full once you return the bike to a station. If you are accidentally charged for anything you can contact us at info@emeraldnecklace.org and we will make sure any charges are refunded.
Make sure you get the green light when returning a bike, bikes that are not returned incur a $1200 lost bike fee.

Thank you for your interest. Registrations for passes closed at 4:00PM on September 23.

Emerald Necklace Parkfest
2022-09-24 13:00 - 18:00 | Emerald Necklace, MA, United States
When:
1-6pm, Saturday, September 24. Rain date: Sunday, September 25
Where:
All 5.5 miles of the Emerald Necklace, including Charlesgate Park, Back Bay Fens, Riverway, Olmsted Park, Jamaica Pond, Arnold Arboretum and Franklin Park
Presented by the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Emerald Necklace Parkfest marks Frederick Law Olmsted’s 200th year with afternoon activities at seven sites across the park system he designed.
Parkfest Activities (Click here to view the site map)
All Parks
Scavenger Hunts, Picnic Zones and Parade Decorating by CultureHouse

Charlesgate Park (North Lawn) 1-4PM
– Tree Care Tours: 1PM and 3PM
– Tour of Charlesgate Park: 2PM (register here)
– Pétanque play and lessons: 1PM-4PM
– Hip-hop by Bridgeside Cypher: 1PM-4PM

Back Bay Fens (Shattuck Visitor Center) 1-4PM
– Lawn Games: 1PM-4PM
– Trivia & refreshments by Verizon: 1PM-4PM
– Fenway Victory Gardens Pollinator Garden Grand Opening: 1PM-3PM
– Book talk by author Stanley Greenberg (Olmsted Trees): 2PM-3PM
– Intro to Volunteer Field Work: 3PM-4PM

Riverway (Brookline Ave. and Parkway Road) 1-4PM
– Lawn Games by Emerald Necklace Conservancy and Verizon: 1PM-4PM
– Nature Immersion: 1PM and 3PM

Olmsted Park (Allerton Overlook) 1-4PM
– Triveni Classical Indian Dancers: 2PM and 3PM
– Music by DJ KO’d: 1PM-4PM
– Lawn games by REI: 1PM-4PM
– Central Park Design competition: 1PM-4PM
– Food Truck (TBA)

Jamaica Pond (Boathouse) 1-6PM
– Analog Photography with Edie Bresler: 1PM-4PM
– Drag Queen Story Hour: 1PM-4PM
– 1-hour Sailing Rentals: 1PM-6PM
– Photo booth by Verizon: 1PM-6PM
– Pop-up learning stations by National Parks Service Rangers: 1PM-6PM
– Food Truck: Kush by Saba

Arnold Arboretum (Hunnewell Visitor Center) 1-4PM
– The Caterpillar Lab: 1PM-4PM
– Tours of the Arnold Arboretum: 1PM-4PM

Franklin Park (Shattuck Picnic Grove) 1-6PM
– Learn about Shattuck Hospital Advocacy: 1PM and 3PM
– Music by A Trike Called Funk: 1:30PM-3:30PM
– Community Art with Canvas Studio: 1PM-6PM
– Puppet Making with Mothers Out Front: 2:30PM-5PM
– Lawn games by Verizon and Emerald Necklace Conservancy: 1PM-6PM
– Youth opera: “Mr. Twister“ by Mothers Out Front: 4PM and 5PM
– Park Parade with music by DJ KO’d: 5:30PM-6PM
– Food Truck: Zaaki

Interested in sponsoring Parkfest? Reach out to Claire Curran at ccurran@emeraldnecklace.org.
Seeking Volunteers:
Are you 18+ and eager to meet people and learn more about the parks? The Conservancy welcomes you to volunteer with an amazing team of site leaders to make Parkfest fabulously fun, accessible and welcoming. Shifts start at 11:30AM and end by 7:30PM. Benefits include access to cool performers, photo ops, snazzy snacks, learning some new place-making skills, a limited-edition Olmsted Now T-shirt and more! Learn more and sign up here.

Programs like Emerald Necklace Parkfest would not be possible without our Olmsted Now champions—supporters like you! As our bicentennial programming reaches its crescendo this fall, give a gift today to help support the impact Olmsted Now is making throughout Boston and beyond!

This event is part of Parks as Platform, a program of Olmsted Now: Greater Boston’s Olmsted Bicentennial.
Stay up-to-date with Olmsted Now by following @olmstednow on Instagram!
Olmsted Now is made possible by Emerald Necklace Conservancy and Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site (Fairsted), with generous support from Paul and Katie Buttenwieser, National Collaborative for Health Equity, Kate and Ben Taylor, Ashley and Jamie Harmon, Verizon, Brooke and Jeff Cook, Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation, Davis Family Charitable Foundation, Four Lucky Dogs, Marjorie and Nicholas Greville, Hastings Family Foundation, Sarah Freeman, Highland Partners Charitable Fund, Lois R. Kunian, The Caroline Loughlin Fund, The Lawrence & Lillian Solomon Foundation, the “Come Together” Fund of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy Board and other individuals, organizations and businesses.
Additional support for Emerald Necklace Parkfest is provided by the Urban Connections Program of the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, Trillium, Colleges of the Fenway, Focus Real Estate, Bluebikes, Mission Hill/Fenway Neighborhood Trust, Inc., Boston Red Sox, Faithful Flowers, Reed Hilderbrand, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Cervone Deegan & Associates at Coldwell Banker, Charlesgate Alliance, Longwood Collective, Roxbury Tenants of Harvard Association and Harvard Medical School. The Conservancy is a public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is the fiscal agent for Olmsted Now. In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.

Charlesgate Park Tour
2022-09-24 14:00 - 15:30, 2022-10-01 12:00 - 13:30, 2022-10-01 14:00 - 15:30, 2022-10-12 12:30 - 14:00, 2022-10-17 15:30 - 17:00, 2022-10-21 12:30 - 14:00 | “The Grove” at Charlesgate Park, 4 Charlesgate East, Boston, MA, 02115
Join the Emerald Necklace Conservancy for a tour of Charlesgate Park!
Charlesgate is the start of Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace. We hope you’ll join us to learn about the park’s history, as well as present restoration efforts designed to repair park access issues, improve the water quality of Muddy River and create new park amenities.
This tour will be led by Conservancy President Karen Mauney-Brodek and Charlesgate Alliance Co-Founder Parker James. The exact meeting location for this tour will be provided upon registration.

Parks as Platform: Charlesgate Park
2022-10-01 11:00 - 15:00 | Charlesgate, Boston, MA, 02215
October Parks as Platform:
Presented with Charlesgate Alliance
Join the Conservancy and Charlesgate Alliance for a free, fun afternoon in Charlesgate Park’s North Field, capping off our Parks as Platform season at the tip of Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace!
Enjoy:

Free snacks
Tours with Charlesgate Alliance at 12PM and 2PM (registration encouraged)
Live music
Charlesgate Boulodrome pétanque with free lessons
Education/engagement from the National Park Service and CultureHouse
Community art activities by Canvas Studio
And more!

For Olmsted Now, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy expands its annual free event series Summer on the Emerald Necklace into a shared resource for cross-neighborhood collaboration and community-generated public events from April through October 2022.
Each month, the Conservancy will collaborate with a site partner to anchor programming with extra support: securing permits, coordinating volunteers and providing amenities like signage, presentation/performance/convening space, portable utilities and restrooms, food trucks and more. The goal is to increase park access, amplify partner capacity to welcome expanded audiences and maximize impacts of diverse public offerings using the parks as platform.

Second Saturdays: Volunteer Stewardship in Olmsted Park
2022-10-08 10:00 - 14:00 | Olmsted Park, 217 Jamaicaway, Boston, MA, 02130, United States
Join Emerald Necklace Conservancy staff and volunteers with land stewardship and invasive species removal work in the Emerald Necklace parks on Saturday, October 8! We will be planting in Olmsted Park.
Registration is required in order to participate in this event. Those who register will automatically receive an email from Alyx Britton, the Land Stewardship Coordinator, with further details, including the necessary waivers to sign and specific information on where to meet and what to expect on the day of the event.

Olmsted Now Public Dialogue #10
2022-10-19 18:00 - 19:00
Each third Wednesday of the month, Olmsted Now invites the community to a public dialogue on shared use, shared health and shared power in parks and public spaces. These hour-long discussions are a platform to explore our bicentennial themes through the perspective of a guiding community voice.
The final Public Dialogue of the Olmsted Now season is here! Join us at 6pm on Wednesday, October 19 to share images of your favorite bicentennial moments and/or live stories and accounts of what was most inspiring to you this year for Olmsted Now. What are you thankful for? What did you learn? Who did you meet? What will you take forward?

Franklin Park Virtual Public Safety Meeting
2022-11-01 18:00 - 20:00
In response to the terrible attack on a longtime park user near White Stadium and multiple reports of drug activity and encampments near the Shattuck Hospital, Franklin Park Coalition is hosting a public safety meeting with local officials and police. Please join us and share this invitation with fellow park users.
REGISTER HERE and remember, the single best way to push out negative activity in our park is positive, community, family activity! It’s such a beautiful time of year, we hope you will grab a friend and go for a walk, take your children to the playground, have a picnic, throw a frisbee, play tennis, collect acorns, look for birds, and do all the park things you love.

Charlesgate Park Tour
2022-11-05 10:00 - 11:30 | “The Grove” at Charlesgate Park, 4 Charlesgate East, Boston, MA, 02115
Join the Emerald Necklace Conservancy for a tour of Charlesgate Park!
Charlesgate is the start of Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace. We hope you’ll join us to learn about the park’s history, as well as present restoration efforts designed to repair park access issues, improve the water quality of Muddy River and create new park amenities.

Second Saturdays: Volunteer Stewardship in the Back Bay Fens
2022-11-12 13:00 - 15:00 | Shattuck Visitor Center, 125 The Fenway, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Join Emerald Necklace Conservancy staff and volunteers with land stewardship and invasive species removal work in the Emerald Necklace parks on Saturday, November 12! We will be maintaining shrub beds in the Back Bay Fens.
Registration is required in order to participate in this event. Those who register will automatically receive an email from Alyx Britton, the Land Stewardship Coordinator, with further details, including the necessary waivers to sign and specific information on where to meet and what to expect on the day of the event.
