Here For You
Boston and Brookline’s Emerald Necklace Parks, including Charlesgate Park, the Back Bay Fens, Riverway, Olmsted Park, Jamaica Pond, Arnold Arboretum and Franklin Park, are open for you.
We at the Emerald Necklace Conservancy understand the critical importance of park access and the physical and mental health benefits of spending time outside. To help you enjoy the Emerald Necklace in person or from the comfort of your home, we’ve compiled a list of resources and tips.
With 1,100 acres of parkland – that’s more than 800 football fields – the Emerald Necklace is here for you.
It’s a great time to spread out and discover new places in the Emerald Necklace. Greenspaces like Franklin Park, Olmsted Park and the Back Bay Fens provide ample space to walk and explore. Face masks are still required in Conservancy buildings, and people who have recently been exposed to or have symptoms associated with COVID-19 are urged to stay home.
Learn more about the parks and our historic park system, from the field or in your home, using our online resources:
- Our mobile tour guide at www.emeraldnecklace.tours contains information and history on more than 50 locations within the Emerald Necklace parks, park-by-park tours, seasonal tours and more – all available from your mobile device!
- Digital, ready-to-print copies of our full Emerald Necklace map and maps of each Emerald Necklace park are available for download.
- Follow us on social media via the Conservancy’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
We’ve also been hard at work creating new activities and compiling resources to connect and educate park users to the Emerald Necklace and the natural world around. With options ranging from environmental science lessons to a symphony based on the parks themselves, there’s something for everyone to learn and explore. Check back weekly for new activities!
- Unwind and entertain with our Emerald Necklace coloring book
- Re-center yourself with our full Summer Fitness Series of yoga and Pilates classes on YouTube.
- Check out some of our Emerald Necklace Zoom Backgrounds for your next virtual meeting.
- Learn about mapping and create your own map of your favorite outdoor spot.
- Explore the parks while enjoying seasonal summer, fall and winter scavenger hunts.
- Get a feel for the Emerald Necklace’s rhythm with our curated Park Jams Playlist.
- Observe and connect with nature while learning about sit spots.
- Explore the varied environments of Franklin Park with our two scavenger hunts: one for the park’s northern half, and one for the southern.
- Identify and seek out common bird species in the Emerald Necklace with our Birding Field Guide.
- Learn how to identify Japanese knotweed, an invasive plant species, from one of our volunteer Emerald Leaders.
- Learn tips and tricks for finding peace in nature with Peaceful Pauses, led by the Conservancy’s Director of Education, Kent Jackson.
- Discover the ponds and streams of Olmsted Park with our Scavenger Hunt.
- Explore the wooded paths of the Riverway with our Riverway Scavenger Hunt.
- Help us survey plant and animal species within the Emerald Necklace using the iNaturalist app.
- Learn how to identify giant hogweed, an invasive plant species, from one of our volunteer Emerald Leaders.
- Learn about and illustrate the Water Cycle.
- Find and identify some of the Necklace’s common tree species with our Tree Identification chart.
- Learn to observe and document the outdoors with our Nature Journaling Lesson.
- Discover natural objects of all shapes and sizes in the Emerald Necklace with our Kids’ Scavenger Hunt, or discover historic locales and beautiful scenes around the Fenway with our Back Bay Fens Scavenger Hunt.
- Listen to The Emerald Necklace, a three-movement symphony written by Boston-based composer, Andrew List:
- Movement 1: Man and Machinery Create the Jamaicaway
- Movement 2: Evening at Jamaica Pond
- Movement 3: The Ancient Hunting Party At Spring Brook Village
Your support of our parks matters today more than ever. Please consider a gift to the Emerald Necklace Conservancy during this critical time to ensure the health, vibrancy and safety of these valuable green spaces for all. Make a gift to our Emerald Fund today.
The presentation of these resources is made possible with generous support from The Caroline Loughlin Fund and a grant from the Brookline Community Foundation.
