'Let it be not
for present use and delight alone, but let it be of such a work that
our descendents will thank us for it." Frederick Law
Olmsted
Friends
of Jamaica Pond is
a non-profit
organization
dedicated to restoring and preserving this "gem" of Frederick Law
Olmsted's Emerald Necklace. Boston's Emerald Necklace is a series of
parks and parkways -- Franklin Park, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica
Pond, Riverway, and Back Bay Fens, which connects
to Commonwealth
Avenue Mall, Boston Public Garden, and Boston Common to create
a
seven-mile linked necklace of green spaces.
Olmsted described Jamaica Pond as
"favoring great
beauty in reflections and flickering half-lights." Jamaica Pond is a
60-acre kettlehole formed by an ancient glacier. Olmsted Park is named
in honor of the man who designed the Emerald Necklace. This park has
woodlands, meadows and three ponds: Ward's, Willow and Leverett.
Jamaica Plain Historical Society's web
pages with history articles and photographs of pond HERE
Jamaica Plain Historical Society's web
page on the
Native American Algonquin tribe Massachusetts led by sachem, Kuchamakin
(after whom Jamaica Plain and the pond are probably named) HERE
Ancient Fishweir Project:
Native people over
5,000 years ago built 4 foot high fishweir fences in the tidal
flats of the back bay which later became the Emerald Necklace parks to
catch herring, alewife, smelt and salmon. Details: HERE
Satellite Map provided by Digital Globe,
Sanborn, GeoEye MassGIS, Commonwealth of Mass EOEA
Christine
Cooper
was a Founder and Project Director for the Jamaica Pond Project for 21
years from 1983-2004. She was responsible for directing the Sailing
School, the Open Classroom, operation of the boat house concessions,
information specialist, coordinating the public row boating and sailing
programs, maintenance of the bathrooms, parklands clean-up project
coordinator, motivator for major restoration programs; collaboration
with the Boston Police, Boston Municipal Police, State Police for the
safety of citizens in the parklands, partnerships with the staff of the
Boston Parks and Recreation Departments, partnerships with teachers of
the Boston School Department, a friend of hundreds and greeter of
thousands who visited Jamaica Pond. And by her nature and on-going
study, a passionate voice and example of carrying forward the legacy of
Frederick Law Olmsted.
Each
year the
Friends of Jamaica Pond presents the Park Keeper Award to honor
Christine Cooper's legacy and the on-going stewardship required to
protect and preserve the park and environment.
2006 Maura
Hennigan, Former Boston City Councilor, Boston Mayor Candidate
Charlie
Hauck, was
a Founder and Executive Director for 21 years of the Jamaica Pond
Project and 36 years at Community Care Center. Charlie fits the
description of being a gentleman and a scholar more than anyone.
Charlies relized in his life the noble aspiration which was Olmsted's
mantra from Thomas Caryle: "Do the Duty which lies nearest thee."
Each
year the
Friends of Jamaica Pond honors Charlie Hauck's legacy with the "Annual
Walk with Charlie."
Tenth
anniversary
celebration of the Jamaica Pond Project 1993.
"A hundred years after his
death, America
continues to be challenged with issues of social justice and
conservation for which Olmsted was a most persevering, principled
pioneer."
Gerry Wright has researched, written and
produced a
one-man show honoring the life and work of Frederick Law Olmsted, the
father of landscape architecture. The play provides insights into
Olmsted's passionate vision as he played critical roles in the dynamics
of slavery as a writer, as an appointee of Abraham Lincoln during the
Civil War, and as the landscape architect and catalyst for New York
City's Central Park, Boston's Emerald Necklace, the US Capitol and
White House grounds, and advocate for National Parks.
The Olmsted play has been presented at
the Olmsted
National Historic Site in Brookline, Boston’s 375th
Anniversary
Parade, Brookline’s 350th Anniversary Celebration, plus
numerous
communities of the Commonwealth; along with performances in Volgoda,
Russia; in New York City for the 150 year anniversary of the
legislation for Central Park; Olmsted Parks Conservancy in Louisville,
Kentucky; and in Asheville, North Carolina.
Nature's
Class Room: Environmental Education Projects
Charles Darwin's
200th Birthday
Celebrate
Charles Darwin's 200th Birthday February 12th. Listen to
Darwin's
Beagle Diary and read the Origins of Species at: http://darwin-online.org.uk/
Indigo Buntings + Cedar Waxwings + Wood Duck
To learn more about why Indigo Buntings are
seen as a blue color and how it migrates at night using the stars plus
the unique social behavior of Cedar Waxwings and the recovery
of
Wood Duck populations after nearly being hunted to extinction click on
the photographs!
Jamaica Pond's Albino Gray Squirrel
To
learn more about albinism and gray squirrels click HERE
Class
Room: Summer
Emerald
Necklace Butterflies and Dragonflies:
A
colorful American
Copper, Tiger Swallowtailed, fluttering Cabbage White, Red Admiral
Butterflies, darting White Tailed and Eastern Pondhawk (young male is
green which latter turns blue) Dragonflies, Juvenal's Duskywing, secreative
Mourning Cloak,
Little Wood Satyr, a Monarch sipping nectar from Milkweed flowers, and
an American lady
(see Nature's Classroom web page for additional detail and links to
online field guides HERE)
Emerald
Necklace Wildflowers:
Yellow Iris (Yellow Flag), OxEye
Daisy, Garden Phlox, Solomon's-plume (False Solomon's-seal) , False
Indigo, Canada Hackweed, Daisy
Fleabane,
Tansy, Queen Ann's Lace, Chickory, Bull Thistle (see Nature's Classroom web page
for additional detail and links to online field guidesHERE)
Class
Room: Spring
Spring Bird Migration:
Black and White Warbler, Yellow Rumped "Myrtle" Warbler, Eastern
Kingbird
Visit
the next page to learn about the Spring Bird Migration. Click
HERE
Visit
the next page to learn about the Winter Moth. Click HERE
Class
Room: Fall
Cabbage White
Butterfly, Spotted Sandpiper and Woolly Bear Caterpillar
Visit the next page to
learn about the Cabbage White Butterfly, Spotted Sandpiper and Woolly
Bear Caterpillar. Click HERE
Environmental Research Projects
Environmental
Research Projects
Water Quality and Watershed Drainage Survey
August 2008: Began to test the water
quality (pH, turbidity, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen,
blue green algae) of the Charles River, Muddy River, Leverett Pond,
Ward's Pond, Jamaica Pond and Scarboro Pond with a YSI (Yellow Springs
Instruments Environmental) probe loaned to us by Rob Ellison. Hope to
raise $3000 to purchase probe for water quality testing during the
ongoing monthly wildlife surveys. Contact us if you can join
the team.
Robert Ellison from YSI Environmental
and a JP resident coordinated the water quality survey of Jamaica Pond
by the YSI EcoMapper on April 2, 2008. The EcoMapper "Yellow
Submarine" was controlled by an on board computer using GPS and the Massachusetts GSI.
The probes tested Jamaica Pond's water temperature, ph, dissolved
oxygen, turbidity (chlorophyll) and
blue-green algae; plus the depth and volume with sonar. (Mean
depth was 32 feet and maximum depth was 53 feet on April 2nd)
We hope
to follow up this test with an on-going volunteer monitoring program of
the entire Emerald Necklace watershed. Contact us if you can
help. Below is map of shore sample sites for tests conducted
in
August and September.
A
24 hour test was done by Rob Ellison on April 16-17, 2009.
Probe
was attached to buoy in center of pond 6 feet below surface.
It
was the first hot day in April and the test results showed a
temperature increase. Algae levels were normal for early
spring
and cold water (Ice did not leave pond till March 15th).
Gerry
Wright instigated a water analysis by Boston Parks Department when he
noticed Jamaica Pond was becoming murky. See article on Alge bloom in Jamaica Pond,
July 7, 2006 Jamaica Plain Gazette, 7 Harris Avenue , PO Box 301139,
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 Phone: (617) 524-2626 Fax: (617) 524-3921 http://jamaicaplaingazette.com/
Pinebank Mansion Historical Ruins Survey
Pinebank Promontory construction
began September 2008
Pinebank Mansion Demolition began
January 25, 2007
Pinebank Promontory Public Meeting,
Tuesday, July 18, 2006 6--8:30 PM, James J. Curley House, 350 The
Jamaicaway, co-sponsored by Emerald Necklace Conservatory and Boston
Parks Department. Emerald
Necklace Conservancy, Two Brookline Place,
Brookline, MA 02445, Telephone 617-232-5374 http://www.emeraldnecklace.org Walk
around site 5:30-6:00 PM. Follow-up meetings at Arnold Arboretum,
Hunnewell Building (Arborway entrance)
Wed, July 26, 2006, 6-8 PMWed,
August 2, 2006, 6-8 PM
Thurs,
September 14, 2006, 6-8 PM
Jamaica Plain Gazette, June 23,
2006, Letter to the Editor by Stephen Baird HERE
Park Usage and Impact Survey
Invasive
Plant Survey
Forestry Protection Projects
Forestry
Protection Projects
American-Russian
Forestry Association, a program of the New
Horizon Project, in collaboration with the New England Governors
Confrence and Institutions in the Tomsk Region of Siberia, Russia.
Contact: Gerry Wright, Executive Vice-President, 238 Main Street, Suite
401, Kendall Square Station, Cambridge, MA 02142-0003 Telephone
617-524-7070 Email gwright@new-horizons-project.org Web: http://www.new-horizon-project.org
Join the Emerald
Necklace Bird Club and explore this landscape and natural wonder each
season -- spring, summer, fall and winter. Add bird sightings to both
the Emerald Necklace Bird Club master list and your own life list.
Support the conservation of natural habitat and become a steward of the
earth. The Emerald Necklace is the urban oasis for much of the natural
world in Boston. Both migrating and long-term resident birds find the
Olmsted Parks a haven. Frequent visits will slowly reveal a landscape
full of life and wonder from the soaring flight of
a Red-Tailed Hawk to the statute-still Great Blue Heron to the
busy Massachusetts state bird --the Black Capped Chickadee.
Complete
List of
Parks, Field Guide of Emerald Necklace Birds, Sightings by parks and
dates, plus Emerald Necklace Map Details HERE
Volunteer Stewardship Program
Volunteer
Stewardship Program:Help renew and restore the
parklands! Volunteer
stewards might help with anything from trimming plants on the banks of
the pond, pruning trees, and helping to control invasive plant species,
to planting a new landscape, reseeding a lawn, or repainting benches
and light posts. The opportunities are as varied as the views around
the pond.
Earth Day Event
CoordinatorArbor Day Event
CoordinatorVolunteer CoordinatorEnvironmental
Education CoordinatorAnnual Walk with
Charlie CoordinatorAnnual Park Keeper
Celebration CoordinatorAnnual Lantern Parade
Collaboration with Spontaneous Celebrations
Annual Fishing Derby
Coordinator
Jamaica Plain -
Brookline Pop Warner Football Team did a Jamaica Pond Clean-Up on
October 7, 2006
6th Annual Party in the Park and
Justine Mee Liff Fund Luncheon
to preserve the legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted's Emerald Necklace
May 13, 2009 from 11:30 a.m. Honoring Michael and Kitty Dukakis with
the Liff Spirit Award. Contact: Emerald
Necklace Conservancy http://www.emeraldnecklace.org
617-522-2700
Friday, May 29th-Sunday, May 31st - Annual Birds & Bards
Festival
- a collaboration between the Franklin Park Coalition, Arnold
Arboretum, Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston Nature Center, Franklin Park
Zoo, and Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site. See Boston
Nature Center web site http://www.massaudubon.org/boston
or (617) 983-8500; E-mail: bnc@massaudubon.org
Stephen
Baird from Friends of Jamaica Pond in collaboration with the Franklin
Park Coalition will host a family bird walk on Friday, May 29th at 6
PM. Meet at the Golf Course Building. Details at: Franklin
Park Coalition, PO Box
302333, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 Telephone (617) 908-4002
mail@franklinparkcoalition.org
http://www.franklinparkcoalition.org/
JUNE 2009
Butterflies
Over
Boston, 9th Annual
Monarch
Butterfly Migration Celebration, Friday, June 19th, 2009. 5-6 PM;
Jamaica Pond Gazebo, Pond Street and the Jamaicaway; Featuring:
Madeline Champagne
"The Butterfly Lady" butterfly educational specialist, Marianne
Donnelly - Storyteller; Stephen Baird - Emerald Necklace Naturalist
folk music and puppets.
Info 617-522-3407 Past events and history of the celebration created
by Marianne Donnelly HERE
Storyteller
Marianne Donnelly and "The Butterfly Lady" Madeline Champagne
Storyteller
Marianne Donnelly
will present an environmental themes program. Marianne Donnelly,
performing artist and founder of the Annual Monarch Butterfly Migration
Celebrations of Boston Massachusetts (617) 983-1183 http://www.coraconnection.com/md/index.html
Web page on event history and resources: http://www.monarchbutterfly.rwinters.com/
"The Butterfly Lady" Madeline Champagne the former President of the
Massachusetts Butterfly Club will bring viewing boxes of chrysalis and
larvae of Monarch Butterflies and detailed history of Butterflies.
The Monarch Butterfly is feeding on the nectar of a milkweed
flower. Milkweed nectar has toxic cardiac glycosides which
butterfly predators find distasteful and helps protect the Monarch. The
Monarch migrates thousands of miles between the Northeast and Canada to
central Mexico were it winters in very large colonies. This very long
migration makes the Monarch Buterfly a “bell
weather”
species on the environmental health condition of the natural habitat of
both the United States and Mexico. Naturalist and environmentalist are
also concerned with genetic engineered food plants and the impact on
all butterflies and wildlife.
Attend the Butterflies Over Boston event at the Jamaica Pond Gazebo to
learn more about the Monarch Butterfly!
Photos: Stephen Baird
JULY 2009
Saturday July 25th. 6:30
p.m. Jamaica
Pond, Boston Landmarks
Orchestra Neighborhood Concerts INFO
HERE
OCTOBER 2009
Annual
Lantern
Parade cosponsored by Spontaneous Celebrations and Friends
of Jamaica
Pond, Last Saturday in
October, 5:30 PM http://www.spontaneouscelebrations.org
PAST
PUBLIC EVENTS AND FORUMS ON JAMAICA POND:
APRIL 2009
THANKS ALL FOR PARTICIPATING: We
wish to thank all who participated in the Earth Day Celebration at
Jamaica Pond on Saturday April 18, 2009. Emily Wright
coordinated
the community service project to reclaim the Olmsted designed stairs
leading to Pinebank. Bill Moyer and the Backbone
campaign
http://www.backbonecampaign.org parade of a polar bear, bees and earth
delighted all. A flock of bird watchers spotted a Pine
Warbler
singing in the white pines of Pinebank. Cindy Delpapa from
the
Department of Fish and Game's Riverways Program educated a steady
stream of curious people on the pond life
www.mass.gov/dfwele/river/. Park Rangers opened up the Nature
Center. Rob Ellison from YSI Environmental www.ysi.com
presented
the first 24 hour water quality test results of Jamaica Pond. Gretchen
Grozier from the Jamaica Plain Historical Society www.jphs.org hosted a
well attended history tour of the pond. The sun shined too!
Earth Day Celebration at Jamaica Pond -- Saturday,
April 18, 2009, 9 am - 3 pm, Rain or Shine, FREE. at Jamaica Pond Gazebo
Nature’s Classroom: 9 am-3
pm -- Explore
pond life with Mass. Department of Fish and Game Riverways
Ecologist Cindy Delpapa http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/river/
Spring Migration Bird Walk: 10 am --
Join
Emerald Necklace Naturalist Stephen Baird for a walk to discover
migrating warblers, waterfowl and birds. Bring walking shoes,
binoculars, ears and eyes. Host: Emerald
Necklace Bird Club
Stewardship Park Clean-Up: 11 am --
Help reclaim
the Olmsted designed stairs to Pinebank. Bring work clothes,
gloves and energy. The whole family can help!
Procession of the Future: 12 noon --
Join the
national campaign for environmental and social justice awareness.
Costumes. puppets and banners parade. Details: http://www.backbonecampaign.org
Host: Kathleen Kautzer Email: kathleen.kautzer@regiscollege.edu Tel:
781-768-7457
Water Conservation: 1 pm -- Join
Jamaica Pond
Water Conservation Team as it monitors and tests the pond
water
with Rob Ellison of Yellow Springs Instruments for pH,
dissolved oxygen, conductivity,
chlorophyll, and temperature as we try to discover sources for
recent algae blooms. Host: Rob Ellison YSI Environmental
Jamaica Pond History Tour: 2 pm --
Learn the
many uses of the pond over the centuries plus the extraordinary people
who have lived along it’s
shores. Discover how the pond was transformed into a
parkland. Host: Gretchen Grozier of the Jamaica Plain
Historical Society http://www.jphs.org
Info:
Gerry Wright 617-524-7070 x 14 and Stephen Baird 617-522-3407
Thursday, October 23rd. 2008, 7 PM; FUTURE OF JAMAICA POND PUBLIC
FORUM
Share
Visions, Observations and Priorities with Boston Parks Department
Commissioner Antonia Pollak
Speakers:
Alan
Banks, Supervising Park Ranger, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic
Site, US National Park Service
Gene
Survillo, Chief Boston Park Rangers, Boston Parks and Recreation
Department
John
Tobin, City Councillor, City of Boston
Jeffrey
Sanchez, State Representative, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
First
Church in Jamaica Plan (Unitarian-Universalist), Eliot and Centre
Streets by the Monument. Wheel Chair Accessible.
Cosponsored
by Friends of Jamaica Pond, Arborway Coalition, Emerald Necklace
Conservancy and other community organizations.
Info:
Gerry Wright 617-524-7070 x 14
Thursday,
September 25th. 2008; 7 PM; FUTURE
OF JAMICA POND PUBLIC FORUM
Share Visions, Reflections, Ideas, Concerns!
First
Church in Jamaica Plan (Unitarian-Universalist), Eliot and Centre
Streets by the Monument. Wheel Chair Accessible.
Cosponsored by Friends of
Jamaica Pond, Arborway Coalition, Emerald Necklace Conservancy and
other community organizations.
Info: Gerry Wright 617-524-7070 x 14
MEETING NOTES of September 25th Forum HERE (MS
Word Document)
ANNUAL
Earth Day, April
22nd, each year marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern
environmental movement in 1970. Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then
a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, proposed the first nationwide
environmental protest "to shake up the political establishment and
force this issue onto the national agenda. " "It was a gamble," he
recalls, "but it worked." Sites on history and resources: Earth day
Network: http://www.earthday.org/
Wilderness Earthday http://earthday.wilderness.org/history/
Arbor Day Event,
Last Friday in April, Massachusetts State Tree: American Elm; History
and national foundation: http://www.arborday.org
THINK AHEAD FIFTY
YEARS!
THINK
AHEAD FIFTY YEARS!
Act
Now! Become A Friend
of
Jamaica Pond!
Your
donations will help
Save
the park's trees through the Forestry Protection Project
Educate
young and old people to the wonders of the park through Nature's Class
Room - Environmental Education Project
Provide
plantings of flowers, trees and scrubs
Provide
free and low cost presentations of the
Frederick Law Olmsted play to schools, libraries and community centers
Conduct research on
park public usage, water shed drainage, wildlife populations,
water and soil conditions
Sponsor
arts programs and events
Whether
you donate $5 or $1000, we thank you for supporting work to improve
Boston's green spaces. By joining the Friends of
Jamaica Pond, you'll not just be strengthening a park, you'll be
strengthening a community.
American-Russian Forestry Association,
a program
of the New Horizon Project, in collaboration with the New England
Governors Confrence and Institutions in the Tomsk Region of Siberia,
Russia. Contact: Gerry Wright, Executive Vice-President, 238 Main
Street, Suite 401, Kendall Square Station, Cambridge, MA 02142-0003
Telephone 617-524-7070 Email gwright@new-horizons-project.org
Rainforest Alliance, 665 Broadway,
Suite 500, New
York, NY 10012 Telephone 212-677-1900 Email info@ra.org TREES
Headquarters, 65 Millet Street, Suite 201, Richmond Vermont 05477 USA
Richard Z. Donovan, Rainforest Alliance Chief of Forestry Tel:
802-434-5491, Fax: 802-434-3116 Email: TREES@ra.org
Urban Forestry and Urban Greening,
international
journal on urban forestry research published in English edited by
department staff of the Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and
Planning (Forest & Landscape Denmark in brief) at the Royal
Veterinary and Agricultural University (KVL)
The
Boston Environmental Network is a group of public and private sector
organizations and professionals in the environmental education, park
stewardship, youth development and job training fields that aim to
increase green youth employment and environmental educational
opportunities both in school settings and in Out of School Time. As a
network we work to connect young people to both short-term
environmental learning experiences and long-term environmental careers.
Points of connection include network meetings, professional
development, youth events, this website, and numerous collaborations.
Dawn Chavez (dchavez@environetwork.org)
The Massachusetts Urban and Community
Forestry
Program, MA Dept of Conservation & Recreation, 251 Causeway
Street., Ste. 700, Boston, MA 02114-2104, Eric Seaborn, Urban Forestry
Coordinator, Telephone: 617-626-1468 Email: Eric.Seaborn@state.ma.us
Assists communities and nonprofit
groups in
protecting, growing, and managing community trees and forest
ecosystems, with the ultimate aim of improving the environment and
enhancing livability of all of Massachusetts' communities. We provide
grants, technical assistance, training, and recognition awards to
communities of all sizes throughout Massachusetts. The program also
provides guidance on urban forestry policy issues at the state level.
Mass. Department of Conservation and
Recreation's Forest Stewardship for Watershed Health Grants http://www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/forestry/urban/urbanGrants.htm
The DCR's Urban and Community Forestry Program is offering grants to
support planning and education projects that "Promote Community Forest
Stewardship for Watershed Health." Matching grants of up to $5,000 will
be awarded to successful municipalities, planning agencies, watershed
associations, and other non-profits. Up to $30,000 is available through
this program. Download the application at the link above or contact
Eric Seaborn for more info.
Jamaica
Plain Historical Society, PO Box 302924, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 Contact: Michael Reiskind,
617-522-1150 or Dave Nathan 617-522-2209 Web site has articles and pictures on history of
Jamaica Plain. The Quiz is
also fun. Conducts a series of walking tours
Neponset River Greenway, Boston
Natural Areas
Network, 62 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02110-1016,(ph) 617-542-7696 -
(fax) 617-542-0383 info@bostonnatural.org
Manomet Center for Conservation
Sciences, 81 Stage
Road, P.O. Box 1770, Manomet, MA 02345 Tel: 508.224.6521 Has extensive
40 years plus bird banding information and international bird habitat
conservation work.
New England Wild Flower Society at
Garden in the
Woods,180 Hemenway Road, Framingham, MA 01701 Telephone: 508-877-7630
-- TTY: 508-877-6553 Promoting conservation of North American native
plants through education, research, horticulture, habitat preservation,
and advocacy.
For
translations into
different languages --
Arabic, Chinese, Italian, French, German, Russian, Spanish or others
visit the web site: http://babel.altavista.com
