MASSACHUSETTS - The Trust for Public Land in Action: 2018 by Trust for Public Land

The Trust for Public Land in Action: 2018 C E L E B R AT I N G W HAT YO U M A D E P O S S I B L E IN MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE ISLAND, AND BEYOND

Our work in Metro Boston C U R R E N T A N D CO M P L E T E D P R OJ E CT S

High Rock Reservation

Middlesex Fe l l s Reservation

Mt. Gilboa

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V U LoPresti Fitness Zone

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East Boston Central Square East Boston Greenway

African Meeting House Visitor Center sR arle Ch

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South End Community Gardens

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V U Webster Woods

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Garrison Trotter Farm

Tommy's Rock Farm Columbia Road

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Elmhurst Street Playground Fowler-Clark Epstein Farm

Glenway Farm Codman Square Eco-Innovation District

Astoria QuarterAcre Farm

Hunt Almont Fitness Zone Fairmont Greenway Chittick School Neponset River r e v Forbes Greenway Woods

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Whitcomb Woods

Thompson Island

Grove Hall Park

Ellington Food Forest B r o o k Fa r m State Historical Pa r k

Logan International Airport

BOSTON

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Quincy Quarries

Iacono Playground

Abigail Adams State Park

§ ¦ ¨ Neponset River Greenway

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Blue Hills Reservation

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Fa r m Ri v e

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The Trust for Public Land Active project Completed project

MAPC Metro Mayors Region

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Park with public access Other parks, open space, or protected land Level of park need (from ParkServe®, for urban areas)* Very high High Moderate

*Areas outside of 10-minute walk service areas from parks with public access. Level of need based on a weighted calculation of three demographic variables (50% = population density [people per acre], 25% = density of children age 19 and younger, and 25% = density of households with income less than 75% of the regional median household income) from the 2017 Forecast Census Block Groups demographic data provided by Esri.

Our work in Metro Boston

Miles

CURRENT AND COMPLETED PROJECTS July 5, 2018. Copyright © The Trust for Public Land. The Trust for Public Land and The Trust for Public Land logo are federally registered marks of The Trust for Public Land. Information on this map is provided for purposes of discussion and visualization only. Photo credits: The Trust for Public Land. www.tpl.org

Thank you The need to connect to nature unites us. At The Trust for Public Land, we know that great parks and access to nature are essential components of sustainable environments, healthy economies, and strong communities—and supporters like you play a critical role in creating parks and open spaces in the places that need them most. Thanks to your investments, today more than 8 million people live within a 10-minute walk of a place created or protected by The Trust for Public Land. People across the country can now enjoy parks that bolster environmental resiliency, increase park equity and access, and connect communities to each other. We are proud to help cities like Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco create parks that everyone can enjoy—enhancing the health and happiness of our communities. Beyond city limits, people are connecting to nature and

enjoying outdoor recreation in places we’ve protected—from the Cape Cod National Seashore and Walden Woods to Yosemite National Park and the sacred landscape of Pu’ukua in Waimea Valley, Hawai’i. We believe that change comes through action, education, and inspiration. These principles are the foundation for all that we do and help ensure that our work has staying power for generations to come as we create and preserve great parks and open spaces in Metro Boston, throughout New England, and across America. We invite you to learn about the transformative impact of your support in Massachusetts and Rhode Island—and to share our bold vision of creating a park or green space within a 10-minute walk of every home.

IAN MACLELLAN

Sagamore Hill Hamilton, MA

Over the past year, your support helped to... INCREASE ACCESS TO FRESH FOOD In June 2018, we celebrated the opening of Fowler Clark Epstein Farm in Mattapan with hundreds of neighbors and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh. Thanks to your support, this project succeeded in protecting one of the oldest remaining Boston farmhouses and transformed a neglected property into a 21st-century urban farm that honors the neighborhood’s history and promotes a new vision for a modern, local food system. The renovated property is designed to produce healthy food for the community and provide urban farmer training, public educational programs, a farmers market, and a demonstration kitchen. The farm serves more than 7,000 people living within a 10-minute walk and is just one of five urban farms we are creating through our Boston Urban Agriculture Partnership, a communitydriven effort to create farms in Boston that provide healthy food, generate job opportunities, and create more livable neighborhoods. This pioneering work builds on the success of our Garrison-Trotter Farm, and in the coming year, we will celebrate the completion of three more urban farms—Tommy’s Rock, Astoria, and Glenway.

C R E AT E A P L AY F U L F U T U R E Woonasquatucket River Adventure Park started as a dream for young Providence student Brandon Robinson. Brandon long wanted a place to safely ride his bike with the other kids on his cyclocross team, but in Providence’s Olneyville neighborhood—which has limited open space and suffers from a legacy of industrial contamination— Brandon’s dream was a tall order. However, thanks to your support, in 2018, we broke ground on “Woony Park.” Together with a coalition of partners, we are transforming a former brownfield, which we conserved and rehabilitated in 2006, into a vibrant, climate-smart park, where Rhode Island youth— and folks of all ages—can enjoy the riverfront and get exercise in a fun, safe environment. The space will be a diverse adventure park, with bicycle pump tracks and a parkour course, as well as biking and hiking trails. Beyond its many recreational offerings, Woony Park will include climate-resiliency features—connecting residents to a nearby greenway, cooling the neighborhood during heat waves, and absorbing stormwater to reduce localized flooding.

TPL STAFF

Woonasquatucket River Adventure Park will open to the public in spring 2019, once construction is completed. Soon, you will see more and more kids getting outside and staying active in the park of their dreams.

FOWLER CLARK EPSTEIN FARM OPENING CELEBRATION

A C H I E V E 1 0 0 P E R C E N T PA R K ACCESS IN BOSTON In October, Mayor Walsh, side by side with The Trust for Public Land, announced that the city had reached 100 percent park accessibility—meaning all Boston residents have a park within a 10-minute walk of home. In 2017, Mayor Walsh was one of the

first mayors to sign on to our 10-Minute Walk™ campaign, which calls on mayors to demonstrate their commitment to parks by adopting long-term, system-wide strategies to improve equitable access to quality parks. With 100 percent park access achieved, we are now working with the city to enhance the quality and equity of Boston’s park system, while improving overall climate resiliency. Mayor Walsh’s announcement hinted at a park-centric future for Boston. “In Boston, we are proud of our worldclass park system and the investments that have been made,” said Mayor Walsh. “Reaching this milestone is a big step for our city to ensure that every resident, no matter the neighborhood, has a high-quality park or open space within a 10-minute walk of home. There is still much work to be done, and we are working every day to make our park system the best in the world.” Thanks to your support, Boston is the second U.S. city to reach this milestone, but it certainly won’t be the last! We are partnering with communities across the country to build parks where they are needed most. TPL STAFF

OPEN NEWBURY STREET POP-UP PARK

S TA R T A C O N V E R S AT I O N Throughout the year, we engaged community members on a range of park issues at a variety of events: • We opened our office to supporters and industry experts for Park Bench Chats to discuss pertinent park-related topics like the relationship between new parks and gentrification, the role of linear parks in cities, and the importance of connecting urban green spaces for recreation, transportation, and climate-resiliency needs. • During Open Newbury Street in July and September, we created temporary Pop-Up Parks in front of The North Face storefront with plants, seating, and other park amenities and in front of Boston Architectural College with the help of students who designed park structures for the installation. These Pop-Up Parks offered the community an opportunity to experience our land-for-people mission while enjoying the sunshine. • Discover Moakley was a day filled with food, fun, and educational opportunities for neighbors to learn about climateresilient landscapes and the pending major rehabilitation of Moakley Park. The event was part of Boston’s Climate Preparedness Week and featured maps created with our ClimateSmart Cities™ GIS-based Decision Support Tool. We also hosted a climate trivia game for community members at the adjoining Mary Ellen McCormack Houses—one of the largest public housing complexes in New England. • As part of the Boston Public Library Leventhal Map Center’s exhibit “Breathing Room: Mapping Boston’s Green Spaces,” we co-hosted a panel of urban park and planning experts at Parks for All: How City Parks Address Inequity. Here, we ignited engaging conversation about the importance of urban parks and brought together community members to learn about the growth of parks in their city through a unique combination of historical and modernday perspectives.

Looking to the future FA I R M O U N T G R E E N W AY N O R W E L L ST R E E T P R OJ E CT Codman Square At the edge of Boston’s Codman Square neighborhood, Norwell Street is lined with houses, apartments, and vacant lots. We are partnering with a coalition of neighbors to explore ways this narrow street—plagued by heavy traffic and speeding cars—can be transformed into a segment of the envisioned Fairmount Greenway. We are also working with the city and a local affordable housing developer to secure land next to the new MBTA Talbot Avenue rail station for a new pocket park and affordable housing.

Boston’s success in reaching the 100 percent park accessibility target is just the first step in ensuring every Boston resident is able to enjoy close-tohome green space and the multitude of benefits such proximity provides. Through our Boston Parks for People Program, we are partnering with the city to achieve a shared vision of communitydesigned, high-quality parks that are beloved by residents for generations to come. Together, we are working on several priority projects:

G R O V E H A L L PA R K Dorchester Bordered by a library, senior center, high school, and commercial center, this new park will be a central feature in a bustling neighborhood. Owned by Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development, the land was at risk of development. However, residents saw the potential, demanded the land be preserved as public open space, and the city listened. We are collaborating with residents, nearby Burke High School students, and senior center clients to design the park, which will provide local green space for 12,000 people. TPL STAFF

C H I T T I C K E L E M E N TA R Y S C H O O L P L AY G R O U N D & PA R K Mattapan The playground and residual land behind Chittick Elementary School present an exciting opportunity to enhance neighborhood park access for 1,800 residents. We are working with the city to revitalize the school’s playground and transform the unused land into a new public park. Engaging neighborhood residents and students in the creation of this park, we are offering students the opportunity to join in our signature participatory design process and learn about science, engineering, architecture, and math.

This summer, we plan to stage a pop-up greenway, allowing residents to try out potential streetscape features—without major financial investment— and guide the design of long-term capital improvements. Our work will serve 15,000 people who live within a 10-minute walk of the site and help incrementally catalyze the Fairmount Greenway—which, today, exists primarily on paper in the Go Boston 2030 plan.

FAIRMOUNT GREENWAY NORWELL STREET PARTICIPATORY DESIGN

Meet our new President and CEO In spring 2018, conservation leader Diane Regas took the helm of The Trust for Public Land as its new President and CEO. Prior to joining The Trust for Public Land, Diane worked for more than a decade at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), most recently as executive director, where she developed EDF’s strategic plan and drove ambitious initiatives to address the impacts of climate change. Diane also spent almost 20 years at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), serving in many roles, including as the EPA’s top official protecting our nation’s rivers, lakes, and bays. Diane earned her A.B., M.S. in energy and resources, and J.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, and resides in Berkeley, California. An avid outdoor explorer, Diane enjoys hiking, cycling, diving, camping, and spending time in nature with her husband, children, and granddaughter. She is dedicated to ensuring that everyone in the United States has that access to nature.

“I am deeply inspired by the team and results at The Trust for Public Land,” said Diane. “Millions of Americans live within a 10-minute walk of a park or natural space created and protected by The Trust for Public Land, and I can’t wait to make that a reality for millions more.”

THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND’S MASSACHUSETTS TEAM

Massachusetts Advisory Board We are so grateful for the support of our exceptional leaders! Walter M. Bird Will Cowen Carolyn Mansfield duPont Jody Gill, Chair Anthony D. Green Whitney Hatch Wendy Holding James S. Hoyte

Robert L. Lindamood Robert K. McConnaughey Richard Oetheimer Antonia Pollak Roland Price Richard B. Swartz Bianca Sigh Ward

RICHARD FREEDA

Thank you

for supporting The Trust for Public Land as we work to protect land and create parks for people in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and beyond. We couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do it without you.

Join us. The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come.

tpl.org

Bill Toomey New England Area Director 207.772.7424 | bill.toomey@tpl.org Arleaya L. Martin Associate Director of Philanthropy 617.371.0538 | arleaya.martin@tpl.org 6 Beacon Street, Suite 615 Boston, MA 02108

COVER: TOP LEFT, MIDDLE LEFT, BOTTOM, JERRY AND MARCY MONKMAN / ECOPHOTOGRAPHY; TOP RIGHT, HANNAH LOZANO; MIDDLE RIGHT, TPL STAFF.