Groundwork Somerville

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By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

In a public forum that seemed part listening tour, part group therapy session, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation heard citizen concerns last night during the first meeting in the Mystic Valley Parkway portion of the Green Line Extension visioning process.

The gathering of about 100 at the Brook Elementary School in Medford was the first in a year-long series that is slated to examine the broad-stroke implications of a Green Line station at Route 16 near the Medford and Somerville border. The plan is still exploratory; construction would start no earlier than 2016, according to the state.

The public input process will culminate in a report that will help shape plans for the Green Line extension’s future. Currently, the first phase of the effort will extend the line from Lechmere Station to the College Avenue area. Phase two, which was the focus of last night’s discussion, posits a station at Mystic Valley Parkway.

“We need to hear from you, to understand how to proceed without endangering community values,” said Eric Bourassa, of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, an organization that promotes smart growth in communities around Boston.

“We understand that people still have a lot of questions,” he said.

And ask them, they did.

In a break from more staid formats, the meeting’s organizers broke the audience into a dozen groups, each led by a facilitator and note-taker. Together, the groups sussed out concerns, hopes, and tips that collectively will inform the process going forward, officials said.

“We are really here tonight to hear from you,” said Katherine Fichter, of the Office of Transportation Planning, at the meeting’s opening.

In the groups, each with about a dozen people, conversation ranged from metered discussions of parking strategy, to heated exchanges over accessibility and the history of the extension effort.

The facilitators — staff from the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration, a conflict mediation institute attached to the University of Massachusetts Boston — emphasized civility and involvement through the evening. Groups met for about an hour, and from a small sampling of the responses, many people hit on similar themes.

Parking, accessibility for seniors and the disabled, station size, eminent domain questions, and many others will help any station built there become a better part of the community, the state said.

The agency also debuted an electronic system for gathering instant feedback from audience members on poll questions. Members of the public were offered gray remotes that allowed them to vote instantly on multiple choice questions displayed on a large screen.

The system gave officials an instant snap-shot of the crowd; the majority of the approximately 100 people in the audience were white, in their 50s, mostly from Medford, and later in the evening, a majority of people said the unusual meeting format let them feel heard.

“I was very impressed,” said Clarinda Spinelli, 59, who lives on Monument Street in West Medford, a strong advocate of the extension who said her biggest concern is that the project will never get the green light.

“I want the least damage to the least number of people,” Spinelli said, and said she is concerned about representing disparate stakeholder groups.

Nearly all of the groups reported back concerns about engagement with slices of the community not heard at the meeting, including seniors, people with disabilities, and youth, all of whom would eventually use a station stop at Mystic Valley Parkway.

Ronald Leaks, 28, of the Community Corridor Planning group of Groundwork Somerville, said he attended the meeting to begin the process of youth involvement in the land-use talks, a group he said was under-represented.

“When we talk about building a Green Line, I want to make sure its not the same group of people get involved,” Leaks said.

PUBLIC HEARING ON JOBS AT MAXPAK

ALDERMEN’S CHAMBERS

CITY HALL, 93 Highland Ave

FEBRUARY 17^TH, 6PM (Rally outside @ 5:30)

Next Thursday, the Board of Aldermen will hold a public hearing about local & union jobs at MaxPak, because of the petition of CCP’s Jobs for Somerville group, which collected 50 signatures asking for local hiring at the construction of the MaxPak site.

Alderman Desmond subsequently proposed an amendment to the City’s Responsible Employer Ordinance that would, on any city-funded project (including when those city funds are state funds that get funneled through the City) give 50% of jobs to Somerville residents and 25% to women and minorities.

Please come to this hearing and support local jobs! If you are interested in testifying or if you have questions, please contact Cecily at 617-776-5931 ext 226.

Responsible Employer Ordinance

Check out the post on Groundwork Somerville.

The Boston Tree Party

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Posted by Dara Olmsted

The Green Blog

February 10, 2011 05:39 PM

The Boston Tree Party is looking for a few good delegates to take up their cause. Their goal is to plant 100 pairs of heirloom apple trees in publicly used spaces throughout Greater Boston this spring.

The Boston Tree Party was founded by artist Lisa Gross in October as a way to bring together her interests in urban agriculture, public art, sustainability, and community building. The idea has spread quickly and delegations from across the area, from Boston University’s Center for Energy and Environmental Studies to Shape up Somerville have signed up to participate. Those that only have the space to plant one of the pair, have reached out to their neighbors to plant the other one, forming diverse neighborhood partnerships such as Tech Networks of Boston and Southie Trees.
The Boston Tree Party’s goal is to not only build a decentralized public urban orchard in the Boston area, but to also engage and educate the public on a number of issues from food access to environmental problems in a fun and playful way. The Boston Tree Party has educational and social activities planned, many of which are a riff off of Boston’s patriotic heritage. The first pair of trees will be planted on the Rose Kennedy Greenway at the Inauguration (April 10th), not far from the site of the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tree Party Convention (May 14th) will bring together Delegations at the Old South Meeting House, the site of the start of the Boston Tea Party. Groups are encouraged to turn their tree planting events into celebrations to bring the community together.
Why apples? The history of apples in the U.S. is tied to Boston-the first apple orchard planted in the colonies was on Beacon Hill and the first named apple in the U.S was the Roxbury Russet. Apples are also full of symbolism from health (an apple a day…) to interdependence (an apple tree cannot grow on its own, it needs another tree planted within a quarter mile). The trees perform a multitude of environmental benefits, while also providing access to free, healthy food.
Interested but don’t know the first thing about caring for fruit trees? The Boston Tree Party has that covered- they are training non-profits (Boston Natural Areas Network, CitySprouts, Groundwork Somerville, and NOFA/Mass) across the city to host organic fruit tree care workshops. If your tree gets infested by beetles or mildew- never fear. The Apple Corps (say it out loud- it’s clever), a partnership with YouthBuild Boston will answer your questions and possibly make site visits to help.
Delegation registration ends March 11th, so round up your friends, find a spot, and join the party.

Groundwork Somerville staff would like to send out a big “Thank You!” to all who came out to help tap the Sugar Maple Trees on the Tufts Campus.  On Sunday, over 40 participants of all ages pulled on their boots and snowpants and waded through the snow from tree to tree.  We measured the circumfrence of the trunks, drilled holes, happered in spiles with hooks, and hung two buckets from each tree – 18 in total!  The trees, loving the warm temperatures and sunny day, rewarded us with immediate sap to taste and hear as it dropped into the hanging metal buckets.  Thanks to the participants who emailed us their photos (including one of the “youngest tapper”), check them out!:

Thanks to Beth Meserve at the Mystic River Watershed Association for sending this along!

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Youth Jobs Program
Through a partnership with the National Park Service, Thompson Island Outward Bound offers job opportunities for youth age 14-18 from the greater Boston area. These jobs, which are based in the Boston Harbor Island National Park Area, are designed to develop life skills, workforce readiness, and environmental stewardship. Youth will experience hot, buggy conditions clearing trails, monitoring invasive species, and constructing public use features on the beautiful Harbor Islands, all while building teamwork, having a blast, and learning job skills. In addition to having the unique chance to contribute a youth perspective to park governance, youth will also be exposed to career paths with Outward Bound, National Park Service, and other “green collar” careers. We currently have two summer job offerings to which youth can apply: Green Corps and Island Ambassadors. (see website for more details)