Day Two: The "Study of Home" and the Boston Nature Center

Today's main activity was a visit to the Boston Nature Center. Some of my major take-home messages and ideas from the day involve:

The unique context and history of the site:

• The property was formerly owned by the state hospital system and was used as a hospital/home for those with mental illness. All such facilities nation-wide have since closed. In this instance, that decision resulted in a virtually untouched tract of 175 acres of land in the middle of Boston. The Massachussetts Audubon Association acquired 67 of those acres nearly a decade ago which now house the Boston Nature Center. For those of you who, like me, can't think in acres, that's roughly equivalent to a 3 x 3 city block area, or 9 Wrigley Fields, or 7 acres fewer than Dan Ryan Woods on the southside. It's not a huge land area, but in terms of open space in the city? It's pretty impressive.
• This site touches on 6 different neighborhoods and is less than 1/4 mile from "the death triangle," which is roughly equivalent to East Garfield Park from the sounds of it. Amazingly, the BNC's programs target the local audiences. It's not like the Center for Green Technology where all of the visitors come from outside of the community; BNC is a force WITHIN the community. It's essentially a community center with a natural theme. They even have a community advisory council to which they are held directly responsible. WONDERFUL.
• Most of the reason MassAudubon was able to acquire this site is because no one else wanted it. Literally, nothing could be built there and "no one had any better ideas."
• The building they created on the site is the "greenest municipal building in Boston." It is LEED certified, and has all of the usual accoutrements - solar panels, geothermal heating/cooling, materials made of a high percentage of recycled content, etc. (Disclaimer: I could/should say more about this, but as I said on the last C3 field trip, I think that if I tour one more green building, I just might lose my head. USGBC, I love you and your work is SO important, but I can no longer feign enthusiasm over low e windows and natural lighting. We have the technology, it's affordable, and everyone should be doing these things. I know we have to educate people to make that a possibility, but I will NOT be taking on that task. To each his own.)

The community gardens:

• They host 275 community gardens on site. Community gardens existed there prior to MassAudubon’s arrival, but have been greatly enhanced by the presence of this organization. MassAudubon spent $0.5 million installing an irrigation system and fencing, establishing plot borders, and more, which has obviously had a great impact.
• Because the gardens are in the center of the property, they are protected from vandalism – a MAJOR problem in urban gardening based on what I’ve heard from my gardening friends in Chicago. The gardens also have access to universities through MassAudubon’s relationships; students from Suffolk University come in to do soil and air quality testing and look at plant growth. How cool is that?!
• What is perhaps most exciting is that, despite MassAudubon’s role, this is still a COMMUNITY garden. The gardens are run by the community – they even seemingly have a board responsible for advertising, maintenance, and more.

Their youth programs:

• They work with teachers to develop thematic, integrated environmental education programs in local schools. They are very committed to providing continual support for these classroom teachers.
• They provide educational youth camps (for 720 kids this summer!) from 8:30am to 5:30pm every day over the summer, and have a sliding payscale. Some families only pay $25 per week! This is all in response to the needs of the local community.
• They have a Career Ladder-esque program for youth, starting their sophomore year in high school. These students have access to special scholarships and the opportunity to work every summer when they come home from school once they start college. This is perhaps my favorite program of theirs.

Their community focus:

• They work very hard to facilitate leadership within the community, and gain their input through things like focus groups, face-to-face conversations, and more. They "listen and respond" by reporting to community groups, being approachable, and asking people to evaluate their programs.
• They attribute a great deal of their success to the "trust building" they did with the local community. They had to prove that, as "an elite, white organization" they weren't using the local people for photo opportunities or to access specialized funding. They faced a lot of skepticism that wasn't overcome until construction started and staff from the local community was hired.
• There was also a lot of local concern that MassAudubon's involvement would be short-lived, but people are now convinced that they are there for good because the Nature Center has a track record of being very transparent about what they plan to do, then following through.

In addition to my experiences at the Boston Nature Center, a few other noteworthy items...

Random thoughts from the day:

• Scale can matter a great deal in the study of science. While some things are, by nature, defined by scale (e.g., ecological hierarchy), other things are independent of a set scale (e.g., ecosystems). Considering scale in every situation, though, can help you determine how to collect data and draw conclusions.
• Interesting thought exercise: Humans could be considered similar to cancer. Cancer, by definition, exhibits uncontrolled growth, lack of differentiation, metastasis, and is a part of the body. Humans have also exhibited uncontrolled growth throughout the world, lack cultural differentiation (e.g., WalMart and McDonald’s can be found everywhere and languages are being lost), travel via networks around the world, and are a part of the greater ecosystem.

Quotable quotes:

• Study the evolution of altruism. I’m pretty sure my friend Irvin has been exploring this concept. Is it evolutionarily valuable to do good for others? I’m interested in this because, if I fail to explain the ecosystem services and the selfish reasons that people should protect the planet, is there some aspect of human altruism that I can use to make the issues about which I’m passionate relevant and compelling?

Key questions from the day:

• There are so many environmental education facilities all across the country. Not programs, but facilities. Why isn't there a network for those people? They could learn so much from each other!