Boston residents living in our neighborhood are fortunate to have some great open spaces within a couple of miles of each other stretching from the North End to the Back Bay.
The newly established Greenway that was created after the Central Artery Project was completed is looking better each year with more activities being planned.
The Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden are green places to escape the continuous traffic jams and fast pace of today’s life.
Then there is the crown jewel of open spaces, The Esplanade along the Charles River.
However, the maintenance of these spaces needs to be ongoing. The overuse by residents especially in the warmer months keep taking a toll on the grass and trees. In some of these parks the ground under the grass is like concrete having been compacted by thousands of people just walking or playing and water is sometimes unable to get to the root system.
Many times, both city and state funding for the maintenance of the monuments or trees or flowers or events falls short.
This is where special groups have been formed to protect and advocate to keep these spaces alive and usable for all the residents in our community.
A couple of weeks ago, the Friends of the Public Garden held their Green and White Ball that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore and refurbish the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial that is one of the top ten public art pieces in the country.
On June 7, the Greenway gala to raise funds for the Greenway will be held. And, in September, The Esplanade Association will be holding its fundraiser again to raise money to continue their work on keeping the Esplanade vibrant for residents of all ages to use.
This is just a quick glance at some of the many organizations throughout our neighborhood that keep our green spaces in shape for future generations.
We urge residents to volunteer for some of the work that needs to be done. The easiest task should be to just pickup and dispose of properly any trash that you bring. And if you really want to help, we urge you to attend one of the many galas or events that these neighborhood groups hold. These galas are a lot of fun and the money raised account for most of the organization’s funding that will be used to maintain the parks.
After all, we are all beneficiaries of healthy and well-maintained green space.