Learn about Birds: Wednesday, July 29th

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plant a treeParks and People is an adventure in learning about the natural world around you.  By focusing on resources found in your own neighborhood, you will learn about the makeup of  the natural world, its function and the value that it provides to the community.  This adventure is a one-year journey that will help you to become more knowledgeable about nature and the city.

This Summer, there will be three outdoor workshops that will kick off the Parks and People initiative.  The following workshops will be held at Emerson Wight Park, and you are encouraged to attend.  They will be fun, entertaining and a great opportunity to learn.  The workshops are open to folks of all ages, so bring you friends and families to the event.

Details on the next upcoming workshop is shown below:

LEARN ABOUT BIRDS

July 29, 2015
4:00 – 6:00 PM
Emerson Wight Park, Marble Street, Springfield, MA

Come learn about birds in the South End Neighborhood of Springfield. They help pollinate, eat a lot of bitting insects and add to the quality of life in our neighborhood. Also having a lot of different birds can tell us the health of the environment around us.

Plan to attend this FREE informational event, which features demonstrations, outdoor experiments and refreshments. This event is open to ages, including adults. Even if you don’t live in the South End, please come to the event.

This neighborhood learning, fun session, features several researchers, who will lead you on a fun, exciting look at the birds in the city. We will learn about how you can participate in helping to care and maintain bird populations in your yard, in our parks and along our streets. This will be a FUN event, and don’t worry if you don’t know much about birds; you will know a lot more when you leave the event.

Come to Emerson Wight on Wednesday, July 29th from 4:00 – 6:00 PM —

  • Learn Something New
  • Easy to Understand Science
  • Fun Filled and Fast Paced
  • Food and Drink
Posted in East Forest Park, Forest Park, Home, learn, McKnight, NEWS, Old Hill, Six Corners, Sixteen Acres, South End, Upper Hill | Comments Off on Learn about Birds: Wednesday, July 29th

‘Our City Forest’ Program Reaches City Students

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IMG_7321The program is called “Our City Forest” – a free program for area students run by Springfield Parks Department, ReGreen Springfield, and the U.S Forest Service.

The thought is if they work with kids early on, it provides long-term benefits for students and the city. “The neat thing about this project here. It’s taken place in an area…an area of a lot of crime, but if we can have the youth focus in on projects where they won’t join a gang. The idea is to keep them out of the gangs, in school, enrich their education,” explained David Bloniarz of the U.S. Forest Service.

The mission is to use hands-on activities, like tree bingo, to learn what we can find in our own urban activities.  “What they can see in their own urban spaces.  We’re not looking at big deers or things like that.  We’re looking at raccoons, coyotes, birds, and all the other things they’ll see in Forest Park, Blunt Park, or Van Horn,” said Bloniarz. “It gives you a learning experience for life and to encourage you to do things to help out the community,” added 10-year-old Samara Abraham.

Click Here to learn more about the ‘Our City Forest’ program.

Posted in East Forest Park, Forest Park, Home, learn, McKnight, NEWS, Old Hill, Six Corners, Sixteen Acres, South End, Upper Hill | Comments Off on ‘Our City Forest’ Program Reaches City Students

Earth Day Planting in Upper Hill Neighborhood

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IMG_7105Approximately 40 Regreen Springfield volunteers gathered on April 22nd, on Albemarle Street in Upper Hill, armed with shovels and pails to celebrate Earth Day by planting 49 new shade trees. The trees were donated by the Berkshire Bank Foundation and those doing the work included volunteers from Berkshire Bank, the University of Massachusetts, Cathedral and Central High Schools along with city forestry workers.

Edward Casey, the city forester, started the morning by giving instructions to the gathered volunteers on best practices for making sure the trees grow well and stay healthy. The project included three varieties of shade trees that should grow about 50 feet high, he said.

“I think it’s a great thing to be planting trees on Earth Day,” Casey said. “It’s fantastic that we are getting some help with funding from Berkshire Bank and as always ReGreen Springfield steps to the plate and helps us get these streets planted.”

The Upper Hill neighborhood, particularly side streets along Wilbraham Road, has a significant shortage of trees that the city, corporations and volunteers are striving to address, Casey said. Getting 49 trees on one street is a “home run,” Casey said.  “It’s a great thing to do,” said Kyle Kazeroid of Chicopee, a Cathedral High School student volunteering with ReGreen Springfield. “We’re just making the city a better place. It’s great to help everyone out.”

David Bloniarz, president of ReGreen Springfield, said the the project was a great opportunity for the group to continue its mission to “re-green the streets one tree at a time. Based on the residents response, we really think we are providing something that provides a great benefit to the quality of life for the neighborhoods of the city,” Bloniarz said.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno praised the project as “another example of the collaborative approach the city embraces as we continue our efforts to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods.”

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