11-2B Southie Trees
Grant Round:
2011 Fall
Grant Program:
Boston Grants
Grant Type:
Other Grants
Grant amount requested:
9,000.00
Grant amount awarded:
$4,000.00
Please provide a brief description of the project for which you seek funding.
Southie Trees is a grassroots environmental education initiative devoted to preserving and maintaining tree cover in South Boston. At 9% tree cover, South Boston has the third lowest among all of Boston's neighborhoods. Every day, trees are being lost to diseases linked to climate change, large-scale new construction and redevelopment, as well as lack of maintenance. There is a need to educate South Boston community members about the importance of trees in our environment and how to save them. Southie Trees will mobilize constituents from schools, housing developments, and neighborhood community groups including Neighborhood Associations, Tenant Task Forces, and other groups listed in the resources section.
Project Summary
Southie Trees received a grant in 2011 to educate and mobilize constituents from schools, housing developments and neighborhood community groups about tree coverage in South Boston.
Primary Issue Area:
Land & Water
Please break-down/categorize the program expenses:
| Proposed Item | Estimated $ Amount | Would grant funds be used for this item? | Type Of Expense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stipends for youth/community tree advocates | $4,000.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Marketing and Printing Materials | $1,000.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Horticultural expert | $1,000.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Tree Survey materials | $250.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Tshirts and water bottles as incentives | $500.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Tree planting and maintenance supplies | $2,000.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Advertising to support educational outreach | $250.00 | Yes | Materials |
Whom does your group need to make this project happen?
Please explain how your group will engage members from your community in this project.
With support and funding from NEGEF, Tech Networks of Boston, South Boston Grows and other environmental organizations in South Boston, Southie Trees will lead a tree inventory throughout South Boston in an effort to ensure that at risk trees are not cut down and are maintained properly throughout a large construction project in the area and in other at risk areas. The first part of this project will be to plan and initiate this tree survey in collaboration with the Perkins School (located on Boston Housing Authority land in the middle of the Old Colony Housing Redevelopment) and youth and adults in the community and other educational programs. Southie Trees will engage a project leader/ environmental educator. Southie Trees will also engage an experienced horticulture professional to consult on the parameters of the tree survey and to assess tree health. The second phase of this project will be an analysis where the data gathered will be compared to the Urban Ecology Institute's data from 2006. The third phase of the project will be to design and disseminate information about the rate of the tree loss in South Boston with the goal to engage residents in projects designed to save and maintain existing trees, and plant new trees. This partnership will allow both youth and community members to participate in an environmental initiative close to home, allow them to feel ownership over the the built environment and will promote the health and vitality of the trees in South Boston and ultimately, this community. To save the trees and have residents take action, we will implement a final phase of the project where people will adopt a tree, either a newly planted or established tree. The initial focus of this project will be the Old Colony housing redevelopment where there are some of the oldest and largest trees in this neighborhood at risk of being cut down and replaced with smaller trees that will need adequate maintenance over time.
If your group receives a NEGEF Grow grant, how do you plan to pay for remaining expenses?
| $ Amount | Source |
|---|---|
| $9,000.00 | Grassroots |
Please list these materials or services
| $ Amount | Item |
|---|---|
| $10,000.00 | Tech Networks of Boston support for the Southie Trees Coordinator |
| $1,000.00 | web design supported by Tech Networks |
| $1,000.00 | office space supported by Tech Networks |
| $1,000.00 | horticultural expert |
Please describe what changes will occur in your community and its environment when your group's project is successful.
By preserving and maintaining the limited tree cover in South Boston, Southie Trees can ensure that people of all demographics have access to all of the benefits of trees including energy savings, increased oxygen, cooler summers from shade and transpiration, and quieter streets by leaves and branches muffling traffic noise. Maintaining tree cover lowers the chance of asthma and immune disease thanks to a higher degree of pollution filtering. Increased tree cover also provides a calming effect that reduces crime rates, gathering spaces for community members, and fosters a sense of "pride of place" among residents.
Please list how many people in your community your group expects to actively engage in this project.
75
What relevant skills does the group need (but does not currently have access to) to help move the initiative forward?
NA
What relevant skills do current members of the group have to help move the initiative forward?
We are partnering with Tech Networks of Boston's social enterprise, The Hutan Project, for staff funding. Staff includes a Northeastern University Co-op student (20 hours/week). We hope that this project will fund one additional ten hour per week position for a community-based resident to oversee the implementation of the youth/community tree education program. Volunteer help will be solicited through South Boston Grows, Planet Southie, Neighborhood Associations, specific youth programs that these organizations are involved in as well as other environmental initiatives in the area. In addition to financial support, we have secured capacity from experienced horticulturalists including landscape architects who will help consult on the tree survey as well as help to promote the importance of adequate tree maintenance