Photo courtesy of Nature.orgA group of community leaders from Dorchester’s Talbot-Norfolk Triangle Eco-Innovation District (EID) and Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation (CSNDC), are working with the Nature Conservancy (Nature) organization to” increase the benefits of nature for Codman Square residents through green jobs, tree planting and stewardship, and the creation of new natural features in the neighborhood,” according to a press release sent to the Dorchester Post by Nature.
These organizations will work to provide local residents with “green-infrastructure” job-related training and certification opportunities and help create a “pipeline” through which residents can find these jobs.
This work is supported by a $250,000 grant from The Nature Conservancy’s North America Cities Partnership Fund, that also will support continued training of local residents and organizations in tree planting and stewardship and building the first rain garden, to be located within a new affordable housing development, the organization said. Rain gardens are natural features that help beautify the neighborhood while also filtering stormwater run-off to clean water and reduce flooding.
“The nexus for us is between climate resilience and people,” explains Gail Latimore, Executive Director of the 35-year-old CSNDC, which hosts the EID, a comprehensive, neighborhood-scale and community-driven sustainability initiative spanning 13 blocks of the Codman Square area of Dorchester, Boston’s largest neighborhood.
“We are looking at how to help the residents we serve to remain in place by using a sustainability lens, in addition to the other services we provide in support,” Latimore said.
This neighborhood-led Eco-Innovation District —the first of its kind in New England—has focused on helping residents save money through energy retrofits of homes and small businesses, measuring the positive economic and climate impact of new trees planted in the neighborhood and creating green jobs for people in CSNDC’s service area.
“Jobs and workforce development are critical to our community. Adapting to a changing climate is critical for us, too, as it is for all of Boston,” said David Queeley, CSNDC’s Director of Eco-Innovation. “As we use nature to help us adapt to climate-related impacts—whether it’s by creating green spaces that filter stormwater, or planting trees that clean the air and help save energy by reducing the urban heat island effect—we want our community to be positioned to take advantage of related employment opportunities.”
Since 2017, in Codman Square, local residents, CSNDC, The Nature Conservancy and other key partners like Talbot-Norfolk Triangle Neighbors United, affirmed they have planted more than 150 trees, shrubs, and ornamental grasses on CSNDC-managed affordable housing properties and in neighborhood homeowners’ yards.
THe CSNDC is also partnering with the City of Boston and with the Boston Water and Sewer Commission to create other nearby rain garden and sidewalk reclamation projects that will have a positive impact on climate and neighborhood resilience.
Jon Kachmar, Director of Urban Conservation Programs for The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts, says opportunities for tree planting, tree stewardship, and creation of rain gardens or other open space are increasing as new affordable housing comes online in the Codman Square area.
“We want to identify and support these opportunities and help prepare people to make the most of them for employment—and for the well-being of the community overall,” Kachmar says. “It’s an incredible opportunity for The Nature Conservancy, guided by the community, to be able to play a role as positive things happen in the neighborhood. Green jobs, tree planting, and rain gardens can be an important part of a healthy and vibrant Codman Square.”
