The following announcement was provided by Trees for Watertown:
The Bosch Community Fund has awarded the volunteer group Trees for Watertown a grant of $25,000 toward creation of a special new kind of green space in Watertown: Watertown’s first Miyawaki Forest, to be planted this November on the grounds of the Lowell Elementary School.
“TFW’s Forests For Watertown working group (FFW) was just beginning to realize how much funding and support the creation of a Miyawaki Forest would need, when out of the blue came Bosch Community Fund’s invitation to TFW to apply for a grant,” said Libby Shaw, President of TFW. “We are over the moon to receive the Fund’s support for this project!”
Bosch Community Fund’s invitation spurred an intense period of further research, site- searching, and collaboration with Watertown!s Department of Community Development and Planning and Department of Public Works, the Watertown Public Schools, and Watertown Community Gardens, as well as outside consultants and members of the wider Watertown community, in order to propose a strong project in time for BCF!s January 31 deadline.
“The award is a very big boost to a very small forest, making it possible to plant our Miyawaki Forest a year earlier than seemed feasible before their invitation,” said Anita Roy Dobbs, TFW
Board member and leader of the FFW working group.
“This forest will be a patch of wild nature about the size of a tennis court in the middle of the City, accessible to everyone and influenced by everyone. U-shaped, to make a forest ‘hug,’ it will have seating suitable for an outdoor classroom or for community nature gatherings,” said Dobbs.
The generous grant award is augmented by major contributions of labor and materials by the City of Watertown. This project is in line with numerous Goals and Actions in the Resilient Watertown Climate and Energy Plan, adopted by City Council in 2022.
This award also enables a book fund of forest-themed books to School libraries, and creation of a new curriculum unit – “What is a Forest?” – available for any school.
There will be lots of opportunities for Watertown residents and families to help create this mini-forest, including the community planting of hundreds of little trees on the Lowell School grounds near the corner of Orchard and George Streets in November.
A Forests For Watertown website is in the works. Meanwhile, please look for further news about this exciting new green space on Trees for Watertown’s webpage, Facebook and Instagram, as well as on City of Watertown social media sites.
Trees for Watertown is an all-volunteer 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the greening of Watertown through the planting and protection of shade trees and by educating and advocating for the vital importance of trees and green space to individual, community and environmental health in our city.
About the Bosch Community Fund
Established in 2011, the Bosch Community Fund supports local investment, local impact, and local stewardship. By awarding over $45 million in grants to various 501(c)(3) organizations and educational institutions in 38 Bosch site locations, the Fund promotes the enrichment of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, the advancement of environmental sustainability initiatives and eco+STEM, a cross-section of the two.
Curious as this is first I heard of this, great to plant trees but the grounds have been heavily used by kids both during the day and afterschool. Hoping the trees will stay on the upper portion of the hill as the lower section has been used for games. I went to the link but could not find a map of what the plans are.