Check out the Projo link to learn about the new native planting on Angell Street. Many people helped make this remarkable restoration project, including the Providence Parks Department. Above all, we thank Hope Leeson and the Forest Health Project at the Rhode Island Natural History Survey and Sally Harmon who designed and organized the nurturing and planting of over 1,000 native plants.

The Providence Journal, May 1st, 2012

At the annual meeting of the Blackstone Parks Conservancy (BPC) in March, we reviewed our “To Do” list for 2012, and as usual, maintenance was at the top.

Emma Kibort-Crocker of City Year was one of 36 City Year volunteers who welcomed an afternoon outdoors at the York Pond corner of the Blackstone Park Conservation District April 9th. They got an early start cutting a particularly invasive plant, Japanese knotweed.

The other morning I awakened to an early sunrise and the sweet sound of birds tweeting outside my window–a much welcomed sign that Spring is approaching. Soon the trees will blossom, the temperatures will rise, and various migratory birds will brighten our local green space with stunning colors and song.

The City of Providence Parks Department in partnership with the URI Outreach Center announce the 2012 Season of the Roger Williams Park Community Garden.  More details here.

Emerging from a winter that was more mud than ice—more like three months of March–the path down the middle of Blackstone Boulevard needs rescuing, much as it did after a similar winter in 1998. Only this time, thanks to longstanding teamwork between the City Parks Department and the Blackstone Parks Conservancy, we’re starting from a better place than we were then.

With a boost from last week’s unseasonably warm weather, blooms are bursting forth along the Boulevard. A few shrubs and trees stand out.

“Through Our Eyes: Woodland and Water,” Sunday June 10, 2012. This exhibit will showcase the natural beauty of Blackstone Park and Blackstone Boulevard, the greenway of which they are part, and the Seekonk River. We celebrate what is seen “through the eyes” of visitors and guardians–all those concerned with the preservation and wellbeing of the park and river.

The bright yellow flowers of Cornus mas, or Cornelian Cherry Dogwood, have opened on the Boulevard. Its blooms, on leafless branches, are smaller than witchhazel. Noted for attracting wildlife, its nectar is gathered by bees, and ovoid red fruits will be enjoyed by birds when ripe in June. There’s one large, old shrub near Laurel Avenue, and two new small ones farther toward Swan point.  They have also been spotted at Upton and Mount Avenues.

Please join us for socializing & complimentary appetizers, followed by concise summaries of the Conservancy’s accomplishments in 2011. Our board members are eager to meet you and hear your ideas. Two speakers will give short talks on local happenings. City Forester Doug Still will discuss challenges to our trees. Tom Brueckner, Chief Engineer at the Narragansett Bay Commission, will update us on neighborhood sewer projects.