Framingham Clinics and Events

2009 REI MA grants

2009

2009 REI MA grants

Each year, the REI co-op dedicates a portion of its operating profits to help protect and restore the environment, increase access to outdoor activities, and encourage involvement in responsible outdoor recreation. REI is actively involved with local stewardship projects, workshops and education initiatives, and continues to support and partner with parks, conservation groups and outdoor recreation programs.

The following partners received grants for their programs in conservation, outdoor recreation, and getting youth outdoors:

1) American Camp Association New England
$9,500.00
Speak PEAK 2010
ACA New England proposes a summer initiative that is an expanded partnership between REI and the American Camp Association, New England to bring Leave No Trace principles directly to New England's urban campers and to reach additional campers in up to 100 camps. The unique worlds of children's summer camps provide an ideal delivery vehicle for the PEAK program because camps thrive right at the intersection of outdoor recreation and environmental stewardship--perfectly positioned to educate the next generation about the universal Leave No Trace (LNT) principles and ethics that will determine the fate and future of the environment. In an effort to make the seven LNT principles and ethics universal and to instill a common language in children today, the environmental stewards of tomorrow, ACA New England proposes to extend PEAK program exposure to approximately 10,000 campers in the camps that received PEAK packs through Speak PEAK 2009. Additionally, they will actively recruit fifty new camps that will introduce a minimum of 2,500 new campers to the principles. Approximately 12,500 campers will be Speaking PEAK after summer 2010. REI funding will support the purchase and distribution of PEAK packs for new camps, the planning, coordination and promotion of the opportunity for returning and new camps, the development and collection of first-rate online resources to introduce and extend Speak PEAK concepts to families and a minimum of 12,500 campers.

2) Bikes Not Bombs Inc
$5,000.00
Girls in Action
Bikes Not Bomb's (BNB) programs involve young people and adults in mutually respectful leadership development and environmental education, while recycling thousands of bicycles. BNB envisions the bicycle playing a major role in the health of communities. Their approach is to involve young people in creating community transformation by facilitating their development as critical thinkers helping them to become enthusiastic and safe cyclists, and by meeting pressing youth development needs such as job training, academic support, physical fitness, and leadership development. Since 1990, they have involved more than 2,000 young people ages nine and up in innovative educational programs in which recreational, academic, and personal development experiences are united around the common theme of bicycling. Since their inception, BNB has demonstrated a strong commitment to women's leadership. They place special emphasis on gender sensitivity in programming and are proactive in challenging gender stereotypes. With REI's support, BNB will offer two six-week sessions of Girls in Action serving approximately 32 girls in an intensive, hands-on, and experiential program designed to build self-confidence, develop enthusiastic and safe cyclists, and instill a commitment to environmental sustainability. Girls in Action participants, aged 12-18, will completely refurbish a bike that has been diverted from the solid waste stream through BNB's volunteer-coordinated bike donation program. Participants will not only learn basic mechanics and bike safety, but also discover Boston's surrounding natural areas, develop a strong sense of environmental stewardship, and become part of a vibrant and intergenerational cycling community that promotes alternative transportation.

3) Boston Natural Areas Network Inc
$10,000.00
Youth Conservation Corps 2009
Established in 1977, the Boston Natural Areas Network (BNAN) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve, expand and improve urban open space through community organizing, acquisition, ownership, programming, development and management of diverse types of urban land. In all of its endeavors, BNAN is guided by local citizens, advocates for their open spaces, and assists them to preserve and shape their communities. BNAN is receiving support from REI in support of their Youth Conservation Corps (YCC). For the 16th year of YCC operations, BNAN will again recruit, train, and employ 30 - 36 teens. The participants (ages 15 - 17) will come from diverse backgrounds and represent the ethnic diversity of the city. Three work teams will be formed. For six weeks in July and August, the YCC teens will carry out meaningful open space infrastructure projects, participate in an urban environmental education program and engage in stewardship for Boston's natural and green spaces. YCC is an ongoing integral part of BNAN's commitment to stewardship and provides new activities and program components each year.

4) Charles River Watershed Association Inc
$5,000.00
Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Project
Charles River Watershed Association's mission is to protect and enhance the health, beauty and enjoyment of the Charles River and its watershed. The organization works to achieve these goals through a three-part strategy of: 1) developing a sound, science-based understanding of interactions in the watershed; 2) defining effective, long-term solutions to the river's problems; and 3) promoting cutting edge solutions to environmental problems with government agencies and private entities. The watershed encompasses 35 communities within its boundaries including the urban center of Boston, suburban communities surrounding the city and semi-rural towns with rapidly increasing development in the western portion of the watershed. Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) is committed to using science and data to find solutions to the river's problems, and create a better, healthier river for everyone to enjoy. One of the most critical components of CRWA's work is water quality monitoring. The anchor of this effort is the Charles River Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Project, a program involving a network of approximately 70 trained volunteer water quality monitors who collect samples once per month at 35 locations along the river. Begun in 1995, their program has created the longest running, most comprehensive data set for the Charles River watershed. The data are used widely by regulators, municipalities and students in tracking pollution as well as progress toward EPA's goal of a fishable and swimmable Charles River by Earth Day 2010. The project's goals are to recruit, train, and support volunteers; to maintain their data in a reliable, publicly accessible database; to continue to monitor and track the health of the Charles River; and to use collected data to make the Charles a cleaner environment for public recreation.

5) Friends Of Saxonville Inc
$7,050.17
Cochituate Rail Trail Amenities
The Friends of Saxonville, a local neighborhood non-profit organization, is working with the Framingham Cochituate Rail Trail Committee to develop the Framingham section of the Cochituate Rail Trail. The entire trail is more than 4 miles in length and the section within Framingham is roughly 1.25 miles. When completed the trail will provide links to municipal and state recreational areas, commercial centers, residences, schools and regional transportation facilities. Recently, the Town of Framingham has approved a multi-million dollar sewer replacement project. The sewer project will share the trail's right of way and will greatly accelerate the funding and completion of the trail. However, the sewer project can only provide for engineering and completion of the trail surface along the one mile portion of the trail shared by the sewer. Separate funds are required for the remaining portion of the trail and all amenities. This project will provide material for kiosks, signs and benches along the trail, providing both geographical, historical and safety information to trail users. Volunteers will construct and install these amenities. The Friends of Saxonville and the Cochituate Rail Trail Committee have been working together for several years to publicize and clear the trail and get access to the right of way so that the public would be allowed to use it for recreational enjoyment.

6) Massachusetts Audubon Society Inc
$5,000.00
Protecting the Ecological Integrity of Broadmoor's Newest Moor
Mass Audubon's Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Natick and Sherborn, MA in Greater Boston and protects 846 acres of land, including Indian Brook, a major tributary of the Charles River. Visitors can enjoy more than nine miles of hiking trails along open fields, through upland mixed oak-pine woodland, or along the marshes bordering Indian Brook. Over 16,000 people visit every year, and the sanctuary naturalists work with more than 4,000 school children in outreach and on-site school programs annually. Last year, Mass Audubon's Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary, with the help of a grant from REI, finished the restoration of 30 acres of land, previously overgrown with invasive plants and shrubs, by clearing brush and invasive plant species so it could be convert into native meadowland to benefit grassland nesting birds, butterflies, and other species. Now the fields are cleared, but they need protective measures to keep invasive plants from re-seeding the cleared area. The activities that they wish to undertake this year with the help of volunteers are to remove a hedgerow that runs between the two cleared fields and re-route an eroded trail that crosses one of them. REI's grant will help cover the costs associated with this project.

7) Friends Of The Blue Hills Charitable Trust
$7,000.00
Blue Hills Invasive Scouts Program
At 7,000 acres, the Blue Hills Reservation (BHR) is the largest public park within the metropolitan Boston area, and contains a wealth of recreational and conservation opportunities. The ecological value of the BHR is tremendous: the BioMap project indicates that almost the entire BHR is made up of core habitats that have been designated as critical sites for the conservation of biodiversity in Massachusetts. The Fowl Meadow and Ponkapoag Pond, within the Blue Hills, have also received the state designation of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern. While the ecological value of this diverse conservation land is well-documented, invasive species pose a real and growing threat to native species and the health of the ecosystems. Invasive exotic plant species grow and reproduce quickly throughout a natural area, disrupting habitats and food sources for native plants and the animals dependent upon them. Local species losses result from this rapid invasion of exotic plants as native plant and animal species do not have time to adapt to habitat changes. The Friends of the Blue Hills (FBH), in partnership with the New England Wildflower Society (NEWFS), proposes to launch the Blue Hills Invasive Scouts Program, a volunteer-driven initiative to collect, record, collate and distribute invasive species data for the 12 most destructive invasive species in the Blue Hills. This initiative will also engage youth and families in hands-on outdoor activities that will enhance their appreciation of the outdoors.

8) Family Action Network of Winchester
$5,000.00
Borggaard Beach Revitilization Project
Studies have shown that providing children and adults with memorable, pleasant experiences in an outdoor setting will promote a positive attitude towards nature (Cooper-Marcus, 1998) Based on this premise, The Family Action Network of Winchester, a volunteer-based organization is seeking to enrich children's lives, promote sustainability, strengthen community and support the local economy by transforming an unused portion of our Borggaard Beach recreational area into an interactive aquatic play area for children. Combining safety and durability, spray parks are an effective way of expanding summer unstructured recreational activities available for families, primarily targeting children ages 2 to 12 yrs of age. REI's fund's will support volunteer's efforts to landscape the area to provide protective shading and create a welcoming environment to the newly created play area.

9) Friends Of Reading Recreation Incorporated
$4,800.00
Getting Reading Families Outdoors and Active
The Friends of Reading Recreation (FORR) was established in 2006 to enhance the recreational and leisure opportunities in the Town of Reading. Through the efforts of a core group of volunteers, FORR organizes and runs events throughout the year that supplement and enhance the efforts of the Reading Recreation Department. In 2009-2010, FORR is planning a wide range of events that will be open to all residents in Reading and surrounding communities. The events, including road races, family camp outs, a bike maintenance clinic, and much more will offer a variety of activities that are geared toward young and old, able bodied and differently abled, and anyone who is interested in participating. FORR's goal is to offer all of these events at low or no cost. Among the many goals for these events is to help create a greater sense of community in Reading, help improve the quality of life for all residents, provide fun and engaging activities for Reading's youth, and instill a sense of value for volunteering and being active in the community

• Cost: Free

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