Advocacy Against Encroachment
Endowment Funds
Public/Private Partnership with the Boston Parks Department
Plantings
Park Rangers
Sculpture
Infrastructure



Advocacy Agains Encroachment

Since 1970 the Friends have been advocates for these public parks. The task is one of eternal vigilance, as evidenced by the constant flow of proposals to misuse, appropriate, or impinge upon these historic places.

• Since 1970 the Friends have worked to protect these historic parks from encroachment and misuse.
• In the 1970s, the Friends joined with other civic groups to defeat an urban renewal plan for five massive towers along Boylston Street that would have shadowed and damaged The Public Garden and Common forever.
• In 1990 and 1991 the Friends initiated legislation that now limits the amount of shadow that may be cast on the Common and Garden.
• The Friends have publicized the history, attractions, and needs of the parks through brochures, slide shows, and two books, Boston Common, and The Public Garden-Boston.

Endowment Funds

• The Shaw/a54th Regiment Memorial Fund provides for the long-term care of the monument honoring Colonel Shaw and the first black regiment recruited under state authority to fight in the Civil War.
• The Commonwealth Avenue Mall Tree Fund and the Common and Garden Tree Fund provide critical care for mature trees in each park.
• The Skating-in-the Park Fund helps support ice skating on the Public Garden Lagoon and on the Frog Pond, as well as the free Summer Pond program.

Public/Private Partnership with the Boston Parks Department

City parks can no longer be maintained by city governments alone, but only through public-private partnership. The Friends have served as resource and helpmate to the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, which is responsible for the care and governance of city parkland.

Plantings

• Since the 1970s the Friends have collaborated with the Parks Department in planning the renovation of the Public Garden and in guiding its horticultural development.
• The Friends have set out in all three parks over two hundred gift and memorial trees as well as extensive shrub plantings.
• The Friends monitor the health of established trees and fund critical treatment, including pruning and injection to combat Dutch elm disease.

Park Rangers

In 1983 the Friends and other groups initiated the Park Ranger program to provide park guardians and interpretive guides. In 2003 the Friends raised funds to avert the suspension of the Park Ranger Program due to lack of City Funds.

Sculpture

• The Friends have restored some fifteen monuments and tablets in all three parks including the Shaw / 54th Regiment Memorial on the Common and Washington Monument in the Public Garden.
• In 2001 the Friends assisted the City and Light Boston in the restoration and lighting of the Brewer Fountain on Boston Common.
• In 1987 the Friends sponsored and installed the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture by Nancy Schön.
• The Friends have assisted in the restoration and enhancement of the fountains and their sculpture.
  

Infrastructure

• In the 1970s the Friends installed the Swan Boat landing and assisted in restoration of the Garden fountains.
• Together the Friends and the Parks Department have carried out numerous improvements in each park, such as waste receptacles, lighting, benches, signage, fencing, irrigation system, turf, and the Common informaton kiosks.