After a successful round of recruitment, we’re excited to announce the first twelve communities that will be planting with us this spring. We have a few more in the works, testing their soil and acquiring access to land, but these twelve communities have ordered their trees and are ready to become Tree Planting Delegations of the Boston Tree Party!

Andover – Pike School
Boston – Fort Point Neighborhood Association
Boston – Northeastern University
Brookline – Church of Our Saviour
Cambridge – Shady Hill School
Charlestown – Charlestown High School
Chelsea – The City of Chelsea Tree Board
Dedham – Town of Dedham
Dorchester – St. Mary’s Women & Children’s Center
Dorchester – Quincy Geneva Housing / Arlean Family Day Care / Greater Grove Hall Main Streets
North Andover – The Office Recording
Waltham – Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School

We’d like to extend an official welcome to these new communities and to thank each of them for making a stand for Civic Fruit!

Stay tuned for details about upcoming tree planting parties, as well as a second announcement about more 2012 Tree Planting Delegations.

If you attended one of our community film screenings last month, then you had the distinct pleasure of trying our refreshing apple coleslaw.  This wonderful, tangy ‘slaw is great for picnics or anytime you want to transport food; since there’s no mayonnaise, it’s fine to leave out at room temperature for extended periods.

This recipe comes from “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” by Mark Bittman. For more inspiration on cooking with apples, check out our recipe page.

Ingredients:

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 small clove garlic, minced or grated
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/3 cup diced scallion, more or less
• 1/4 cup minced parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup minced dill leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salad

• 1/2 large head cabbage (Napa, Savoy, green and/or red cabbage), shredded
• 2 large tart, crisp apples, cut into small chunks
• 2 medium carrots, grated

Directions:

1. Add all the dressing ingredients to a large jar with a secure lid and shake well until combined. Or whisk together in a bowl.
2. Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss with the dressing, adding only enough to coat all the vegetables. Chill until ready to serve / transport.

Notes:

It’s best to let this rest for an hour or so after mixing together to allow the flavors to mellow; the cabbage will also soften a bit and exude some juice. Or let it sit for up to 24 hours if you like. Mix again before serving.

Sunflower seeds or walnuts would add a wonderful extra crunch and creaminess to this salad, but add them at the last minute so they don’t get soggy.

This Friday, our founder Lisa Gross will be taking part in a panel discussion at NYC’s Food Book Fair. The event will highlight cookbooks, memoirs, magazines, and books about science, food systems, agriculture, urban design, and food art and culture. The Fair takes place in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and will serve as a meeting place for food enthusiasts from all food disciplines.

FOOD + ART + MEDIUM

Friday May 4th, 10:30am-11:30am

A  panel discussion moderated by Nicole Caruth. Panelists include:

• Lisa Gross, Artist, Chairman and Founder of The Boston Tree Party
• Victoria Yee Howe, Artist
• Jennifer Rubell, Performance Artist
• Tattfoo Tan, Performance Artist
• Michael Harlan Turkell, Photographer, Heritage Radio Network Host “The Food Seen”

This panel asks the questions: Can art be eaten? Is eating an art? Food is an inspirational medium becoming increasingly more prevalent in art and performance. Food is a medium that crosses the boundaries between the mundane and the avant-garde. How are food artists using edible inspiration to change the definition of art and the definition of eating?

Tickets can be purchased on EventBrite at a discounted rate using this special promo code: FBF_ARTIST

We hope to see you there!

Last month, we co-sponsored a symposium entitled “Growing Civic Fruit” in partnership with Artists in Context and the Gastronomy program at Boston University.  This cross-disciplinary discussion focused on the intersection of art, urban agriculture, and civic engagement.

The event included presentations by Rachel Black, professor of Gastronomy at Boston University, and art critic Nicole Caruth, along with an engaging panel discussion moderated by curator Judith Hoos Fox. For a brief recap of the event, please visit: http://bit.ly/Hiu4z7

Come get your hands dirty in Ringer Park next weekend! One of our Delegations, the Parents and Community Build Group, is hosting the Annual Spring Clean-Up of Ringer Park on Saturday, April 28 (in collaboration with Boston Shines).

Breakfast, lunch, refreshments, work gloves, and tools all provided! What more could you ask for?

The two heirloom apple trees that Ringer Park planted with us last year did not survive, so volunteers will assist in re-planting a pair of young apple trees. There are also plenty of flowers to get in the ground, as well as re-mulching and general clean-up of the 12 acre park.

The Annual Spring Clean-Up of Ringer Park

Saturday April 28, 2012
9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Ringer Park in Allston

Sign-up to volunteer by emailing Joan Pasquale at pcbginc@mail.com

Directions:

Ringer Park is MBTA accessible by Bus #57 from Kenmore Station, #66 from Harvard and Dudley Stations to the Cambridge St./Union Square Stop, and the Boston College Green Line Trolley to the Allston Street Stop – Just follow Ringer Park’s gray stone wall to the side entrance and look for the Registration Table balloons behind the Softball Field. Free Parking is also available.

In case you missed our community film screenings this month, we’ve uploaded our documentary to youtube!

If you would like to screen this film at a community event, or even in the classroom, please let us know and we can provide a high quality version for screenings. Contact us at info@bostontreeparty.org

Enjoy the film, and please share it widely with your friends and family!

[VIDEO] We’re excited to announce that the Boston Tree Party documentary is now available online! Please share & RT! youtu.be/IOBJy9VnNng

— Boston Tree Party (@BostTreeParty) April 18, 2012

Existing Delegations and new Delegations came together at our Roxbury Community College film screening in support of Civic Fruit.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the recent screening parties for the Boston Tree Party documentary film!

Each party was hosted by a different Delegation in a different part of town.  A big thank you to Southie Trees / Tech Networks, Tufts Friedman AFE / Josiah Quincy School, Groundwork Somerville / Somerville Climate Action, and Roxbury Community College!

The parties were a lot of fun, and it was great to see so many current Delegations, potential Delegations, and interested community members come together in support of Civic Fruit. The Boston Tree Party is about more than just planting apple trees – it’s about using these trees to bring people and communities together.

Laura Held of Tufts Friedman School & Lai Lai Sheung of Quincy Elementary School - a beautiful partnership in Chinatown.

We screened the new film and shared sparkling apple cider and delicious apple treats made by our Project Coordinator Beth Nollner.  Thanks to Jennifer Kelley for doing such a great job on the film.  We’ll be posting the film online next week–stay tuned!

For all the Delegates who were able to pick up your plaques at these events – we sincerely hope you enjoy them! Both Earth Day and Arbor Day are coming up at the end of this month – why not schedule an event around either of these two special days to bring your community members together to install your plaques?

A plaque to commemorate an apple tree planted last year with one of our Somerville Delegations. Each Delegation had the opportunity to customize their plaques. This particular Delegation chose to honor a teacher from their community who had recently passed.

Lastly, many of you asked for recipes for the food served at the events. We’ve added them to our recipes page – hope you enjoy!

At last month’s meeting of the Boston Urban Forest Council, Matthew Cahill of BNAN updated the group on a very successful round of applications for the Grow Boston Greener grants – demonstrating an exciting interest in planting trees in the city (decisions on who made the cut will be coming soon).  We have our fingers crossed that the Boston Tree Party Delegations who applied will get the grant to expand their community orchards!

One of the main themes for last week’s meeting was about keeping track of the city’s trees. Victoria Wolff, Director of Sustainable Cities for the Urban Ecology Institute, discussed their ongoing effort to document the street trees of Boston, a project begun almost a decade ago. We are hoping that the Boston Tree Party can contribute to this effort by doing some ‘groundtruthing’ of our own later this year (stay tuned for exciting volunteer opportunities over the summer!). In the meantime, if you plant a tree in Boston, please consider helping the effort to keep track of the city’s trees by adding your planting to the Grow Boston Greener website.

Victoria also discussed the importance of planting a variety of tree species to protect against widespread damage from pests and diseases. Our efforts to plant apple trees around the city are certainly contributing to this biodiversity of trees!

Lastly, Matthew noted that the Boston Shines neighborhood cleanup and community service day is coming up on Saturday, April 28, 2012. For those of you not in Boston, check with your own city/town governments for your local cleanup day. If your town doesn’t have one, consider starting one of your own!

The next BUFC meeting will be at the BNAN office on Tuesday, May 22 at 6:30pm. Hope to see you there!

Did you miss the premiere of the Boston Tree Party documentary film?  If so, you’re in luck–we’re excited to announce a series of film screening parties across the city in the coming weeks.  Each event will be hosted by a different Delegation and will be a great opportunity to see the film, learn more about the project, and connect with the Boston Tree Party network.

Monday April 2, 6-7:30pm: At Tech Networks, South Boston
Hosted by: Southie Trees / Tech Networks / Paraclete Academy Delegation
1 Wadleigh Place South Boston, MA 02127
Andrew Square T stop, limited street parking

Tuesday April 3, 6-7:30pm: At Tufts Friedman School, Downtown/Chinatown
Hosted by: Tufts Friedman AFE / Josiah Quincy School Delegation
Sackler 216A, 145 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111
Chinatown or South Station T stops, parking garage

Monday April 9, 6-7:30pm: At Groundwork Somerville, Somerville
Hosted by: Groundwork Somerville and Somerville Climate Action Delegations
21 Properzi Way, Suite O, Somerville, MA 02143
Porter Square T stop, some street parking

Tuesday April 10, 6-7:30pm: At Roxbury Community College,
Roxbury Crossing
Hosted by: Roxbury Community College Delegation
Academic Building, room 3-424
1234 Columbus Avenue, Roxbury Crossing, MA 02120
Roxbury Crossing T stop, free parking lot

Space is limited at all of these events, except for the screening in Somerville on April 9. If you’re planning to attend, please RSVP to Beth, our Project Coordinator, at beth@bostontreeparty.org

We hope to see you there!

Last night, we had a wonderful film premiere event in partnership with Artists in Context and the BU Gastronomy program. Thank you so much to everyone who was able to attend! In case you missed it, here is a quick recap of the evening’s festivities.

Rachel Black started off the event posing the question, “How can urban agriculture lead to civic engagement?” With plenty of historical references, from Jefferson to Dewey, Rachel’s presentation expanded upon connections between food and cultural history.

Nicole Caruth spoke next with a presentation entitled, “Where Do These Apples Fall in Art History.” With amazing slides and imagery, Nicole enthralled the audience with art projects focused on growing food from the 1960’s to the present-day. The Survival Series, 7,000 Oaks, and Windowfarms were just a few of the intriguing projects Nicole highlighted. Nicole will be writing about these projects and more in a new book on the “Growing Phenomenon” in contemporary art.

Both presentations placed the Boston Tree Party within a larger cultural and art historical context.

After the presentations, the lights dimmed as we officially premiered the Boston Tree Party documentary. It was well received, and it wonderfully represented the inaugural year of the Party. The film will be available online in the near future, but you can catch the film again at one of our upcoming community screening parties this April.  Each party will be hosted by a different Delegation, and it’ll be a great way to connect with the Boston Tree Party community.

The entire event was filmed, so stay tuned for videos of both Rachel Black and Nicole Caruth’s presentations, as well as the panel discussion moderated by curator Judy Fox.