Garden Program

In 2024, new garden signs designed by Ruth K. Henry and Daisy Hebb were installed at the school gardens at Hosmer Elementary, Lowell Elementary, Cunniff Elementary, and Watertown Middle School. They responded to the 2023 Call for Art: Pollinator Pathway Signs (PDF).

Garden Program

In 2023 and 2024, Edible Watertown expanded to include the Garden Program in partnership with the Watertown School Gardens and Watertown Community Gardens. This program was funded through a generous Accelerating Climate Resiliency Grant from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The grant funded the construction of an accessible garden at the Watertown Middle School, the first two years of a summer garden program with a Summer Garden Coordinator and student interns, a series of public lectures by ecology experts, and two calls for art to reinforce the importance of pollinators in the garden. See the Summer Garden program flourish (external link).

The 2024 Garden Talk Series (PDF) featured:

  • Urban Nature: Human Nature on April 24, 2024 from 7-8:30pm in the Watertown Savings Bank Room at the Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main Street. Join Peter Del Tredici of Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University for a lecture on urban ecosystems and how plants, animals, and humans in urban centers can thrive together.
  • Economical Gardening on May 1, 2024 from 7-8:30pm in the Lower Hearing Room, City Hall, 149 Main St
    Rebecca McMackin is the Arboretum Curator at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx and recipient of the 2023 Pollinator Advocacy Award.  
  • Edible Native Wild Plants of Watertown on May 7, 2024 from 7-8:30pm in the Watertown Savings Bank Room at the Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main Street. Since Russ Cohen’s retirement in 2015 from his position as Rivers Advocate for the Mass Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Ecological Restoration, he has been giving wild edibles talks and tours.
  • A Practical Guide to Native Pollination System Conservation on June 4, 2024 from 7-8:30pm in the Watertown Savings Bank Room at the Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main Street. Join Dr. Robert Gegear to learn how ecological data collected by his research lab and Beecology Citizen Science Project are being used to gain insight into the causes of species loss from bee and butterfly pollination systems native to New England.
  • Poultice Making with Plants on June 27, 2024 at 7-9pm at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street. Join herbalist Jennifer Anne Tucker, MFA, about food and medicines from the backyard lawn and garden in a hands-on workshop using seasonal plants. Registration is limited to 12 and participants each receive a free copy of Jennifer Tucker's book Evelyn's Ways.
  • Wild Edible Walk on September 9, 2024 at 4-6pm at the Dealtry Memorial Pool Parking Lot, 64 Pleasant Street. Join wild edible expert, Russ Cohen, on a two-mile wild edibles walk along the Charles River. Watertown and adjacent communities are home to over 80 species of edible wild plants. Learn keys to identification. Rain date on Tuesday, September 10, 2024.
  • Medicinal Botanical Infusions Workshop on September 17, 2024 from 7-8:45pm at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street. In this workshop, join Dara Cheek to explore the history of alcohol infusion in the creation of herbal treatments for common ailments. We’ll examine a variety of botanicals, their medicinal compounds, and the process of extracting those compounds with spirits.