SBNDC Spotlight: Jenn Brundage

As a Southie Trees co-op in 2011, Jenn Brundage is shown tending to a tree pit on East Broadway.

Boots on the ground. Hands in the dirt. Voices for change.

Jenn Brundage was grateful for her time in 2011 as a Northeastern co-op for Southie Trees, a program that was run by Tech Networks of Boston at that time and collaborated with South Boston Neighborhood Development Corporation. South Boston NDC now oversees Southie Trees.

 The main goal of Southie Trees was to help increase and maintain tree cover in South Boston through education and neighborhood projects, Jenn said.

“It was such a great way of connecting sustainability and community right in your backyard,” she said about the grassroots initiatives the program led in South Boston.

“One of the best parts [of the co-op] was getting to know the neighborhood and learning how to affect positive change.”

The most appealing aspects of the job were being outside, planting and caring for trees, and working with community members and local businesses, she said. “It was such a gratifying experience to have that connection to the South Boston neighborhood.”

Of Boston’s neighborhoods, South Boston consistently has had very low tree cover. Southie currently has the second-lowest tree cover in the city.

As a co-op student, she had to figure out how to get locals involved in Southie Trees’ community projects. “I utilized my event coordination skills and my love of nature and green spaces … to get people engaged and excited to participate in tree planting and tree pit revamp events.”

She also took away the importance of giving back to your neighborhood and trying to improve the area that you live in. “It was such a rewarding experience.”

Jenn graduated from Northeastern University in 2013 with a degree in environmental science. She is now the Associate Director of Campus Scheduling at Northeastern University and a co-founder with Christian Matyi of The TrikeHub, a Boston-based pedicab booking business for tours and special events in the city.

Every month she was a co-op for Southie Trees (July-December 2011), there were tree and flower plantings, tree pit cleanups, and other beautification and advocacy projects that engaged the community.

However, the project that stands out the most for Jenn was a local campaign to preserve the mature trees at Old Colony during a redevelopment project that included several phases of construction.

“We wanted to ensure that the mature trees in that neighborhood stayed where they were -- at least the ones that were healthy and could survive the impact and stress of construction,” Jenn said. “We wanted to make sure that those trees were included in the Boston Housing Authority’s master plan.”

And they were. Southie Trees and other local advocacy groups in the neighborhood collaborated with the Boston Housing Authority to update the plans for Phase II of the project. The heritage trees that were not in direct conflict with proposed buildings or new streets remained in place and special attention was given to these trees during the construction period to prevent damage to their root systems.

As a sophomore in college, creating a presentation to the Boston Housing Authority was intimidating, but the opportunity to connect and collaborate directly with the people involved in the final construction and landscaping decisions was exhilarating.

“Being a part of a campaign like that was the highlight of my time with Southie Trees because it was something that could positively affect the lives of people in this community.”

Trees have always brought happiness and serenity to Jenn. “Having that tree cover, I know the air is cleaner and cooler. Trees act as natural air conditioning, especially in cities, to reduce the heat island effect. They also reduce noise pollution and stormwater runoff in city streets. They're so important and I feel like as a community, we tend to take them for granted, but I think we definitely notice when they’re not there.”

Jenn Brundage used to ride her bike to her Southie Trees co-op in 2011. Today, she is a co-founder of The TrikeHub, a Boston-based small business that specializes in coordinating pedicab services for special events in the city.