SBNDC receives Love Your Block grant!

South Boston Neighborhood Development Corporation has received a City of Boston Love Your Block Mini-Grant from the Make Boston Shine Trust for a cleanup/planting day on West Broadway.

“We are thrilled to get this funding from the city to help us beautify the West Broadway business district and promote health and climate benefits by helping the street trees survive,” said Donna Brown, executive director of South Boston NDC.

For more than a decade, South Boston NDC has maintained about 30 street tree pits in the West Broadway business district.

With the Love Your Block funding, South Boston NDC will host a community cleanup/planting event -- and pizza party -- to get the neighborhood out to help pick up trash, plant pollinator-friendly flowers, and tend to the tree pits. In addition, the organization is creating an awareness campaign to educate the South Boston community about the importance of trees and how to save them as well as encourage local businesses and neighbors to regularly water the trees in front of their buildings.

“By engaging volunteers and employing local teens, we will build awareness of the importance of the urban tree canopy,” Brown said, noting South Boston has the third-lowest amount of tree canopy in the city.

South Boston NDC is committed to its Climate Action Initiative to become more sustainable and reduce its overall environmental impact. Maintaining these tree pits helps mitigate heat island effect and provides native plantings to attract pollinators.

Stay tuned for the cleanup/planting date!