Above: An extensive green roof designed by Brown Sardina for Deerfield Academy

On Thursday, January 12^th, James Heroux, of the landscape architecture, planning, and design firm Brown Sardina, came to ENC and spoke with the Youth Leadership Program crew about green roofs. We learned the difference between an intensive and extensive roof system – the former being park-like while the latter are basically self-sustained with little or no maintenance. Green roofs are built for a variety of reasons; they serve as insulation for buildings, provide many environmental benefits and have aesthetic values as well. James also showed us some of the different green rooftops around Boston, one of which is on top of the Massachusetts General Hospital Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care.  The green roof is not only a place for patients to hang out, but by connecting them to nature also helps in their recovery process. James also talked to us about his current project, a green roof on top of the Massachusetts General Hospital Museum. The roof-top is intended to serve as a place for relaxation, and will be filled with medicinal plants for educational and aesthetic purposes. Overall, we learned about the importance of green roofs as well as their benefits. A big thank you to James Heroux for sharing his time and knowledge with us.

Above: Located on an eigth-floor roof, the Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care intensive greenroof features the Howard Ulfelder Healing Garden at the Massachusetts General Hospital. It is a restful place for meditation and relaxation for patients and their families, with beautiful city views.

In January, the Youth Leadership Program went on a trip to Pinkham Notch, in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. On our first day, we went snow shoeing to Lila’s Ledge, which is near Mount Washington. It took us four hours to make it there and back. Our instructors for the trip, Nate and Jamie, gave each of us the opportunity to serve as the group’s leader and sweep. The sweep stayed at the back of the group made sure that no one was left behind on the voyage. Kalvin was the first leader. We stayed behind him in a single file line as we made our way up the mountain. He made sure that the team was together at all times, which was important in case of an emergency. About half way, Victoria took over as leader. We reached the top of the mountain and it was a beautiful sight. The most difficult part about the voyage was heading back to the cabin, because many of us felt cold and physically tired. Jairo served as leader on the way back down, and he was instructed to take a shorter route. He was a good communicator and encouraged everyone not to give up. We encountered difficult objects like a small stream and extremely steep hills. Night began to fall and temperatures dropped. Some people in the crew began to get discouraged and tired. But we had to keep going. We finally reached the cabin and enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate followed by a massive hot dinner.

On the second day, we woke at 6:30 am and had breakfast at 7 am. After that, we drove two miles to a cross-country ski lodge, where our instructor Nate taught us how to cross-country ski. We began in a flat area, then started going downhill. We went through a tunnel and on the other side we spent more time improving our skiing skills. Nate taught us how to ski on a flat area by doing a technique called the french fries, which entails placing your skiis side by side and pushing forward with the ball of your foot. When going downhill, we used a technique called pizza, which entails pointing the tips of our skiis towards each other like a triangular pizza slice. Skiing was harder than showshoeing because it takes a lot of physical strength. We also went snow tubing, which was very fun. We pushed ourselves down a steep hill and enjoyed the breeze as we went down the hill. After a long day outside we returned to the cabin and enjoyed a nice hot meal.

The next morning we went show shoeing to Lost Pond. It took us about 30 minutes to get there, and when we finally got there we played a tag game on top of the solidly frozen pond. Then we learned about the pond itself, and how beavers live in dams throughout the area. Did you know that beavers are the only animals besides humans that are able to change their ecosystems? We also learned that it isn’t safe to be on a frozen pond with ice that is transparent and not milky-looking, because it can break. We traveled individually back down the trail to the cabin, so that everybody had a chance to walk in the woods on their own. Then we headed back to Boston.

Last month Tyrone and I, along with the rest of Youth Leadership Program, joined Nate and Jamie on a trip to the White Mountains. For many of us this was our first time being removed from an urban setting. Prior to the trip we were asked to leave all phones and iPods at home. On our trip, we snow-shoed and cross-country skied, and were able to communicate on a level most can not, due to the many distractions in our daily lives.

Our first day at the mountains we were very hesitant about the scheduled activities, but when we got on the trails the fun had just begun. This trip gave us an opportunity to work on our leadership skills. Each of us was given a chance to lead the group through vigorous trails and obstacles. One of my favorite experiences on this trip was building stronger bonds with my team. I learned that we are all unique in our own ways, but we got to know each other on a more personal level. We may not compromise in some situations, but we were able to come up with solutions that suited all of us. While skiing we learned that we all might not do things at the same speed or even at the same levels but that as a team we had to support those who had a more difficult time. Skiing isn’t easy, but after taking a shot at it for the first time, we realized that it is very enjoyable. Once you get over falling, you become more eager to get up and take on the next hill. As our trip slowly came to an end, we started to realize the actual purpose of the weekend, and started looking forward to our next trip.

An enormous thank you to Lana and Melissa for sharing their time and expertise with YLP.

During our first day in the White Mountains, we snowshoed up an at-times-steep trail to two beautiful view points: Lila’s Ledge and Brad’s Bluff.

During day two, the crew learned to cross-country ski at Great Glen trails. Following a full morning of skiing and lunch, a portion of the crew chose to ski more challenging trails, while the rest of the crew headed to the tubing hill.

On our final morning in the White Mountains, we snowshoed to Lost Pond, where we played a tag game on top of the solidly frozen pond. Then, one at a time, each crew member snowshoed back to the trailhead. We left a minute between each person to allow for a solo experience on the trail.

All weekend, the crew enjoyed magnificent views of Mount Washington. Though temperatures remained in the two to ten degree range, the gear that we borrowed from YOP kept us warm during our winter adventures. A huge thank you to Jamie and Nate from YOP, who coordinated the trip and shared the weekend with us.

Yesterday, James Smith of Ann Beha Architects took YLP on a tour of the three-story Ann Beha studio. Different architects took a few minutes to share with us the projects that they are working on, some of which are confidential.

Each architecture project takes a great deal of patience, planning, and attention to detail. Many projects take a long time to design. For instance, Ann Beha began working on the Cambridge Public Library design in 1995; the project was completed in 2008.

The tour was very informative as well as inspiring. We were able to see, first-hand, the steps entailed in acrchitectural design and implementation. We’d like to thank James Smith and his colleagues at Ann Beha Architects for sharing their studio with us yesterday afternoon.

During the previous week in YLP, youth leaders had participated in many workshops dealing with architects. Several architectural firms came to the ENC: AnnBeha Architects; Crosby, Schlessinger, Smallridge; and Copley-Wolff Design Group. During these workshops, they discussed with us some of the prominent works of their company in Boston, and introduced us to the field of landscape architecture. These architectural and design firms were involved in some well-known projects such as the Rose Kennedy Greenway located near the Boston Harbor, the remediation of the abandoned Canton airport into a green space, and finally something more close to us, the reconstruction of the previously abandoned gatehouse to what we now know as the official ShattuckEmerald Necklace Conservancy office and visitor center. However, these were not only lectures; we also experienced a hands-on approach to designing parks and green areas. During the meeting with the AnnBeha presentation we learned how Olmsted designed the Emerald Necklace park system, and Frederick Law Olmsted’s professional path. James Smith from Ann Beha Architects discussed how the firm reused an abandoned building by turning it into workable office space.

Lastly, we were visited the Boston Architectural College (BAC), where we had a tour around the school. We saw the works of landscape architecture students and their proposed designs.

We had an inspiring and enjoyable week learning about the field of landscape architecture and design from some of Boston’s premier firms.

On Thursday, December 9, YLP learned about the history of the one-year old Shattuck Emerald Necklace Visitor and Volunteer Center, located at 125 The Fenway in the Back Bay Fens. James Smith, from the preeminent Boston-based architecture firm Ann Beha Architects, served as project lead during the process of renovating the historic H.H. Richardson into the Conservancy’s new home. James explained that this building was at one time used to control storm water run-off; beneath the building, you will still find a large conduit with storm gates that were raised and lowered according to control the flow of the Muddy River.

This building has gone through a lot over the years. After serving as the Muddy River Gatehouse, the building sat vacant for many decades, until last year when the building was renovated and transformed into the Conservancy’s office. The building is now widely appreciated and put to good use. We also learned about the building that is located next door to the Conservancy, which today is still used as a gatehouse. In earlier days, the gates were operated by a hand crank which lifted the storm gates and released water into the Muddy River. Now, modern-day machines operate the gates. I find it interesting that this office, once in disrepair, now functions as a stopping point for pedestrians interested in Frederick Law Olmsted and the Emerald Necklace park system.

We greatly appreciate the knowledge passed on to us by James Smith. There is so much that we didn’t know, and we now feel more connected to the history of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and more familiar with the field of architecture.

In last Friday’s workshop with Diane Lipovsky and Carolyn Campbell, landscape architects from the preeminent landscape architecture, planning, and urban design firm Crosby, Smallridge, Schlessinger, YLP learned about CSS’ project to design parkland on the site of the former Canton Airport. The former airport site progressively deteriorated over the years as people began dumping toxic car battery waste on the land. Diane explained how the design will address the major problem of site contamination through site remediation and reuse, by transforming the area into Mass DCR parkland. In order to safely address the toxins, the design entails scraping off the top layer of soil into a pile and capping it with a leak-proof material.

CSS faced a number of constraints when designing the Canton Airport parkland. For instance, they needed to account for sewer lines that connect to the city as well as the sites’ vast wetlands that flood every ten years – they had to consider how flooding would affect public access to the park – and of course work within a project budget. For YLP, the opportunity to design our own park using a base map, trace paper, markers and colored pencils, was the highlight of the workshop. Our task was to draft a park design for the site of the abandoned airport. We had to consider the same constraints that a true park designer would face. We incorporated many areas for public activities into our park designs.

We believe that it’s important for all people to have access to recreation in an outdoor environment. We are grateful to Diane and Carolyn for making our world a better place, one step at a time.