MUC is a new conservancy, developing a unique model to create and restore biodiversity in Massachusetts cities and towns.
As a new nonprofit organization, we have several projects in nascent and developing stages. We list our projects-in-progress below as a small example of initiatives we hope to multiply in the near future. Ideally, this list will inspire more ideas for small, urban biodiversity projects from Mass. residents.
Tell us your ideas, no matter how unconventional they may be! Email: info AT muc DOT bio.
Self-sustaining Yard Garden, Worcester, Mass.
Status: Implementation stage
Project: Transformation of a grass front lawn of a triple-decker rental property in Worcester into a no mow, self-sustaining, flowering garden of native plants and ground cover. This no-maintenance lawn garden will pay for itself within a few years through savings from never again having to mulch, mow, weed, fertilize, clear or prune. This model will save thousands of dollars over time for its owner, and thousands of hours spent on maintenance. And importantly, no longer operating mowers, trimmers and leaf blowers will prevent incalculable tons of carbon pollution.
Once planted (summer 2025), this yard garden will provide residents with an attractive, aromatic space, with inviting footpaths and a bench matching the natural aesthetic.
This garden will also serve as an educational model for visiting students, and as an appealing example for other property owners who want to reduce their lawn maintenance and energy budgets, dress up their yards and negate pollution from their rental ownership.
MUC seeks to duplicate this model by working in partnership with property owners to transform their grass yards into self-sustaining (mowless!), species-rich native plant gardens. MUC will coordinate details: horticultural consultation, native plant purchase, preparation and planting.
View photos of this project in progress.
Miyawaki Forest, Randolph, Mass.
Status: Preliminary survey complete. Grant application submitted.
Project: Creating a self-sustaining mini-forest of native plants and trees on a .14-acre parcel of land in an Environmental Justice neighborhood. The parcel has been pledged for donation for this purpose; we are in the process of transferring ownership. This mini-forest will be planned and created using methods innovated by Japanese ecologist Akira Miyawaki some 40 years ago. The Miyawaki Method is a reforestation process devised to produce fast-growing, self-sustaining mini-forests in urban settings.
This project will be implemented in partnership with Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, a Cambridge-based nonprofit that specializes in the Miyawaki Method and has created several Miyawaki forests in Massachusetts, with several more in progress.
A grant application is pending from the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation for this and the following project.
Ecosystem Restoration, Springfield, Mass.
Status: Preliminary survey complete. Grant application submitted.
Project: This project will take place concurrently with the above project in Randolph, Mass. A land parcel of .75 acres, in the city’s Indian Orchard region, has been pledged for donation. We will similarly employ Miyawaki methods in creating a mini-forest of native plants and trees, in partnership with Biodiversity for a Livable Climate. However, this plot of land, which partly includes wetlands, may dictate different treatment, to be determined.
Soliciting Unbuildable Land Donations
Status: Ongoing
We at MUC know that there are thousands of small land parcels similar to the Randolph and Springfield plots that have been generously donated for our projects. These lots are typically designated unbuildable. They are often leftover corner lots from a building project, or sit on a slope or wetlands. They are usually overgrown, untended and serving no purpose (except, perhaps, as a collection ground for litter and detritus). Yet, year after year, owners of such lots are saddled with property tax payments but receive no return on their investment.
As an ongoing endeavor, we are soliciting donations of these lots for the purpose of transforming them from idle, urban eyesores into thriving mini-forests and rich ecosystems that deliver countless benefits to the community, and to the planet’s biodiversity. For donors, a tax liability is lifted off their annual expense sheet.
Contact us (email: eweld AT muc DOT bio) to donate your unbuildable urban lot.
Science Teacher Partnerships, Springfield, Mass.
Status: Planning stage
Partly pending the two above projects, we have begun partnerships with science teachers at the Springfield Honors Academy. Our teacher partners anticipate widening their curricula to include units on biodiversity, urban ecology, biogeochemical cycles, animal behavior, impacts of climate change, tree growth and much more, using the advantages of our living, urban forest laboratories. Students will have opportunities to view and engage in stages of nature from early ecosystem creation through tree and plant growth, pollinator and animal habitat restoration and forest maturity.
With biodiversity education among our primary goals, we are excited to foster these and more teacher and student collaborations.