Natick Report - Page 2 of 40 - More than you really want to know about Natick, Mass.

Gardening update: Natick Report co-editor’s philodendron

September 20, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Thanks to all for your comments and concerns about Phil the Philodendron, the once sad little rescue houseplant with an indomitable will to live. I wrote last month about the big lug and how after a few short years he’s grown into a handsome specimen with confidence and swagger to spare.

We just moved him upstairs after his summer spa vacation on the front steps of our house. Fall is coming, and Phil is cold-sensitive. Uncle Jerry from Dorchester, gardener extraordinaire says so, and when Uncle Jerry says get that plant inside, I don’t argue.

Here are his new digs. Please wish Phil well as he readjusts to life on the inside.

Phil the Wellesley Philodendron enjoys a sunny corner.

Here’s Phil on his yearly front-step spa vacation:

Natick’s best benches

September 18, 2020 by Bob Brown 1 Comment

Take a load off and park yourself on one of Natick’s best benches.

These are seats recognizable for their style, significance or unusualness.

Our list will grow—this is a work in progress: Suggestions? natickreport@gmail.com

Memorial School playground Natick — Memorial Elementary School playground

Natick's Fallen Soldiers bench, Rte. 135 — Natick’s Fallen Soldiers bench on Rte. 135 near Natick VFW Post 1724

Women Veterans memorial bench at Morse Institute Library

outside art mustache bench title city — Mustache bench outside Title City Barbers in Natick Center

SmartPak Saddlery on Rte. 9 east bench — SmartPak Saddlery on Rte. 9 horse bench

Wilson Middle School, Connor Heffler bench

seating at natick common — Natick Common

Broadmoor wildlife sanctuary — Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary

log bench Hunnewell Town Forest off Oak St — In Hunnewell Town Forest off Oak Street

D'Agostino's bench — D’Agostino’s flowery bench

south natick dam bench — South Natick Dam bench is no great shakes, but can’t beat the view

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Natick pot shop public forums kicking off

September 17, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Natick has narrowed down the candidates for two recreational marijuana shops in town to three, and those candidates will kick off a series of public forums tonight, Sept. 17, at 6:3opm. Revolutionary Clinics is up first to discuss plans for its operation that would be located on Rte. 9 where Nine East Wine Emporium now does business.

Traffic will be one issue on neighbors’ minds for tonight’s meeting. Some have been feeling relief of late with traffic at the liquor store lessening in recent years, but now they fear an upswing if a pot shop moves in. There’s trickiness for drivers navigating the store’s parking lot, Grove Road, Jennings Pond Road, and Rte. 9, and accidents aren’t infrequent.

Revolutionary Clinics	6 Worcester St.	Retailer	September 17, 2020	Meeting Announcement
C3	42 Worcester St.	Retailer	September 21, 2020	Meeting Announcement
Cypress Tree	321 Speen St.	Retailer	September 24, 2020	Meeting Announcement

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Online lecture about suffrage from Bacon Free Library, Natick Historical Society

September 17, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Bacon Free Library and the Natick Historical Society are co-sponsoring an online lecture on the campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment delivered by Barbara Berenson, J.D. The Zoom event, set for Sept. 22 from 7-8:30pm, is free and open to the public.

The link to the virtual lecture is available upon registration. Register by emailing events@natickhistoricalsociety.org

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, protecting the right to vote from discrimination on the basis of sex. The success of the women’s suffrage movement inspired greater calls for equality and evolved into the campaign for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. First introduced to Congress in 1923, the amendment passed the House and Senate in 1972 but has yet to be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures. Campaigns for the passage of the ERA continue today.

Barbara Berenson is the author of Massachusetts in the Woman Suffrage Movement: Revolutionary Reformers (2018), Boston in the Civil War: Hub of the Second Revolution (2014), and Walking Tours of Civil War Boston: Hub of Abolitionism (2011, 2d ed. 2014). She is currently a lecturer at Harvard Law School and teaches a course on women’s suffrage at Tufts University.

Natick, Charles River group score $264K climate change grant from state

September 16, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The state has awarded the town of Natick and the Charles River Watershed Association with a $264K climate change grant focused on building resilience across the Charles River.

While the project has been led by the Charles River Watershed Association, Natick Sustainability Coordinator Jillian Wilson-Martin says the funding will “help develop flood modeling that takes into consideration future precipitation scenarios (that reflect climate projections) for Natick and 14 other communities in the Charles River Watershed.”

This is important, she explains, because the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) maps that communities use for flood risk planning “are based on historical data, not future projections – and climate change is expected to increase precipitation in Massachusetts and exacerbate flooding.”

Among other things, Natick has been exploring what to do about the South Natick Dam, which is in need of repair. The town is exploring whether it should just be removed.

south natick dam log — Spillway at South Natick Dam

Natick is working with the other 14 communities as part of the CharlesRiver Climate Compact (CRCC).

“This initiative will produce both much needed technical information about where and when precipitation driven flood-risk in the watershed is expected to be exacerbated by climate change, and bring consistency across our watershed communities in regards to how we are planning and governing for expected climate impacts, thus promoting a more comprehensive and synergistic approach,” according to the Charles River Watershed Association.

The effort is designed to support a data-driven approach to municipal, business and residential planning.

The state doled out more than $11M in funding through its Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program, including action grants to communities like Natick that have already gone deep into the MVP planning process. Natick previously has used MVP grants for tree planting, water conservation, and more.

The Charles River Watershed Association also received $419K from the state in a partnership for Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Milford Town Park.

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