Two Chelsea youth that are working as Waterfront Ambassadors have been participating all summer in a nature-inspired art project in the neighborhood.
The Waterfront Ambassadors, a summer youth employment program run by the Trustees Boston Waterfront is a summer team that consists of 11 Ambassadors.
Among these 11 Ambassadors are the two Chelsea teens, Brittany R. and Rabab B., who have spent the summer documenting some of their favorite places in and around Chelsea.
The teens photos have been aimed at capturing some of Chelsea’s unique and beautiful spaces.
Running through mid-August, the Chelsea youth are collaborating with and learning from a variety of partner organizations doing work across Boston, exposing the teens to a variety of potential career paths.
“Our Waterfront Ambassadors are an engaged group of local high school students, who are finding unique ways to explore and learn about the power of open space planning and development around the city,” says Managing Director of the Boston Waterfront Initiative Nick Black. “They are focused on what it means to design with access and equity front-of-mind, and are learning from landscape architects, artists, and community members from around the City.”
In early August teens had the opportunity to speak with Michelle Moon and landscape architect María de la Luz Lobos Martínez to learn about the benefits—and challenges—of building open, green space in a developed area.
“We focused on the Winthrop (greenway) extension,” explained Program Manager Sarah Plotkin. “The Ambassadors were then tasked with creating their own surveys for the Greenway and to share them with friends to see what feedback they might get, which they really enjoyed.”
Other guest speakers this week included Jason L. Burrell, a local resident and associate at the law firm Mintz, who spoke with the teens about setting goals, and his career journey; Trustees Director of Coast Tom O’Shea who detailed the organization’s coastal strategy and resilience projects underway; and Trustees Boston Community Gardens Engagement Manager Michelle de Lima, who gave the group a virtual tour of the Nightingale Community Gardens in Dorchester.
“The Ambassadors enjoyed learning about the different plants that were being grown and how community gardens operate,” said Plotkin. “A high point was getting to talk to one of the local gardeners who was working her plot at the time, and learning about her creative way of using shredded paper to help her plants grow instead of mulch.”
Brittany said she really enjoyed working with Speak for the Trees that aims to increase the tree canopy in urban areas.
“We worked in collaboration with Speak for the Trees on the Tree Benefits Project,” said Brittany. “We had to go on out to our neighborhoods to measure and identify trees. Later, we had to research their benefits to write them on the sidewalk with chalk, to remind others of why trees matter. It was interesting to see the reaction of people living in those areas because I felt like it was a part of a greater change. Although I was pushed out of my comfort zone, the result was definitely worth it.”
Rabab said he took part in a rock painting project in the area.
“It was a fun experience where we all were able to be creative and think about ways to spark some joy into our neighborhoods,” said Rabab. “This definitely sparked some joy in my neighborhood as all the kids stopped by to stare at the Patrick rock and even ask if it would be okay to add to the “collection”.
Black explained that the program had to sort of reinvent itself as the COVID-19 pandemic continues across the country.
Black said in Summer 2019, the Waterfront Ambassadors worked with key Chelsea grassroots and non-profit partners, lending a hand with local cleanups and stewardship projects.
However, the 2020 program, supported for a second summer by TD Bank’s Ready Commitment, has presented new challenges and necessitated converting to a virtual/remote work-learn structure to comply with social distancing measures.
Even with those restrictions, the two Chelsea teens are still meeting with and learning from—virtually—a variety of partner organizations including representatives from the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway, Harborkeepers, the Boston Society of Landscape Architects, and other local artists, organizers, and educators.
“Getting outside and into the community was still a big focus for this year and finding a way to safely step away from the computer screen while social distancing was a challenge, but our Ambassadors have certainly risen to the occasion,” added Black. “Their projects this summer include regular, independent exploration of nearby public gardens and parks, to assess and think about what makes these places welcoming, valued spaces for the communities that surround them. Documenting their findings with photos, the teens are creating a postcard series to share their observations called ‘Greetings from my Boston’.”
This year’s Chelsea Ambassadors are also engaging with the Boston Waterfront Initiative team to learn about the Trustees-led project to create a series of resilient, equitable parks around the City’s vulnerable waterfront. To help inform this work as part of a robust community engagement process beginning in the fall, the Ambassadors will gather open space design ideas and input from the community, with a focus on Boston youth.
“The engagement projects are the Ambassadors’ main focus of the summer,” said Black. “The goal is for each of the Ambassadors to explore their own communities with fresh eyes and learn from the many organizations and partners actively engaged with open space planning and community engagement work around our waterfront city.”