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City Natives

In 2001 Boston Natural Areas Network established City Natives along the Neponset River in Mattapan. Located at #30 Edgewater Drive, City Natives is a short walk from the Mattapan Square Trolley Station and Blue Hill Avenue bus lines (see map). City Natives is sited on the former Columbia Tire Co. lot (now owned by the MA Department of Conservation and Recreation) adjacent to Kennedy Playground Community Garden. City Natives is a seasonal site active March through December. Parking is available along Edgewater Drive. Please call to make an appointment if you plan to visit as hours of operation vary.

City Natives is a native plant nursery and horticultural learning center that provides services to the citizens of Boston and beyond. The site, roughly half an acre, holds a modest greenhouse and nursery used to raise plants native to the eastern United States and Canada. The plants are utilized for community garden common areas and for restoration projects within natural areas throughout Boston. Plants are available for sale by appointment to individuals and organizations. (See Nursery Catalog) The greenhouse is also employed as an educational tool for BNAN’s horticultural programming and volunteer training.

City Natives is the home of the Learning Garden, a grouping of interpretive garden beds that display intensive vegetable gardening techniques applicable to urban and Community Gardens. The Learning Garden is a working garden maintained by BNAN staff and volunteers as an educational tool to compliment the MUG program and the Seed, Sow & Grow program series. Displays change with the seasons, plan to visit the Learning Garden often throughout the growing season.

The City Natives campus also includes an apiary, native plant display gardens, a wildflower meadow, and a small orchard. Volunteers are welcome at City Natives. Please contact BNAN if you are interested in volunteering.