MEET OUR AWARDEES
We are pleased to introduce the 2026 Henry Lee Fund for Boston Parks Awardees! Explore the various special projects across the neighborhood parks and public greenspaces throughout Boston, which support the care of the trees, soil, turf, sculpture, and bring communities together!
2026 AWARDEES
NEIGHBORHOOD: Adams-King Playground, Dorchester
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
The Saint Marks Area Civic Association is a neighborhood-based volunteer organization committed to enhancing the quality of life in Dorchester. The funding will be used to upgrade an existing pollinator garden by adding improved fencing, educational signage, and more native plants. This project not only supports pollinator habitats but also creates an inviting and educational space within a well-frequented public playground.
NEIGHBORHOOD: Adams Park, Roslindale
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
Roslindale Village Main Street is dedicated to enhancing the commercial district and managing important public spaces in Roslindale Square. This project will introduce picnic tables, including ADA-accessible seating, along with seasonal plantings in Adams Park. These improvements aim to promote daily use, support community events, and improve accessibility in this central neighborhood gathering place.
NEIGHBORHOOD: Ronan Park, Dorchester
GRANT AWARD: $2,000
Friends of Ronan Park is a volunteer-led group supporting one of Dorchester’s largest and most active parks. Grant funds will improve a park entrance area with a Little Free Library, new plantings, pathway stabilization, and repainting of seat walls. The project creates a more welcoming and accessible entry point to this well-used community park.
NEIGHBORHOOD: James A. Hayes Park, South End
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
Friends of Hayes Park is an all-volunteer group collaborating with the City to maintain and enliven a neighborhood park in the South End. The funding will be used to remove a fallen mature tree and plant a new Katsura tree. This investment helps preserve the tree canopy, provide shade, and maintain the unique character of this small yet heavily frequented park.
NEIGHBORHOOD: Thetford Evans Playground, Dorchester
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
Redefining Our Community (ROC) Organization focuses on community-driven improvements in Dorchester neighborhoods. This funding supports beautification efforts at Thetford Evans Playground through perimeter plantings and enhancements that improve the look and feel of the space. The playground serves local families, daycare centers, and youth and is an important neighborhood asset.
NEIGHBORHOOD: Titus Sparrow Park, South End
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
Friends of Titus Sparrow Park is a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to supporting year-round programming and stewardship in the South End. Funding will be used to restore the planting beds next to the playground by removing invasive species and planting native drought-tolerant, pollinator-friendly perennials. This project complements recent City park investments and improves both the ecology and aesthetics for park visitors of all ages.
NEIGHBORHOOD: 89 Radcliffe Street Food Forest, Dorchester
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
The Boston Food Forest Coalition creates community-owned, public food forests in under-resourced neighborhoods. This grant supports multilingual educational signage at the new Radcliffe Street Food Forest, helping visitors navigate the space, identify plants, and learn about food forests and stewardship. The signage improves accessibility, education, and inclusion in this new public park.
NEIGHBORHOOD: Statler Park, Downtown Boston
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
The Cocoanut Grove Memorial Committee is dedicated to honoring the victims of Boston’s deadliest fire and preserving its historical legacy. Grant funds will support key components of the Cocoanut Grove Memorial, including engraved wall elements that commemorate the victims. Located in a highly visible public park, the memorial provides a space for reflection, education, and remembrance.
NEIGHBORHOOD: Loesch Family Park, Dorchester
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
Speak for the Trees is a Boston-based nonprofit focused on protecting and expanding the urban tree canopy. This project will provide professional pruning and care for mature trees at Rev. Loesch Family Park. The work improves long-term tree health, safety, and shade in a park that hosts daily recreation, school use, and community events.
NEIGHBORHOOD: Old North Church, North End
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
Old North Illuminated stewards the historic Old North Church campus, including publicly accessible landscapes along the Freedom Trail. This grant supports improvements to the 18th Century Garden as part of a larger accessibility project that enhances circulation, drainage, and access for visitors of all abilities. The work ensures that this historic garden remains an inviting, ecologically valuable green space for residents and the millions of visitors who pass through the site each year.
2025 AWARDEES
NEIGHBORHOOD: South End, Boston
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
The Betances Mural, created in 1979 under lead artist Lilli Ann Killen Rosenberg, is a vibrant public art piece in Plaza Betances, Boston. Made from ceramic plaques and glass mosaics by over 300 community members, it celebrates cultural pride and serves as a cultural hub for local identity and gatherings, including the annual Festival Betances. The mural has gained national recognition for its artistic and cultural significance. The Betances Mural continues to radiate beauty and meaning, but it is in need of repairs.
NEIGHBORHOOD: Hyde Park, MA
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
Doyle Park is an abandoned playground along the Neponset River in Hyde Park—a river that runs through the neighborhood for three miles, offers little-to-no safely accessible public waterfront enjoyed by residents of Boston’s other major rivers, and even residents upstream on the Neponset. DCR’s redesign will improve Doyle Park and make the space more inviting. One component left out of the initial redesign is a play structure in the Northeast corner of the park. This is because the community wanted to see a unique structure that would invite kids to engage in creative play.
NEIGHBORHOOD: East Boston
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
This project would provide a small but meaningful enhancement to a popular green space in East Boston. It would not only make the space more beautiful and inviting; but would also encourage reading and community connections through gardening. The main focus of the project is a FLOWER GARDEN & LITTLE FREE LIBRARY BOX designed to enhance the beauty of the Greenway entrance, and DONATED BENCH at the site to provide seating and relaxation. The Mary Ellen Welch Greenway will establish the Greenway Garden Club to involve local residents interested in gardening.
NEIGHBORHOOD: South End
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
Peters Park is a vital community space in the South End of Boston, serving a diverse group of users, including teenagers, families, and older citizens. The park requires improvements in under-utilized areas, specifically enhancing plantings and transforming concrete spaces into green zones. The project will be executed by Doug Curtiss Landscape Contractors over a timeline of 1-2 weeks, depending on weather and supplies. It aims to replace dead plants with native flowering species in raised flower beds to create a more welcoming environment, with success measured by the health of the new plantings and increased park usage observed by volunteers. Friends of the Public Garden Director of Capital Improvements and Parks Care, Rebecca McKevitz is leading efforts on new plantings and other technical support.
NEIGHBORHOOD: Fenway
GRANT AWARD: $2,376
This parkland serves as the ‘Gates’ to the Back Bay Fens at the Westland Avenue and Hemenway Streets junction. It is frequently used for traversing between East and West Fenway and offers relaxing seating, shade, and lawn space. Grant funds will be used to: REPAIR OF MEDALLIONS: The project focuses on the repair of 8 medallion cast resin decorative lion’s heads on the Johnson Memorial Gates; CONSERVATION WORK: The work will be carried out by conservator Karen Wolff, who will clean the medallions, remove graffiti, and perform necessary repairs; RECONSTRUCTION: One medallion, which has been damaged, will require the reconstruction of its proper left nostril; INPAINTING AND COATING: All repaired areas will be in-painted, varnished, and coated with wax to preserve patination..
NEIGHBORHOOD: Town Field, Fields Corner, Dorchester
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
The project involves the maintenance of 10 raised vegetable beds and 4 herb/flower beds by All Dorchester Sports & Leadership (ADSL), VietAID, and collaborators like Rebuilding Together Boston and the Food Project. MissionSAFE and ADSL will use one bed each to teach gardening to youth, while the other 8 beds will be managed by community members. The herb and flower beds will support youth cooking programs. Plans include installing fencing, minor landscaping, adding benches, and acquiring seeds and tools in early spring. An agricultural graduate student will oversee the project during spring and summer. The project aims to enhance a currently underused, overgrown area of Town Field, making it more attractive and usable for the community, thereby promoting safety through diverse usage.
NEIGHBORHOOD: Roxbury, MA
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
The proposed greenspace project elements will enhance community use of the grounds, while stabilizing historic walls and improving care of the orchard. The Rockford streetscape improvements will improve public access to the grounds and create an inviting public space increasing opportunity for neighborhood-serving events. Based on funding priorities, a $5,000 grant is requested for the new gate and or masonry repairs. The full scope of the project also project includes a planning phase completed for grounds and greenspace.
NEIGHBORHOOD: The Old West End
GRANT AWARD: $5,000
Thoreau Path, established in the late 1950s as part of urban renewal, features over 200 trees along a 20-foot-wide pathway from Storrow Drive to Cardinal O’Connell Way. After 40 years of neglect, these trees faced rapid decline. Through WE TREE efforts, which included replanting 34 trees and caring for 9 mature ones, the community has shown overwhelming support. Following a storm that damaged 12 trees, WE TREE transformed the area into a vibrant space. This project not only revitalized the path but also strengthened community connections, inspiring the organization to share our success with other neighborhoods. The Project objective is to address the maintenance and safety of mature trees abutting the path, focusing on those at risk of dying or dropping branches.