Volunteer Network & Contact

Getting Involved & Volunteering in the Southwest Corridor Park

Do you want to join our Saturday morning volunteer days? Help with fundraising? Work on park advocacy? Get involved with education and outreach? Help with our website, social media, photography and writing? Do you want to organize a volunteer day for your office, school or organization? What other ideas do you have? The Southwest Corridor Park is a vibrant urban park with active volunteer networks. We can help you find channels to get involved in the park.

Park Management, Park Maintenance and Public Safety

The Southwest Corridor Park is a state park, managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The park is built on top of the MBTA orange line, and parkland is owned by the MBTA, under the care and control of DCR. The park is supported by a collaboration between state and city resources, with strong support from our volunteer network. If you have any questions about "who to call" about park programming, maintenance, public safety or other topics, you can email the volunteers listed above or contact DCR at mass.parks@mass.gov.

Hands-On in the Park - Landscaping and Gardening

The Southwest Corridor Park Conservancy pursues its mission to maintain, restore and enhance the park through fundraising and hands-on park stewardship work. Projects include:

Volunteers transplant, weed, prune and do general clean-up on various days during the spring, summer and fall. The SWCPC and Boston Cares have a volunteer day once each month. Other days are organized through a variety of organizations, including corporate groups, area schools, colleges and alumni groups and others. Email Franco Campanello at info@swcpc.org for more information and to be added to our email list of volunteers, and/or check this website and our Facebook page for annoucements of volunteer days.

Connect with gardeners in the park in Jamaica Plain at https://sites.google.com/site/festivalgardenJamaica Plain/ or email festivalgardenJamaica Plain@gmail.com for more information and to find out how to volunteer and to join the garden's Google Group/email list.

Volunteer to be a steward who takes care of a designated area in the corridor. Garden stewards work in Jamaica Plain and the South End/Back Bay. You can see examples of gardens cared for by volunteers on the Maps page on this website. Email info@swcpc.org for more information.

Advocacy, Advisory and Park Activities

PMAC is the all-volunteer advisory board for the park. Volunteers work on park advocacy; get involved with education and outreach; and help with our website, social media, photography and writing; and get involved with various PMAC committee work. Come to any PMAC meeting or email Jennifer Leonard at jleonard@skillslibrary.com for information about getting involved. Our committees include:

Bicycle and Walking Path: Working with city and state to advocate and advise on the use, maintenance and improvements to the bicycle and walking paths. Projects have included networking, letter-writing, surveys and more.

Park Stewardship Committee: Taking a look at the park as a whole, working with DCR and the SWCPC to advise on landscaping, maintenance and garden projects. Projects include a walk-through of the 4.7 mile park and an inventory of park features and projects.

Education and Outreach: Working with neighborhood organizations, schools and colleges to engage neighbors and make the park a focal point for the arts, photography, nature study, sports, youth leadership projects, history projects and more. PMAC projects include sponsoring a mini-grant initiative, children's gardening, special events and more.

Public Safety: Public safety is a segment of each monthly meeting, with public safety updates from city, state, MBTA and Northeastern University police departments at each monthly meeting.

Greenway Extension: This group is supporting the planned extension of the SWCP in the Stony Brook neighborhood area.

Other Ad Hoc Committees: Ad hoc committees form formally and informally around specific projects. Dog parks... playgrounds... website projects... special events... we always have a variety of projects to work on.

And More!

Are you interested in dog parks? Skateboarding? Community gardening?

Did you know there are new sections being added to the park?

Are there community groups in your neighborhood involved with projects in the park?

Come to any PMAC meeting to learn more about connecting all these strands of activity.

Contact Information

Community Gardening
Contact: gardens@swcpc.org

Advocacy - Advisory - Park Activities
Jennifer Leonard, PMAC Chair, for park advocacy, improvement projects, PMAC committees listed below
jleonard@skillslibrary.com

Gardening & Park Stewardship / Jamaica Plain
Jenny Jones, SWCPC/PMAC Member, organizer for park stewards in the Jamaica Plain/Stony Brook area
festivalgardenjp@gmail.com

SWCPC Gardening & Park Stewardship / Fundraising / Donations / South End/Back Bay
The Southwest Corridor Park Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) organization that raises funds and coordinates volunteers in the South End / Back Bay section of the park. To support this work and connect with the Conservancy, visit the Southwest Corridor Park Conservancy website at https://www.corridorpark.org. Contact: Franco Campanello, SWCPC President
fcamp195@gmail.com

Friends of Carleton Court Dog Park
https://www.facebook.com/carletoncourtdogpark

Friends of JP Dog Parks
https://www.facebook.com/jpdogparks

Friends of the Kelly Rink, Inc.
Web: https://friendsofthekellyrink.org/
Email: friendsofkellyrink@gmail.com

For public safety and maintenance issues:

The citywide 311 and 911 services cover all jurisdictions but direct reporting to the state police and the DCR's mass.parks email address often reaches staff faster. So in many cases, we recommend dual reporting or offer two options.

Crime and Health/Safety Crisis Situations:
- 911
- 617-727-4812 (state police).

Maintenance / Clean-up:
- 311
- mass.parks@mass.gov (DCR)

Needle pick-up: 311

In an emergency, use 911.

Please visit our PUBLIC SAFETY page for more information.

The Southwest Corridor is a state park managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation