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Protecting Boston's Green Spaces

We have a lot of projects underway to make our City greener. Find out how we protect and preserve the natural landscape.

We focus most of our efforts at the Boston Conservation Commission on reducing fossil fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.

Carbon dioxide is created in many ways, so we must be careful when deciding how to use our land. Current efforts to make Boston more green include:

  • expanding recycling programs for residents
  • finding new ways to keep garbage out of landfills
  • planting more trees to cool down the City and absorb carbon dioxide
  • protecting our wetlands and urban wilds, and
  • working on plans to protect our open spaces.

Growing Boston greener

Trees play an important role in removing carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the air. Boston has half a million trees that spread a canopy over 30 percent of the City.

Conservation Commission

We protect and preserve the natural areas of the City, including the wetlands. We are a group of seven commissioners as chosen by the mayor.

We carry out the state's wetlands regulations by:
  • determining wetland boundaries
  • reviewing projects that will be in wetland areas
  • approving or denying projects in wetland areas, and
  • placing conditions on projects that will affect wetlands.

Wetlands are vital to our City's environment. They're home to fish, shellfish, and wildlife. They also maintain water quality and reduce the impact of flooding and storm runoff. Besides protecting our precious wetlands, we also seek to share public access to them where we can. Learn more about the work of the Conservation Commission.

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