We invite you to join MUC’s unique commitment to restoring and building biodiversity in urban communities.
There are many opportunities to join our efforts:
1. Donate Money
MUC needs funding to support purchases of tools, plants and seeds, pollinator nesting structures, and other equipment. We also require funding to occasionally hire horticulture, silviculture, soil, legal and conservation experts, as well as environmental inspectors and advisers.
We appreciate all monetary donations.
MUC is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. We use all proceeds to advance our initiatives to bring back biodiversity, promote and create pollinator habitats in Massachusetts cities and towns, and educate young urban residents on the benefits and importance of increasing species diversity.
2. Donate Land
Bringing back biodiversity to cities and towns requires land. Not lots of land or large parcels of land. Rather, our small biodiversity projects are suited to very small plots of land (an acre or less): unused, untended corner lots, designated unbuildable, yielding no benefit to the owners.
If you own and are paying property taxes on a small piece of land not in use, consider donating it to MUC for the purpose of transforming it into a biodiversity project – a fast-growing, self-sustaining mini-forest – for everyone’s benefit. You can deduct the value of the land donation from your taxes, and save annual property tax payments going forward. As part of your legacy, the mini-forest can be named after you, for a family trust, or given a name or your choice!
Donate your unbuildable land to MUC and write off the value on your next taxes. [email link]
3. Donate Your Talent or Expertise
Our biodiversity projects require services, advice and expertise at every step. Are you a horticultural professional, conservation commissioner, teacher, grant writer, bat box builder, or native plant expert?
Consider donating your services to our biodiversity and educational projects. When you donate your expertise and talents, you help us free up our funding to support more initiatives. That means more biodiversity in our cities!
Step up to lend us your expertise. [email link]
4. Donate Equipment
MUC biodiversity projects are about getting right into the muck! That means digging in the dirt and soil, pulling out weeds, clearing overgrowth and occasionally pruning. All this work needs equipment: spades and shovels, augurs, trowels, rakes, hoses and watering cans, wheelbarrows, pruners, work gloves and storage containers and spaces.
We also need lots of bird houses and bat boxes in our quest to create pollinator habitats.
You can greatly support our efforts to restore urban biodiversity by supplying us with gardening and planting equipment, or bird and bat houses. The less equipment we have to purchase, the more funds available for procuring native plants.
Donate gardening or other equipment. [email link]
5. Donate Time
MUC volunteers are essential for our projects. Come work with us for an afternoon! We will supply equipment and guidance; all you have to do is be ready to dig in the dirt a little, planting seeds, saplings and bushes, removing weeds and roots, installing signage and completing other simple jobs. And, having a fun time.
When you volunteer with MUC, you will work alongside others who are invested in biodiversity and the environment. And you will likely come away feeling a little healthier and a lot more fulfilled!
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