The secret ingredient in Newton Highlands

As I hope everyone knows, Newton Highlands’ Village Day is tomorrow.  To the unwitting observer, this would seem unrelated to the recent beautification work I observed a couple of weeks ago.

In fact, the two are intimately connected, and made possible through the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council (NHNAC).

Newton Highlands is home to the city’s only Neighborhood Area Council, a nine-member council of Newton Highlands residents elected only by Newton Highlands residents, which is formally a part of the city government. As such, the NHNAC gets the benefits of coverage by the city’s liability insurance, assistance from its legal department, and so on. These powers make putting on the Village Day easier.

Village Day is the NHNAC’s largest fundraiser, according to Alderman Rice.  And some of that money goes to support the work of the Newton Highlands Beautification Committee, pictured above and below.

The beautification work is made possible by volunteers like Janet Zerlin Fagan, who heads up the project (in the foreground in the left picture), and other volunteers on hand for the planting. (I actually helped a tiny bit myself–it was hard to stand around merely taking pictures while they did all the work!)  Money for the flowers, soil, and a little extra muscle power comes from sponsorships (as pictured on the right), community donations, and, yes, the NHNAC.

The NHNAC itself runs on volunteer power from Janice Bourque, Srdjan Nedeljkovic, and many others. And although these people are special and amazing, we think that other equally committed volunteers can be found in other villages. We think the special ingredient is actually the institutional structure of the Neighborhood Area Council.

Alderman Rice agrees, which is why he’s spearheading efforts to create Neighborhood Area Councils in Upper Falls and Waban, the other villages in his ward, Ward 5. Volunteers from Upper Falls and Waban are helping, and so is Newton Villages.  We have collected signatures and strategized with the team, and will soon help put on a Village Day in Upper Falls.

If you would like to be involved, please contact me here.