Nature Park Cleanup, Saturday, July 27, 8:30 - 11 am

Finally getting around to scheduling a Saturday cleanup. Hopefully by starting at 8:30 we will be able to get some work done before it gets too hot.

I am planning to schedule cleanup days for the next few months. I will send emails, post the dates on this blog, and list them as events on the Patch and the new SoPas Review website (South Pasadena Now). There will be approximately one weekend day/month and 2-3 weekday mornings/month. Let me know if there are days you prefer since I have a pretty open schedule right now.

The park is looking good. We will be going after horehound and whacking back mustard, horseweed, and any other weeds that make the mistake of letting us see them.

When I went to the park in June I was pleased to see that the fence on the n.e. (golf course) side is gone. The city is planning to have the extra land cleared of weeds. Paths and naturalistic benches (boulders) may be added, along with a swale to facilitate infiltration. There are some nice trees - oaks, walnuts, toyons, and sycamores - that have grown there naturally and with some weed control the area could become a pleasant woodland.

Hope to see you on the 27th. Remember to bring water and wear a hat!

View Larger Map

Meet in the park to pull weeds, pick up litter, and enjoy the park. Come for the whole time, for an hour, or just stop by to say hello.

Nature Park entrance on Pasadena Ave., east of the York St. Bridge

Remember to:
- wear sunscreen, hat, sunglasses
- bring water
- bring gardening gloves and tools (weeders, trowels, whatever you use in your own garden)
- comfortable work clothes, including work shoes (sneakers or boots)
- binoculars for bird watching (optional)

Children must be under adult supervision at all times. There is poison oak in the park, which we will point out before we start.

Please pass this info along to anyone else you think might be interested in the park. If you know of anyone who doesn't use the internet, let me know so we can be sure they are kept in the loop.

NATURE PARK CLEANUP - Mon, June 17, 9 - 10:30 am

There will be a work day this coming Monday, June 17, from 9 -10:30 am. We will be cutting back mustard along the main path, removing horehound on the mounds, and looking for other areas in need of care. After being away for 6 months I'm raring to go. Hope to see some of you there.

For those not available on weekdays, there is a tentative cleanup scheduled for Saturday, June 22, 9 AM - Noon.

View Larger Map

Meet in the park to pull weeds, pick up litter, and enjoy the park. Come for the whole time, for an hour, or just stop by to say hello.

Nature Park entrance on Pasadena Ave., east of the York St. Bridge

Remember to:
- wear sunscreen, hat, sunglasses
- bring water
- bring gardening gloves and tools (weeders, trowels, whatever you use in your own garden)
- comfortable work clothes, including work shoes (sneakers or boots)
- binoculars for bird watching (optional)

Children must be under adult supervision at all times. There is poison oak in the park, which we will point out before we start.

Please pass this info along to anyone else you think might be interested in the park. If you know of anyone who doesn't use the internet, let me know so we can be sure they are kept in the loop.

See you in June

I visited the nature park yesterday to say goodbye for six months. For those who don't know, I will be living in India with my family this winter and spring. We will be back at the end of May.

The park looks good though I can see the weeds sprouting with the cooler, wetter weather. Hopefully people will be out there pulling a few weeds while enjoying the park. If you are so inclined, check out the guide to weeds of the South Pas nature park. I had hoped to put up a few more of these plant guides but didn't get around to it. May try to do some more work on this while traveling.

Additional park information can be found on my website, Weeding Wild Suburbia. 

Nature Park on an overcast, wintery day. (11/28/2012)

NATURE PARK CLEAN-UP - Sat, Oct 20, 9 am - noon

This may be my last park clean-up for a while since I will be leaving for India in late November. We will be away for six months, returning June 1. It is my hope that as many of you as possible will continue to visit the park, pulling weeds (especially around spring time), picking up litter and keeping your eyes open for any other problems.

If you do notice anything unusual or suspicious, please do call the city. The Department of Public Works (626-403-7240) takes care of maintenance and graffiti (626-403-7249), and, of course, contact the police (626-403-7270) if you see anything suspicious.

 In the next few weeks, I am going to try to upload pictures of weeds-to-look-for by the month so that you all will know what they look like as they are coming up and when they are full grown.

View Larger Map

Meet in the park to pull weeds, pick up litter, and enjoy the park. Come for the whole time, for an hour, or just stop by to say hello.

Nature Park entrance on Pasadena Ave., east of the York St. Bridge

Remember to:
- wear sunscreen, hat, sunglasses
- bring water
- bring gardening gloves and tools (weeders, trowels, whatever you use in your own garden)
- comfortable work clothes, including work shoes (sneakers or boots)
- binoculars for bird watching (optional)

Children must be under adult supervision at all times. There is poison oak in the park, which we will point out before we start.

Please pass this info along to anyone else you think might be interested in the park. If you know of anyone who doesn't use the internet, let me know so we can be sure they are kept in the loop.

NATURE PARK CLEAN-UP - Thurs, Sept. 27, 8:30 - 10 am

We have made a lot of progress with these short weekday morning clean-ups. We have been working behind the main sign (that is no longer there), up from Tocalote Hill. We have been removing dead mustard and horehound. This should make it easier to remove the new weeds once the cooler, wetter weather comes. We are also pulling castor bean seedlings. Things are looking pretty good.

I am not sure whether many of you are aware but I will be away from December to June. I am trying to put together a booklet with pictures of the weeds linked to the time that they appear. This way you will be able to see, for example, what tocalote looks like in April (when it first appears) and in June (when it bolts and puts on long flowering stems).

The next Saturday clean-up is October 20. I am not sure about these weekday morning sessions - things are getting pretty busy for me. Will keep you posted.

View Larger Map

Meet in the park to pull weeds, pick up litter, and enjoy the park. Come for the whole time, for an hour, or just stop by to say hello.

Nature Park entrance on Pasadena Ave., east of the York St. Bridge

Remember to:
- wear sunscreen, hat, sunglasses
- bring water
- bring gardening gloves and tools (weeders, trowels, whatever you use in your own garden)
- comfortable work clothes, including work shoes (sneakers or boots)
- binoculars for bird watching (optional)

Children must be under adult supervision at all times. There is poison oak in the park, which we will point out before we start.

Please pass this info along to anyone else you think might be interested in the park. If you know of anyone who doesn't use the internet, let me know so we can be sure they are kept in the loop.

NATURE PARK CLEANUP - Sat, Sept. 8, 9 am - noon

Hard to believe summer is just about over - hope the weather realizes it is time to cool down! Anyway, the next regular clean-up at the park will be Saturday, September 8th, 9 am to noon. If the forecast is for very hot weather, I may change that to 8 or 8:30 to whenever...

This summer the Wednesday morning clean-ups worked out well and I may continue them into the fall. If there are other days/times that would work for you, please email me to let me know. I can be flexible.

I have been working on a new website that will make the information on the Nature Park a bit easier to find. Check out the Nature Park tab on WeedingWildSuburbia. It is "in the process" so check back every now and again.

Hope to see you in September!

View Larger Map

Meet in the park to pull weeds, pick up litter, and enjoy the park. Come for the whole time, for an hour, or just stop by to say hello.

Nature Park entrance on Pasadena Ave., east of the York St. Bridge

Remember to:
- wear sunscreen, hat, sunglasses
- bring water
- bring gardening gloves and tools (weeders, trowels, whatever you use in your own garden)
- comfortable work clothes, including work shoes (sneakers or boots)
- binoculars for bird watching (optional)

Children must be under adult supervision at all times. There is poison oak in the park, which we will point out before we start.

Please pass this info along to anyone else you think might be interested in the park. If you know of anyone who doesn't use the internet, let me know so we can be sure they are kept in the loop.

PARK CLEANUP - Sunday, August 12, 8 am - 10 am

There will be a work day this coming Sunday, August 12, from 8 -10 am. If it isn't too hot I may stay longer. A South Pas high school student is going to help out for his upcoming Environmental Science class. I think it would be nice if the rocks that are outlining a path going into the central mound area were set a bit better. I will also be weeding - getting rid of tumble weed before it gets too large.

 On another note, there was some bizarre activity in the park while I was away on vacation. A big hole was dug above the detention basin. Whoever did it had to have been exposed to a lot of poison oak. If any of you know anything about this, please email me. Thanks.



View Larger Map

Meet in the park to pull weeds, pick up litter, and enjoy the park. Come for the whole time, for an hour, or just stop by to say hello.

Nature Park entrance on Pasadena Ave., east of the York St. Bridge

Remember to:
- wear sunscreen, hat, sunglasses
- bring water
- bring gardening gloves and tools (weeders, trowels, whatever you use in your own garden)
- comfortable work clothes, including work shoes (sneakers or boots)
- binoculars for bird watching (optional)

Children must be under adult supervision at all times. There is poison oak in the park, which we will point out before we start.

Please pass this info along to anyone else you think might be interested in the park. If you know of anyone who doesn't use the internet, let me know so we can be sure they are kept in the loop.