Winter and Spring Nature Park Schedule

The winter and spring cleanups in the park are scheduled for the third Saturday and following Wednesday of each month. There are no cleanups currently scheduled for March, though this may change. Our planting party, in collaboration with Occidental College, will be held on Saturday, February 1, 2014 (see below).

• November 16 (Sat), 9 - noon
• NO CLEANUPS SCHEDULED IN DECEMBER (Happy Holidays)
• January 18 (Sat), 9 - noon
• January 22 (Wed), 8:30 - 10 AM
• February 15 (Sat), 9 - noon
• Rescheduled for Feb 8 (Sat), 9 - noon
• February 19 (Wed), 8:30 - 10 AM
• NO CLEANUPS SCHEDULED IN MARCH (check calendar for updates)
• April 19 (Sat), 9 - noon
• April 23 (Wed), 8:30 - 10 AM
• May 17 (Sat), 9 - noon
• May 23 (Wed), 8:30 - 10 AM

Please check this blog for updates and changes to the schedule. Contact me to receive email reminders. All recipients are listed in a bcc to protect your privacy. Email me if you want to be removed from the list. 

MLK Service Day at the Nature Park

There will be a planting with Oxy students and others (scouts, students and other volunteers) on Saturday, February 1, 2014. Contact me if you are interested in a group service project.

Coast live oak in center of park

Map of park with areas labelled.

Park Cleanups, etc.

Finally getting organized. Let's see how this works out!

Fall Cleanups
The fall cleanups in the park are scheduled for the third Wed. and Sat. of each month. Note that both Wed. and Sat. sessions start at 8:30 in August and September. In October and November we will start at 9 AM on Saturdays, and 8:30 AM on Wednesdays. There will be no cleanup in December.

August 14, Wed, 8:30 - 10 am
August 17, Sat, 8:30 - 11 am
September 18, Wed, 8:30 - 10 am
September 21, Sat, 8:30 - 11 am
October 16, Wed, 8:30 - 10 am
October 19, Sat, 9 AM - noon
November 13, Wed, 8:30 - 10 am
November 16, Sat, 9 AM - noon
December: No cleanup

MLK Service Day at the Nature Park (new, confirmed date)

There will be a planting with Oxy students and others (scouts, students and other volunteers) on Saturday, February 1, 2014. If you are interested in a group service project, please contact me (barbara.eisenstein@gmail.com) so we can schedule it.

Coast live oak in center of park

Map of park with areas labelled.

Plant Sale

Our chapter (San Gabriel Mts. Chap) of the California Native Plant Society is holding its annual plant sale on Saturday, November 9, 2013. It's gonna be good so don't miss it!

Caution!

And finally, a word of caution. I was in the park last week with some kids and we happened upon a bee or wasp hive in the mounds near the main path. The hive was in a hole in the ground. Unfortunately some children did get stung but thankfully no one had a serious allergic reaction. The nature park is a natural area meaning there are bees, wasps, and ticks, along with poison oak. Enjoy the park but be careful. (The yellow jacket nest has been removed, but do be alert while walking in the park, especially if you leave the paths.)

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.