PARK CLEANUP - Saturday, December 10, 2011

Hope everyone is doing okay after the big storm. I know some of you (including my neighbors) are still without power. If I can do anything to help, please email or call.

Anyway, still planning to have a park cleanup this Saturday. It will be interesting to see how the non-irrigated Nature Park did. It would also be nice to plan for the January planting (January 28, 2012). I did call the city before the storm to see if we could get the rocks back. Can't bother them with any of this right now, so we will go with what we have.

Hope to see some of you on Saturday.


View Larger Map

Meet at the park info sign on Pasadena Ave and then head down into the park. The group will 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 Report (11/19/2011)

Saturday's cleanup started with the appearance of a large, beige-colored praying mantis on the park sign holder on Pasadena Avenue. Walking down into the park, a blue dragon fly lit onto my finger. Neither insect was moving very fast in the cool, early morning weather.

With such a nice welcome, it turned into a very productive day. At this time of the year the weeds are just getting going. The ground is moist and the young weeds are easy to remove. We concentrated on castor bean, mustard and horehound in the central mound area and near the steep wooden steps. Removing them now is extremely efficient since not only are they small and easy to pull, but they have not flowered and spread seeds.

In addition to weed removal, some picked up litter, others worked on removing chain link in a drainage area on the southwest side of the park (below Pasadena Ave.), and others chopped away at some large, weedy trees (shamel ash and Chinese elm).

The park is improving and with plans to lay paths and plant in the bare central mound area, I foresee good things to come. And none of this would be possible without the help of community volunteers, including scouts, college students, landscape professionals, and just regular people who care about the park. 

The next cleanup is Saturday, December 10th. On January 28th, students from Occidental College and South Pasadena girl scouts will be laying paths and planting in the center of the park.

If you have a few minutes on one of our weekend cleanups, stop by to say hello, enjoy the park, or get down and dirty pulling weeds and picking up litter.

Volunteer removes graffiti from sign. (10/15/2011)

Oak tree in park

Path leading to sign in center of park. Plants include red willow (Salix laevigata), deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens), coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis).

Large boulders surround infiltration basin that collects rain water and runoff from Pasadena Avenue.

Beautiful cloudy day is perfect for working,walking or just sitting in the park.

Red toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) berries add color during the holiday season.

Monkeyflowers (Mimulus aurantiacus) have been blooming for months.

Meet Rick Schneider, Candidate for City Council

As you can guess by now, I am a big fan of city council member Rick Schneider. Rick has been a true friend of the nature park, involved since the days before it was even created. Since then he continues to work for it, removing trash and weeds in the park, and supporting it in city government.

If you have not met Rick and would like to talk to him, there are several upcoming opportunities. He has been going door-to-door, shaking hands, saying hello, and asking for support. Rick will also be at the nature park tomorrow, so if you'd like to see him wrestling with oversized trash and behemoth weeds, join us from 9 am to noon.

There will be a Sierra Club walk through the historic residential neighborhood in the northern part of South Pas (Buena Vista and Oaklawn Streets). This is a lovely part of town, worth walking or biking through. I will post new events as I get more information. Feel free to email me for information on ways to support Rick's candidacy - lawn signs, endorsements, donations, volunteer work.

OPPORTUNITIES TO MEET AND LEARN ABOUT  RICK SCHNEIDER:

• OCTOBER 15, 2011, 9 am - noon. South Pas Nature Park Cleanup
• OCTOBER 22, 2011, 9 am - 11 am, Sierra Club Walk with Candidate Schneider

• Website: Re-elect Dr. Richard Schneider for South Pasadena City Council
• Facebook page: Re-elect Rick Schneider for South Pasadena City Council
• Follow on Twitter: @reelectdrrick
• SouthPasadenaPatch
• South Pasadena Review 

Sierra Club Walk with Candidate Rick Schneider

Saturday, October 22, 9 am - 11 am
Meet at northeast corner of Meridian and Buena Vista, South Pasadena

Lovely Craftsman home in Oaklawn/Buena Vista historic neighborhood of South Pas

The Pasadena Group of Sierra Club will sponsor a 2-hour walk through historic Buena Vista and Oaklawn residential neighborhoods in South Pasadena on Saturday, October 22. South Pasadena City Council candidate Dr. Richard Schneider, whom the Sierra Club has endorsed for re-election, will join in the walk and provide information about historic homes in these neighborhoods and discuss how they would be impacted if the proposed 710 Freeway Extension is built through the city. Interested participants should meet at 9 am at the NE corner of Meridian and Buena Vista in South Pasadena. The walk is open to the public. Those who would like to meet and talk with Dr. Schneider are especially invited.

For further information contact David Czamanske at (626) 458-8646

PARK CLEANUP - Saturday, October 15, 2011

The park looked good last month. We did some heavy-duty weed removal in the central area in preparation for a large planting in January. Let's make this part of the park prettier and friendlier to birds, butterflies, lizards and other critters. Hope to see you on Saturday.


View Larger Map

Meet at the park info sign on Pasadena Ave and then head down into the park. The group will 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.

Re-elect Rick Schneider - Champion of the Nature Park

Rick (officially, Dr. Richard Schneider) has been there for the park from the very beginning: working to get the park built, consistently attending community cleanups, donating discretionary money for additional plants, and supporting the expansion into the land adjacent to the golf course driving range.

Posing for a rare picture, while stopping by the park to chat with community volunteers. Usually Rick is dressed to work, as he pulls weeds, unearths and removes trash and litter, and enjoys the birds and critters who also use the park. 

Check my other blog for more information on Rick's campaign for re-election to the South Pasadena City Council.  Rick's re-election website contains indepth information on his positions and actions on many city issues. Follow Rick on twitter and facebook.

PARK CLEANUP - Saturday, September 10, 9 am - noon

Can't believe summer is over! I have not been to the park for a while but hope to make a visit this weekend. Looking forward to resuming the war on the weeds. Well, really I am looking forward to meeting up with friends and enjoying the park. Hope more of you can join us this year.


View Larger Map

Meet at the park info sign on Pasadena Ave and then head down into the park. The group will 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.