Park News 1/20/2025
Lots of TLC for Native Plants Today
On a sparkling clear morning, more than 30 volunteers turned out to give love to the baby native plants that Chavez Park Conservancy volunteers have put in the ground recently in the Native Plant Area. It was among the biggest turnouts ever, said Conservancy Volunteer Coordinator Bob Huttar. There were 15 regular volunteers, two new volunteers, and 16 adult and kid volunteers from Berkeley School doing an annual field day tradition on Martin Luther King’s birthday.
Almost all the new plantings were doing well. Also doing well were the grass and weeds growing around them, and pirating their soil, moisture, and sunshine. Our job was clear: pull the invading plants, add fresh mulch to keep weeds from coming back, and add water. Where the wanted plants and the weeds got tangled up, Conservancy Board Chair Jutta Burger, a PhD in botany, was on the spot to identify who was who. All ages, from four to ninety-four, pitched in, and when the morning was done, the whole native pollinator habitat looked much improved. You could almost hear the young plants saying “thank you.”
The work was done entirely by unpaid volunteers, a point that impressed several park visitors who stopped to observe and ask questions. City staff headed by landscape gardening superintendent Jacob Several helped tremendously by providing little mountains of fresh mulch in strategic places and lending tools and gloves. Much appreciated. Not appreciated was the dog poop we encountered; when will this stop?
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Yesterday we got to tour the Native Plants Area with Marty. Great job volunteers! The new plants looked so vibrant, cleared of weeds and mulched. The established gardens look healthy with such a large variety of plants. It will be great when the names tags come in. The Torry Pines have gotten so big. What beautiful trees.
Thanks to everyone, especially Bob and Jutta. It’s inspirational.
A huge thank-you to all those who worked on everyone’s behalf yesterday!