What a
long, strange winter it has been. First it feels like spring, and then 15
minutes later it starts snowing. With luck, by the time this newsletter gets to
your doorstep winter will have left for good and we will all be getting down to
the serious work of spring planting. And what a lot of planting we will be
doing! Read on…
Mark your
calendars for Saturday, April 20 from 9 AM to Noon for the 2002 Earth Day
Challenge in Tenney Park. Bring work gloves and wheelbarrows and join the Parks Division, the
Friends of the Yahara River Parkway, and your neighbors and friends from the
Tenney Lapham Neighborhood Association as we take on various spring cleanup
tasks such as trash pickup, pruning and mulching, and weeding. If the weather
cooperates, we may even be ready to do some planting on that day. We will have
plenty of trained volunteers on hand, so we welcome youth, church, businesses
and other community groups to come join us. Just call or email me if you will
be bringing a larger group so we know you are coming. I would also welcome
volunteers to donate food, drinks, and other goodies to keep everyone
well-fueled! Contact me at 257-5718 or via email at mmb@chorus.net if you can make contribution.
Another way
to keep up to date on ever shifting plans for planting and other park
activities is to subscribe to the list serve for the Friends of the Yahara
River Parkway. Using this service you can have notices of events delivered directly
to your email box, or you can read them on a website dedicated to the Friends.
It’s very easy: just go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/friendsofyaharariverparkway/
and follow the instructions to join the group.
The plants
have been ordered and the contractors hired to regrade and plant the corner of
Sherman and Marston this spring. Mick Kennedy of Wisconsin Landscapes will be
bringing in topsoil to regrade the area around the building and path, and will also be planting a
few of the larger trees for us. Once he is done, we will be ready to plant the
smaller trees and shrubs as well as native flowers. Bob Shaw has been hard at
work putting the final touches on the planting plan and placing the plant
orders. A date has not yet been set for planting. If you have volunteered in
the past we will be contacting you via email as soon as we do have a date; if
you haven’t given us your contact information yet but would like to join
us this spring, please call or drop a line to me or Bob Shaw, and we will be
sure to call on you when the time comes.
In the
meantime, we are still awaiting word on whether Filene Park will be chosen by
the DNR for a demonstration project for lake shoreline restoration. In the
meantime, if you own lakefront property and would like advice on how to reduce
runoff and improve fish and wildlife habitat, check out this list of resources
compiled by the DNR: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/wm/dsfm/shore/resources.htm
You’ll find advice about landscaping, plant selection and alternatives to
the use of herbicides and fertilizers for a healthier lawns and lakes.
Due to the constant efforts and initiative of Ed Jepsen
from TNLA and Si Widstrand of the Parks Division, there will be a significant
number of new trees and shrubs planted in Tenney Park this spring. Those of you
who walk along the river have already noticed that a number of Box Elder and
other “junk” trees were cut down this winter, making way for the
addition of more desirable species such as Swamp White Oaks. A contractor has
been hired to help plant the larger trees, and that work will be completed by
May 1. After May 1, on a date to be arranged, we the volunteers will plant the
smaller trees and shrubs, based on a planting plan developed by Ed. The plants
Ed has selected will significantly improve the appearance of this area, and
provide much better habitat for birds and other creatures. We will be looking
for volunteers to do the initial
planting and mulching and to weed all summer long. In particular, we
will be looking for large groups of volunteers to keep down the weeds around
the new plantings during the dog days of summer, so if you lead a Girl Scout
troop, community service project, church group or other clan, here is a great
opportunity to make a contribution to the long term environmental health of the
neighborhood.
With all
the brouhaha about the status of this year’s city operating budget, it
seemed a little surreal to be thinking about capital budget requests for next
year, but that is what some of us were doing this winter. Requests for spending
by the Parks Division have been made for the following items: replacing the
gone but not forgotten dock at Giddings Park; dealing with metal buildings
along the river near East Johnson Street (remove or repair them); and basic
repairs on the old bathrooms near the corner of Sherman and Marston so that at
a minimum the building can be used to store tools and other equipment and
supplies for our volunteer efforts. Better yet, some of us would like to
explore the possibility of remodeling the interior of the building to be used
for youth summer programs and meeting space. As of this writing, there is no
word on whether these items will be included in the Parks Division capital
budget proposal.
Cuts in
shared revenues from the state could lead to significant problems for users of
Tenney Park and the Yahara River Parkway as well as other parks in our
neighborhood such as Giddings Park, Reynolds Park, and Breeze Stevens Field.
The Parks Division has been having significant budget issues since long before
this latest round of cuts. Already there has been discussion of discontinuing
garbage pickup in the parks, cutting the number of foresters, eliminating the
use of portable toilets at places like the pontoon boat shelter, reducing or
eliminating mowing in all but active play areas of the parks, ending all maintenance in smaller neighborhood
parks and the elimination of lifeguards at city beaches. As of this writing it
appears that Tenney Park would be one of the few parks that would retain
lifeguard services. If you have
specific thoughts on services that should be retained or eliminated, the mayor
and city council would like to hear from you. Send your ideas
budgetideas@ci.madison.wi.us. or call Mayor Bauman’s office at 266-4601.
Here’s
a simple thing you can do to improve lake quality. You know those grates on
your street corner (and occasionally in the middle of a block) where the storm
waters drain? Well, the water that sloshes through those drains directly to the
lake, river or park lagoon—and so does any debris in the water, like soap
from washing your car, herbicides, fertilizer and soil that wash off your lawn,
and dead leaves and other plant materials. All that runoff adds significantly to pollution levels
in our lakes and rivers. The street sweeping program helps to reduce the
pollution carried with the runoff into our lakes, you can also help by taking a
few minutes to rake the dead leaves and garbage out of the storm sewer grate
nearest your home. You’ll help reduce runoff of nutrients that add to our
wonderful algae blooms, among other benefits. And if you would like to do more,
reserve the mornings of June 15
and June 22 to volunteer for Take
a Stake in the Lakes.
Volunteers will be working along the Lake Mendota shore on June 15, and on the
Monona side on June 22. There are also stencil kits available so you can mark
your storm drain with a reminder that anything going down that drain goes into
our watershed. This is a great activity for kids and families. Contact me for
more information on how you can get involved.
-Margaret
Bergamini
Parks Chair