Over a century ago a
great transformation was taking place on the isthmus. People saw a need and took control. Folks from all walks of life came
together to transform a landscape and build a park for the common man. We know and love this landscape as Tenney Park today.
Some of the same people
came together a few years later and within a remarkably short period the major
outlines of the Yahara River Parkway were in place. Obviously they must have skipped the sub-committees approach
and they probably weren't bothered by pesky permits either. In any case we can
call this wonderful cross section of 1900's Madison residents the first Friends
of the Yahara!
We are calling on all of
you uncommon current residents to come forward and carry on the tradition. Your parks need you! Be a Friend of the Yahara circa 2001.
Why? A signature feature of these parks was
the use of native plant materials in dense plantings that accentuated the
horizontal character of our Midwest landscape. This style became known as the Prairie School and our parks
were excellent examples.
Unfortunately, most of the original plantings have been out competed by
weeds, died more or less natural deaths or have been affected by other activities
to numerous to mention. We want to
return our landscapes to the splendor and beauty they once possessed. To do that the current dedicated core
of Friends of the Yahara, the Urban Open Space Foundation, the city Parks
Department and many neighbors on a more sporadic basis have stepped up and the
restoration is now underway.
We need you to attend the
Urban Open Space Foundation sponsored stewardship workshops this spring. They will begin the morning of March
10, when Professor Arnold Alanen of the UW Madison Department of Landscape
Architecture will present a slide show and lecture on the history of the Yahara
River Parkway and its design. This is a great show!
We will hold additional
introductory workshops on March 17, April 7, April 21 and May 5th. The location
for the indoor workshops is yet to be determined, but it will be in a
convenient location on the isthmus. We will take a walking tour of the Parkway,
visit the sites of current and future projects, learn more about plant identification
and tool selection and maintenance, and undertake our first work projects in
conjunction with the graduates of last year's program. In the summer, we will be inviting
additional experts to work alongside us and contribute to our planning and evaluation
work. These sessions are
informative, fun and stress the hands on approach. And if you’re like me and love to wrassle with a hefty
invasive honeysuckle every once and awhile we have a few sites for you!
The workshops are
designed to prepare you to become a Yahara River Parkway Landscape Steward.
Landscape Stewards are in the field restoring the parkway twice a month (please
come early and often, but we know life may occasionally offer another more tempting distraction).
This year our projects will include plantings near our new canoe/kayak access
point near Riverside and Williamson Street, continued work on wetland and other
plantings along the river, general weed removal and additional plantings in
Tenney Park. Our work has been funded by the generous support of the Urban Open
Space Foundation and done in cooperation with the Madison Parks Department.
The workshops are free,
and participants who complete the workshops willgain access to the tools and
expertise necessary to undertake various projects in keeping with the historic
plans for this park land. However, registration is required! To register, or
for additional information please call Margaret Bergamini at 257-5718 or
contact her via email at mmb@chorus.net.
-Ed
Jepsen