NEWSLETTER: May 2013
In this issue:
Adopt-a-Rose for Mother's Day
Give your mother something unique, personal, and truly meaningful this Mother’s Day. Click here for more info!
Share this on Facebook for a chance to win one free rose adoption!
Spring Celebration
Thanks to all who joined us for the April 20th 10K/5K/1K runs, trail opening, and Spring in Guadalupe Gardens festival.
We are grateful for the underwriting support of San Jose Water Company, City of San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs, San Jose Mercury News, NBC11, GreenWaste Recovery, Seven Flags Automotive Group, ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance, and Best Electrical Co. We also appreciate the Environmental Services Department grant that allowed this to be a ZeroWaste event.
We also appreciate Minh-Chau Nguyen from Congresswoman Lofgren's office, Supervisors Dave Cortese and Ken Yeager, Santa Clara Valley Water District Board Member Tony Estremera, San Jose Councilmembers Kansen Chu and Sam Liccardo, Cisco's Ricardo Benavidez, and PRNS Acting Directory Julie Edmonds-Mares for joining us for the trail ribbon cutting. Please help us spread the good news that the trail to Alviso is open!
Bike to Work Day
We are expecting a big jump in the number of people using the trail to get to work on Thursday, May 9th. If you are one of them, stop by our Energizer Station on the lower trail, just north of Coleman Ave, from 6 - 9 am.
Window on the River Park
We rely on individuals, corporations, and foundations for operating support for our education, advocacy and stewardship efforts.
Window on the River Park, our annual fundraiser, will be held on Thursday, June 13th and is generously hosted by Adobe Systems, Inc. For sponsorship opportunities, click here, or to buy a ticket click here.
National River Clean-up
Join us for a day of environmental stewardship on Saturday May 18th from 9:00 am to noon as we remove debris from the river channel. We have already collected thousands of pounds of waste from the Guadalupe River this season! We need your help to stay on top of this ongoing effort. Please wear a hat, sunscreen, closed-toe shoes, and bring a refillable water bottle.
Homeless encampments are the largest source of trash in the river. Thanks to increased enforcement efforts by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, there are fewer encampments, but we need the ongoing presence of park rangers to keep the park clean and safe.
Call to Action: Please contact the San Jose City Council to advocate for the restoration of Park Rangers to Guadalupe River Park & Gardens.
Beaver Fever
We have extra motivation to keep the river clean: a beaver family has taken up residence. Thanks to Greg Kerekes we are able to share this video of the crepuscular critters.
Call to Action: please contact Santa Clara Valley Water District Board Chair Nai Hsueh to thank the board for allowing the beavers to stay.
Volunteer Corner
Meet Board Member Sheryl Hinshaw
Sheryl is a CPA and partner with Johanson and Yau Accountancy Corporation, where she specializes in tax planning and compliance services for individuals, estates and trusts. Sheryl earned her undergraduate degree from UC Santa Barbara and a Master's in Taxation from Golden Gate University. She is a longtime volunteer treasurer at the MIT/Stanford Venture Laboratory and has shared her expertise with many non-profit boards. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, Sheryl enjoys the local arts and environment, and the small wineries of the Santa Cruz Mountains. We are thrilled that Sheryl joined our board!
Meet Volunteer Diana Hanger
Every Spring the Conservancy gets a rush of school students excited to learn and explore in the outdoors, and this semester we are fortunate to have Diana Hanger as one of our Educational Aides. Diana is from Orange County and is currently working toward majors in English and Environmental Studies at Santa Clara University. Diana says the river field trips are her favorite classes as students learn about the food web and the importance of keeping the rivers clean. "Seeing them soak up the river experience is priceless," she says. Diana hopes to continue her career in education after graduation as a way of empowering our society's youth. Thanks to Diana for helping make the river park a great place to learn. |