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NEWSLETTER: October 2018

In this issue:

Airport Land Grab Action Alert

During the 2016-17 review of the Quakes/City soccer proposal, airport officials made demands for land and lease payments that were inconsistent with the Guadalupe Gardens Master Plan. While the soccer project didn't move forward due to aviation regulations, the land grab and fair market value lease payments persist.

The airport is filing plans to remove over 12 acres from Guadalupe Gardens to allow commercial development, which would require rezoning, a 2040 General Plan amendment, and a Guadalupe Gardens Master Plan amendment. We oppose this for many reasons: the gardens were the result of decades of extensive community outreach; all the environmental documents indicated that a park was being assembled from the former home sites, and with downtown's population increasing, we need more parks and open space, not less.

Please contact Mayor Liccardo and your council representative to oppose this short-sighted move.

Click here to contact the City Council.

Click here to view the Gardens Master Plan.

Pumpkins in the Park

Pumpkins in the Park, our annual, family-friendly harvest festival, returns to Discovery Meadow on Saturday, October 13th from 10 am to 4 pm. Free admission!

Giant Pumpkin Patch
Costume Parade
Carnival Games
Great Food
Fresh Apple Cider
Guadalupe River Education
Children's Concert
and more!

Click here for more information.

Help spread the word by sharing our Facebook event.

Sculpture Walk Dedication

Friends of Shirley Lewis raised funds for a tribute to Shirley, who died a year ago. During her term as president of the Rotary Club of San Jose, Shirley launched a sculpture walk featuring children at play in Guadalupe River Park, so it seemed fitting to add a statue of her to one of the installations.

The San Jose City Council declared September 19, 2018 as Shirley Lewis Day, and the unveiling of Shirley's statue and a commemorative sign was held that evening near Julian St. Many members of Shirley's family were on hand as Mayor Liccardo presented them with a proclamation, and Jay Ross announced the renamed Shirley Lewis Rotary Sculpture Walk.

GRPC served as the fiscal agent of the project, with the remaining funds dedicated to maintenance of the sculpture walk and the Rotary PlayGarden, another of Shirley's beloved projects.

If you'd like to contribute, click here for more information.

Volunteer Corner

Arm helped us with seasonal upkeep in the Historic Orchard.

A hearty thanks to all the volunteer groups that toiled to make GRPG a more beautiful place this past August:

Bellarmine College Preparatory
Cisco
HGA
Hope Services
Intel

Mission Bay
Morgan Autism Center
South Bay Heritage Rose Group
Target
UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County

And that is only the groups! We also appreciate the scores of individuals who come out weekly to make a difference. We logged 1,115 volunteer hours in August.

Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities

  • Heritage Rose Garden Workdays
    Weds. and Sats. 8:30-11:30 am. More info.

  • Historic Orchard Workday
    Sat. Nov. 3rd, 8:30-11:30 am. Sign up.
  • Rotary PlayGarden Maintenance Support
    Ongoing on Mondays. E-mail volunteer@grpg.org for more information.
  • Beginning Environmental Explorers (BEE) Education Aid
    We are on the hunt for a long-term, dedicated volunteer who enjoys engaging and teaching students ages 2 - 6 years old. An ideal BEE education aide will be a passionate and patient volunteer to complement our enthusiastic education team! Spanish-speaking aides preferred, but not required. Interested or have questions? E-mail education@grpg.org.

 

Meet Volunteer: Erica
Erica has been a volunteer at the Heritage Rose Garden since 2004. She was retiring and looking for volunteer work when she saw an advertisement in the newspaper seeking help in the garden. She enjoys pruning the roses very much because she can actually see the difference she is making in the garden. Thank you Erica!

So many ways to give:
Adopt A Rose, General Donations,
Rotary PlayGarden,
The Donor Walkway, Memberships,
Endowment, Critter Donations

Upcoming Events

Homeschool Programs

October
How About Habitats?

We are pleased to introduce our new Community Homeschool Investigators of the River Park (CHIRP) Program.

Classes are held on Mondays (ages 5-8).

Squirrel Sanctuaries
October 8

How Habitats Help
October 15

California as a Habitat
October 22

Historic Habitats

October 29

Click here to register.

Charity Classic

Saturday, November 3rd
6:00 to 10:00 pm

Please consider supporting the Leadership San Jose Class of 2018 project in the park by purchasing tickets to the Charity Classic 2018: A Night in Jurassic Park, to be held on November 3rd.

Tickets to the Charity Classic support Leadership San Jose's enhancement of our outdoor classroom space along the Guadalupe River so that it may become a premier outdoor education destination for San Jose and Santa Clara County schools and residents. Please note Leadership San Jose/GRPC in the comments field at checkout.

Click here to purchase tickets.

Super Guadalupe River Run

Saturday, February 2nd
9:00 AM

Join us on Groundhog Day - Saturday Feb. 2 - to see if you can outrun your shadow!

Registration is now open for the 10K/5K/Kids' Fun Run. Register early and save!

Click here to register.

Kitten Corner

We have one five-month-old kitten, three teen moms, and 11 more tiny kittens in the pipeline. If interested in providing a furever home, please email cats@grpg.org.

Legacy Giving

Please consider a bequest to GRPC as part of your estate plan. There's no minimum amount required. In fact, you can specify any dollar amount, leave a percentage of your estate, or designate what remains after your estate has been settled. Here's some sample language:

I give to Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, a California non-profit corporation (Tax ID 77-0166797), $_______ or _____% of my estate or ____% of the residue of my estate.

I intend this gift to be used for an endowment that will support Guadalupe River Park Conservancy in perpetuity OR I intend this gift to be used at the Board of Directors' discretion.

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