Guadalupe River Park Conservancy Board Member Darcie Green
Darcie Green is the Community & Government Relations Manager for Kaiser Permanente San Jose. Prior to entering the health care industry, Darcie worked as a field representative in the office of Assemblymember Joe Coto where she worked many public policy issues affecting the residents of San Jose particularly those focused on increased access to healthy lifestyle choices for disenfranchised communities.

Darcie has spent time volunteering as a grassroots organizer working towards empowering neighborhoods around quality of life issues and working for the San Jose City Council learning inner-workings of local public policy and budget. Darcie is a passionate advocate for the rights of women and minorities, dedicating her volunteer time to helping to increase political and social power for women, youth and ethnic communities.  She was a former Vice-Chair of the Santa Clara County Commission of the Status of Women, a former board member of the Silicon Valley Latino Democratic Forum and was the Campaign Coordinator for Assemblymember Coto's Assembly campaign.

Darcie serves as Chair of Somos Mayfair, board member for Friends of PACT, the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, and the Alum Rock Education Foundation and Advisory Board member of Generation Engage, East Side Education Alliance and APALI. In 2009, Darcie was elected to the Executive Board of the California Democratic Party and was awarded the 2009 CDP John F. Kennedy Jr. Award for Public Service.

Meet Volunteer Sean McGrail
Sean McGrail has donated many hours to pruning and planting fruit trees in the Historic Orchard. Sean is helping create an orchard management plan and loves teaching people about the proper care of fruit trees. He led a class on pruning in January and has been coordinating efforts to get 31 new trees planted to replace those that were diseased or had died. After spending many years in New England, Sean appreciates our long growing season.

Owner of Sean McGrail Landscape, he can be found sharpening tools at the Los Gatos Farmer’s Market.  Sean is an avid movie buff and foodie, which makes him an entertaining dining companion. We are grateful for his expertise and efforts and look forward to the fruits of his labor.

Corporate/Group Work Days
Working together to make a difference in the community is a great way to build team spirit and demonstrate the values of your organization. Guadalupe River Park & Gardens is a regional park in downtown San Jose that offers unique opportunities for groups looking for team building and community service activities. The Guadalupe River Park Conservancy provides coordination and supervision and will work with you to find the right project(s) for your group.

Click Here to View the Corporate Work Day Flyer
(.pdf file, 3.9 MB)

The following are just a few of the corporations that have joined us:

Cupertino Electric, Deloitte, NEC, PG & E, Kaiser Permanente, Ernst & Young, HP, Adobe, Cupertino Electric, Apple, DCP, e-Bay, KPMG, Omron

Gardens
Rose Garden Work Days
The Rose Garden is a collection of more than 4,000 antique and modern roses. Established in 1995 through an extensive community effort, the garden contains more varieties (3,500) than any other rose garden in the western hemisphere. While the City of San Jose supplies materials, it is maintained primarily by volunteers. Projects will vary with the time of the year. Volunteers can learn on how to maintain their own roses or just enjoy helping with the maintenance of this special rose garden. On going volunteer workdays: Every Saturday and Wednesday 9:00 am to noon (8:00am to 11:00am June-September). Special summer evening sessions (June-September) 5:30pm-7:30pm.

Courtyard Recycled Water Garden
The Courtyard Garden was one of the first elements of Guadalupe Gardens to be completed. It is a demonstration area showcasing the use of recycled water on a variety of plants. Volunteers assist the City Staff in planting and maintaining the Courtyard Garden. Volunteer workdays: 9:00 am to noon. Special week work hours can also be scheduled.

Taylor Street Rock Garden
The Drought Tolerant Rock Garden on Taylor Street, established in 1992, is a labeled collection of plants and rocks. The Drought Tolerant Garden provides an attractive streetscape and also demonstrates the use of plants and rock to save on precious water resources.

"Yesterday I worked as a supervisor in the Taylor Street Rock Garden. I worked with a group of about 6 or 7 people and boy did it make a difference. In only two and a half hours the area looks so much better. I drive down that road at least once a week and can't wait to get the next section cleaned up. When I got home I was tired and dirty but had the best feeling. The group from Cisco that I worked with was phenomenal. We had a great time working together and are proud of our little rock garden cleanup! Thank you Guadalupe River Park Conservancy! I cant' wait for my next volunteer job!"
Kourtney Feinstein
Leaping Designs

Historic Orchard
The Historic Orchard is a 3.3-acre orchard, planted in 1994, to showcase the fruit varieties that once made the Santa Clara Valley famous as “The Valley of Heart’s Delight”. The orchard contains over 250 fruit trees, including cherries, apricots, prunes, apples, and more. Fruit harvested from the orchard is donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara County. Please contact the Volunteer Coordinator to schedule work sessions.

River Clean Ups & Trail Maintenance
At least twice a year the Friends organize river clean-up efforts in the area between Coleman Avenue and HWY 880. This is a great opportunity to meet with friends, co-workers or new friends who share an interest in maintaining the beauty of the river and protecting the natural habitat.

The award-winning 254 acre park, including 2.6 miles of trails, offers visitors an opportunity to explore nature, enjoy the many water features and playground areas, or travel the trails that meander through the park.

Volunteers can help the City of San Jose to maintain the areas of the trail on the 2.6 miles of trail from Hwy. 280 to 880. Projects could include weeding, planting, spread mulch, trimming trees, refurbish park benches, cleaning signs, etc.

Student Interns
Interns work in all areas of our operations, including our Education and Volunteer programs as well as event planning.

Having no experience in events and starting my first internship at GRPG, I feel that I have gotten so much more than what I expected. Working with a small, but fantastic, team was a great experience in itself. Thanks to the staff, I have gained not only event planning experience, but have also learned about the different aspects of the organization. Thank you Guadalupe River Park Conservancy for giving me the opportunity!
Thoai-An Le, SJSU

Education Volunteers
Guadalupe River Park Conservancy offer a full calendar of classes and workshops for adults and children. Many of these classes, particularly the ones for children, require volunteers to prepare materials in advance and instructors/assistants to help the education staff deliver the programs. Education volunteers actively participate in all facets of our activities, including, but not limited to, assistance with after school workshops for children, field trip programs, education booths at festivals, our research library, annual Water Wizard Festival, the compost demonstration site, adult workshops, and preparing material for educational programs.

Special Events
We hold several special events every year including Spring in Guadalupe Gardens (April), Water Wizard Festival (May), Arena Green Adventures (summer), and Pumpkins in the Park (October). Volunteers are recruited to do a variety of tasks for these events including planning, set-up and breakdown, booth staffing, educational activities, and food sales.

"I was quite pleased with my volunteer experience at Pumpkins in the Park this year.  The people there were very welcoming and it gave me what I call "Warm Fuzzies" when I saw little kids with their families picking pumpkins and being happy. The organizers running the show that day were very grateful and amiable, and I would like to thank them."
Anh-Thu Le, Oak Grove High School

Office Volunteers
An abundance of volunteer opportunities exist in our office at the Visitor & Education Center. Activities include clerical work, organizing the library, preparing materials for educational programs, etc. Other tasks can be performed from home. Volunteer efforts in the office allow the Friends’ staff to focus on expanding programs and reaching out even further to the community. Commitment will vary depending on volunteer’s availability. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30am – 5:00 pm.

Featured Project of the Month

Spring in Guadalupe Gardens
On Saturday, April 24th, we will be having our annual Spring in Guadalupe Gardens festival. Volunteers interested in helping with this fun event would be able to sign up at our website www.grpg.org starting the week of March 22 through April 16, 2010. We will need about 100 volunteers for this event. Please save the date! This is an exciting event for all garden enthusiasts. I hope you will be a part of it!