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NEWSLETTER: March 2019
In this issue:
A Message from the Executive Director
Dear Friends, Supporters, and Partners,
It is with a mixture of pride and sadness that after 11+ years, I'll be leaving the Conservancy at the end of April. I'll be forever grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with amazing staff members, supporters, volunteers, partners, and board members on this legacy project.
I was fortunate to have my predecessor Kathy Muller's solid foundation to build on. Our education programs now reach over 5,700 students annually, and, thanks to foundation partners such as Packard, Shortino, Adobe, Western Digital, et al., over 60% of our programs are delivered to Title One schools free of charge. Our stewardship program coordinates over 20,000 volunteer hours in service of the park each year due to dedicated individuals and corporate support from Arm, Cisco, Intel, Google, et al. We added the Shirley Lewis Rotary Sculpture Walk thanks to Rotary and San Jose Water Company. Other highlights include ribbon cuttings - trail expansion, community garden, and, of course, the Rotary PlayGarden, which recently welcomed its 600,000th visitor!
While I am proud to have played a role in these achievements, it has truly been a team effort with a highly qualified and professional staff, a passionate and engaged Board of Directors, and a community of supporters, volunteers, and partners who believe in the vision of an iconic central park for our community.
Read more below...
A Super Finish
Many thanks to San Jose Water Company for sponsoring our annual 10K/5K/Kids' run/walk, Board Member Francois Rodigari for his organizing skills, Board President Jodi Starbird for her promotional efforts, the wonderful volunteers who were critical to our success, and City Sports Club, Farm Fresh to You, San Jose Earthquakes, and Red Power Divas who livened up the expo area.
Results are available here.
New Signage 
As part of the 2018 class project in the park, Leadership San Jose raised funds to design and install a new interpretive panel and wayfinding signage in the gardens, as well as add artwork and refresh the landscaped gabions along the route to our classroom on the bank of the Guadalupe River. We hope you enjoy the new look! Our sincere thanks to the class members and sponsors who contributed to this lasting investment in the park, our programs, and our community:
eBay
The Health Trust
Max & Laura Duganne
Samaritan Medical Center
San Jose Water Company
University of Phoenix
William H. Cilker Family Foundation
Volunteer Corner
A hearty thanks to all the volunteer groups that toiled to make GRPG a more beautiful place this past January:
Arm
Hope Services
Irvington Change Project
Lynbrook High School
Milpitas Christian School
Mission Bay
Morgan Autism Center
National Charity League, Willow Rose Chapter
Pioneer High School
Presentation High School
South Bay Heritage Rose Group
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 514 volunteer hours in January.
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
- Heritage Rose Garden Workdays
Weds. and Sats. 8:30-11:30 am. More info.
- Historic Orchard Workday
Sat. March 30th, 8:30-11:30 am. Sign up.
- National River Cleanup Day
Sat. May 18th, 9:00 am to Noon. Sign up.
Featured Project: Historic Orchard Squirrel Barrier
 With the help from volunteers from Presentation High School's faculty and staff (pictured above) and Arm, we have installed what we are referring to as our "squirrel barrier". Within the Historic Orchard, we have a rampant pest problem with ground squirrels that are creating treacherous conditions with their burrows and damaging trees and irrigation. Studies have shown that these critters do not like to be in areas where they cannot see their predators (line of sight), and we are optimistic that the barrier will prevent new orchard "residents" in the future. |
