Park Bench. Regulars Are on a Roll NEWS FROM THE

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1 Park Bench NEWS FROM THE EUGENE S FIRST PARK SPRING 2016 Regulars Are on a Roll D Mieko weeding with Isaiah Lightdancer o you know that much of the weeding, trail raking, storm clean-up and general upkeep of the Rhododendron Garden is done by volunteers? These dedicated folks show up on Tuesday mornings, March through November, rain or shine. Some have been doing it for decades. A few Tuesday volunteers specialize in certain tasks such as pruning and trail raking; others adopt particular areas for general maintenance. Mostly, they step up to help with whatever needs to be done in any given week. The volunteers efforts, in both the garden and the forest, are guided by Volunteer Coordinator Assistant Mieko Aoki. Mieko has been remarkably successful at attracting, retaining and motivating volunteers and, with the help of staff members, leads very productive work parties. She issues advance s letting the volunteers know what s on the agenda for the coming work party, and sends informative s after each session, detailing what was accomplished. All this is in addition to preparing materials, equipment and project ideas for work parties, keeping excellent records, and taking some great photos. Mieko also attends meetings of the Rhododendron Garden Committee. At the City of Eugene s request, the Friends recently provided a money-match to boost the hours allotted to Mieko for preparing for and guiding the Tuesday Morning regulars. Most of that work was already getting done, but now Mieko s paid for it! Here s Mieko s report for 2015: Average number of people per Tuesday: 13.7 (up from 9.6 last year). Total number of hours contributed: 1461 (up from 1151 last year). Pause here, Mieko suggests, to reflect on just how much time that is: a fulltime worker for 9 months. Overall, yards of weeds and rhododendron limbs were extricated, 131 yards of mulch were scooped and distributed, and eight big trees and 116 shrubs and perennials were planted. Volunteers continue to improve the look of the garden as viewed from Summit Avenue. On the first work day of 2016, they took away about 5 yards of weeds, blackberries and rhododendron branches, mulched around some muddy areas, dug out patches of lesser celandine, and removed winter protection from those crazy Gunnera plants. Since then, they have pruned and mulched around hydrangeas, weeded and mulched around Ted Trombert s bench, and hoed and raked the trails. info@friendsofhendrickspark.org

2 Capital Improvement Award Last year, Hendricks Park Rhododendron Garden was the lucky recipient of a special grant from a Parks and Open Space fund for capital improvements. Parks staff city-wide submit hundreds of projects each year from which two sites are selected. The fund is intended for projects designed to reduce future maintenance, and the award must be spent in the City s current fiscal year, which ends July Goals already accomplished in the Rhododendron Garden with this windfall include the new path built by Northwest Youth Corps to replace the hazardous giant steps on the south facing slope above Summit Avenue; irrigation improvements; understory fern planting for weed suppression; tree planting; and the conversion of three prominent benches from wood to longer-lasting metal. Our Mission: To provide stewardship for Hendricks Park through education, restoration and community support. Volunteer Spotlight: Kit Kirkpatrick Two years ago, Kit took on the important task of organizing and hosting the Friends Hendricks Park tours. Her duties include persuading interesting and expert people to take time out of their extremely busy lives to open visitors eyes to the park s wonders. Originally from the Bay Area, Kit moved to Portland in 1975 and lived there for 6 months. It was great fun, and the friends I made were the best, but I couldn t handle the rain and high winds in the autumn. How could anyone live in Oregon? she says. I fled to the Southeast for 4 or 5 years. In 1980, when it became obvious that I was not Southern Belle material, I returned to the West Coast to Eugene. Once here, Kit became a complete aficionado of the outdoor world. That s what drives me. It s my manifestation of God. Kit got to know the park through John Moriarty, who was then serving as Forest Management Plan Coordinator, and came to know it better through volunteering. Why did she offer to take on the tour program? It just seemed a good fit, she recalls. The tours are wonderful. I am so impressed by how many erudite and fascinating people in Eugene have remarkable knowledge of and feeling for the natural world. We are lucky to live here! Kit says she also enjoys working with the board of FoHP. There s just so much good energy all around. 2 Spring 2016

3 A Letter from Our President Help the Rhodie Garden Bloom The rhododendron season is upon us the flower show we all await the fruit of year-long labor in the Rhododendron Garden. While it s great to visit any time, the best times to stroll the Rhodie Garden are surely April and May. Flower time is also kick-off time for the Friends of Hendricks Park s new capital campaign to establish an Endowment Fund for the Rhododendron Garden. It is high time to set the garden on a sound financial footing that will carry it forward into the future. We have learned how critical an endowment fund can be through our experience with Jerry Blakey s bequest to the Native Plant Garden, so we would like the Rhododendron Garden to enjoy the same benefit. Our initial goal is $20,000, the threshold for the Oregon Community Foundation to establish a separate endowment account. We have already directed $3,000 into a restricted fund as a down payment. Here s the case for an RG Endowment Fund. Cuts to Parks and Open Space s budget during the Great Recession left the RG without a head gardener in 2011 for the first time since Further budget cuts eroded maintenance even more. Invasive weeds continue their inexorable invasions, and the 2015 drought didn t help the plants. The final whammy has been the azalea lace bug infestation, discovered in The bugs have to be killed with insecticidal soap. Hendricks Park staff and volunteers have stepped up magnificently. Friends of Hendricks Park has directed an increasing portion of its annual budget to the RG since commissioning the Rhododendron Garden Needs Assessment in There have been new plantings, and the rock garden has been renovated. In 2016, the Friends split the considerable cost of insecticidal soap spraying with Parks and Open Space for a second year. The RG is holding its own, but it has been touch and go, with a mounting backlog of needs and tasks. In recognition of these needs, POS last year crafted a 5-year Maintenance Plan that identifies specific projects necessary to keep the RG blooming. High on the list is the imperative to replace shrubs that are aging or vulnerable to the lace bug with new, more resistant ones. The spray program is working, but the financial drain is unsustainable. It was no fluke that Hendricks Park was included in The Pacific Northwest Garden Tour guide published in 2014! Now it is FoHP s turn to help our vision bloom. We have an opportunity to reshape the garden for its next phase and to burnish it for us lucky ones who live here and for the tourists who come by, such as those who will attend the upcoming track and field trials. Before the traditional Mother s Day festivities at the garden, we will be calling on interested citizens and neighbors for a special contribution. Think of it as a kind of permaculture helping the Rhododendron Garden hang tight and grow right for many springs to come. Erik Fisher, President, Friends of Hendricks Park News from the Park Bench 3

4 More Hours for the Native Plant Garden The Friends provided funding to extend the Native Plant Gardener position by 100 hours last fall and an additional 100 hours in late winter of We trust that the position will be extended again in 2016/17, with the cost shared by the City. The job previously ran from March through the end of October, pushing work that could be done in late fall and winter into the very busy spring season. The increased hours allow the gardener to start each year in mid-february and continue to the end of November. The change was sought by the Friends and by A Little Weed, but Vicious: Shining Geranium It looks so small and harmless, but it s a beast! This geranium makes herb-robert look innocuous. Shining geranium (Geranium lucidum) is a small, non-native weed with round, deeply incised leaves and small brightpink flowers. It grows fast and spreads rapidly by seed it can shoot its seeds 20 feet. It has been in Hendricks Park for about a decade, and staff have tried many methods of control without coming close to eliminating it. G. lucidum has also been the bane of Mt Pisgah Arboretum and other public lands for several years, and some people consider established populations untreatable. Natural Resources staff are testing new methods of control, but the best coping strategy is to prevent new infestations. What makes this little plant so vicious is that it inhibits the growth of other species, a quality called allelopathy. This characteristic is often mentioned with reference to black walnut trees, but G. lucidum is far more effective. In spite of the best efforts of staff and Photo by Bruce Newhouse Sasha White, who currently holds the position. Sasha provided a cogent, detailed written argument for the extension, pointing out that late autumn is the best time for planting natives and February is a good time for pruning, as well as the eradication of invasive species. Sasha added, Approximately 400 new plants went into the NPG this season, not including direct seeding. Thanks to the extension of my position, I was able to work into the rainy season and feel much more confident about the survival of the new plants. Photo by Sasha White contractors (and volunteers, whose main contribution is to report sightings), the weed is increasing its territory. It is most abundant around the shed and lathe house north of Fairmount and across the road east and west of the rock restrooms. Most of the time, you ll see it as a low carpet of glossy, bright-green leaves. Our great fear is that it will get established in the forest, where it could rapidly displace the smaller native flora. Staff and volunteers are monitoring the forest, especially in areas adjacent to those already infested, and plants are immediately removed. Visitors are advised to recognize the plant where it is abundant, and refrain from walking through it or allowing dogs to run there. It s easy to carry seed into the forest and home to your own yard as well as other public areas. So leash your dog at all times (it s the law!), and please stick to the trails. G. lucidum is the biggest threat to forest diversity since English ivy, and it may be even worse. 4 Spring 2016

5 New and Renewing Friends of Hendricks Park On behalf of the FoHP Board, thank you to the many people who contribute financially to our organization. Your donation allows us to fulfill our mission with Hendricks Park. Donors from 10/16/2015 to 4/10/16 Benefactors Terry West & Jack Viscardi Fund Beth & Brad Copeland Erik Fisher Pauline Rear Guarantors Scott Pope Sustaining Nathan Markowitz & Jill Hendrickson Cynthia & Tom Dreyer Dan Giustina Phyllis Hamel Donna Hein David & Catherine Johnson Tamara Stenshoel Ray & Elise Weldon Robert Leary Sponsoring Elizabeth & Frank Koch Gayle Landt & Martin Jones Paul Nicholson Steve Gab & Hillery Kyablue Jerry Lidz & Melinda Grier Marna Broekhoff Richard Larson & Barbara Cowan Jane Beeghly Margot Fetz David & Ann Fidanque Rachel Foster Gary Moye Architect, Inc. Hannah & Daniel Goldrich Art & Anita Johnson Lee & Mary Jean Michels Jo Ann Mooser Robert Nelson & Kathleen Pengelly Sharson & Michael Posner Martin & Linda Sage Chris Jones Ann Bettman James Coons & Mary Nuwer Elizabeth & Vin Lananna Gary Hague Ray & Chris Scofield Pauline Andrews John Moriarty Michal Young & Cynthia Wenks Eugene Garden Club Alexis Norelle & Steven Stwertka Jan & Curtis Brown Paula & Ted Hewitt Franchia Loren Susan Macomson Family and Friends Daniel Kaye & June Brooks Eric Johnson & Karen Guillemin Howard Bonnett & Judith Horstmann Rick Minor & Kathryn Toepel Alan Zelenka & Susan Smith Jeanne Maasch Dorothy & Frank Anderson Tree Bressen Peggy Dame Nancie Fadeley Art Farley Jim & Mary Gent Robin & Mark Grediagin Marci & David Hilton Harold Hushbeck, Jr. Theresa & Bob Jones Linda & Joseph Kintz Jim & Maria Kiplinger Kit & Marylyn Larsen Christine Nordenson Sue & Hugh Prichard Catherine Siskron Charles & Vicki Swanson Marion Walter David Hammer Larry Leverone Kathleen & Walter Petty Andrea Wolf James & Jane Barta John Curtis & Janne Underriner Magnus Persmark & Rosalie Hammond Susan & James Douglas John & Nita Postlethwait Sharon Poticha Larry & Wendy Maltz Michael & Connie Manley Jill Hubbard Jim Beyer & Cindy Fitzgerald Sallie & Bill Anderson Lynn Frohnmayer Doris Burkland Keith Eddins & Anne Bridgman Erik & Jessyca Burke Jay Silverman & Diane Bolte-Silverman Peter Saraceno Edward Black Alan Reeder Jon Heritage Dick & Nina Henderson Theodore & Laramie Palmer Darbi Haffner Jason Solbeck Stephen Ramey Steve Longtin Walnut Street Co-op Jeff Lange & Melissa Woo Chris Stebbins Smith Family (James & Jennifer Smith) Paul & Mary Sue Edgecomb Joe Spivak Barbara & Christer Mossberg Darcey Poole Sally Wellborn PayPal is Available Please Support our In-Kind Contributors Rudy Fox, Fox Graphics Thanks to all our contributors, and we regret any omissions or errors. Memorial Contributions In memory of Hallie Poole-Moseley from Darcey Poole If you would like to join FoHP, renew your membership and/or make an additional contribution, you can use PayPal on our website ( Go to the Join Us webpage, where you ll find two ways to donate to FoHP using PayPal. We have suggested amounts for Membership Dues, but any amount is greatly appreciated. Simply contribute the amount that fits you. For the Additional Contributions donation, when you get to the Checkout page, click on Please indicate the area of contribution. That way, you can designate a category (if any) for your extra contribution. You don t have to use PayPal. A check in the mail works also. Thanks for all the donations you make to Friends of Hendricks Park. The great work we do is supported by your generosity! David Moon, Treasurer News from the Park Bench 5

6 Friends of Hendricks Park P.O. Box 3784 Eugene, OR NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID EUGENE OR PERMIT NO. 609 Board of Directors President Erik Fisher Vice President Rachel Foster Secretary Jim Beyer Treasurer David Moon Sandra Austin Beth Copeland Molly Craig Phyllis Hamel Newsletter by Rachel Foster, Linda Sage and Beneda Design Volunteer Opportunities Save the dates! Tuesday Morning in the Rhododendron Garden Join the Tuesday Morning Regulars every Tuesday, 9 a.m. 12 noon, March through November. Meet at Hendricks Park office at the northeast end of the Rhododendron Garden (below the restrooms). Friends of Hendricks Park Forest Work Parties 5/14/16 Park Bench Spring a.m. 12 p.m. 6/4/16 9 a.m p.m. Meet at the F.M. Wilkins Picnic Shelter, 2200 Summit Ave., Eugene OR. For updates on forest stewardship opportunities, please contact Mieko at Mieko.e.Aoki@ci.eugene.or.us or Hendricks Park Tours April 24, 1 p.m. May 15, 1 p.m. June 5, 7 a.m. June 26, 1 p.m. November 6, 10 a.m. Sasha White Jack Olsen Mieko Aoki Alby Thoumsin Bruce Newhouse/ Peg Boulay Native plants Rhododendrons Birding Forest ecology Mushrooms (Daylight Savings Time is over!)