The Gardens at Lake Merritt » Donald http://fogm.techliminal.com The Green Heart of Oakland for Fifty Years Sun, 01 Mar 2015 01:05:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0 New Neighbors Move In http://fogm.techliminal.com/new-neighbors-move-in/ http://fogm.techliminal.com/new-neighbors-move-in/#comments Mon, 04 Aug 2014 22:20:15 +0000 http://gardensatlakemerritt.org/?p=3098

If you build it they will come.



The Gardens at Lake Merritt are well-known as a showcase for a plethora of species of flora.  Recently, a leaky, resource-wasting water feature– designed in a day when few questioned the constant draining, cleaning and refilling involved in maintaining decorative ponds– was transformed into a habitat for several species of  fauna– dragonflies, damselflies and tree frogs.


What started as a badge project concept for Eagle Scout, Jordan Soulman,  coalesced around Park Supervisor Tora Rocha’s long-held notion that the Gardens’ mid-20th Century water feature might be more efficiently maintained through the installation of a cutting-edge bio-filtration system.


The project came together quite quickly and took a virtual village to accomplish.


Among the contributing personnel and organizations:






    

  • Kathy Claypole-Biggs, (http://www.sonic.net/~bigsnest/Pond/dragons/bio.html)  a longtime educator and one of Northern California’s leading authorities on dragonflies and damselflies, provided habitat design consultation, and educational programming guidance.
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  • Steve Kaper, (http://www.wildrose4u.com/about.html) provided engineering expertise in the creation of the waterscape which will comprise the habitat
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  • HandsOn Bay Area which coordinated and managed the participation volunteers from AnswerLab and Google, and both companies helped purchase materials for the habitat and supplies for its biofilter.
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  • Andrea Hurd, award-winning ecological design-build landscaper from Mariposa Gardening Design, offered front-line design execution and advice during the Google volunteer workday.
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  • The Insect Sciences Museum of California will ultimately design and provide signage for the habitat, as well as offer support for ongoing educational programming.
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For more photos, click here.


We will be sharing more information about the ways in which the Gardens are addressing both the short-term and long-term issues presented by the current drought emergency.  Stay tuned for more updates!










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		Earth Day with HandsOn Bay Area
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		Sun, 18 Apr 2010 16:37:59 +0000
		
				
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		

		http://gardensatlakemerritt.org/?p=620
		
				

We had a great work day on Saturday, April 17 in the Torii Gate Garden with volunteers of all ages.


G@LMED5


The group was comprised primarily of a team from PG&E.


G@LMED9


The major focus of our work was beginning a new stone beach for the pond in the garden.


G@LMED6


Volunteers also did some excavation to install some electric conduit, and general weeding.


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Everyone pitched in and got a lot accomplished.


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Moving Rocks 2


And there was still time to take a break and check out the gardens’ newest residents– ducklings!

G@LMED3

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		New Membership Level for Youth – Click the Link to Take our Survey!
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		Sat, 03 Apr 2010 15:25:12 +0000
		
				
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
		

		http://gardensatlakemerritt.org/new-membership-level-for-youth/
		
				


Click Here to Take our Survey!



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		Mediterranean Garden – Saturday, March 27
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		Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:28:17 +0000
		
				
		
		
		

		http://gardensatlakemerritt.org/?p=422
		
				aturday, March 27, was a beautiful day.  Here are some photos of the Mediterranean Gardens.


med 2
Med garden 1


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