When: Monday, January 17, 2011, 8:30 am to 1:00.

Check-In: Lakeside Park Garden Center, 666 Bellevue (off Grand by Fairyland) at 8:30 am.

What:  Join with other volunteers to improve these beautiful public gardens.  There’s a project for every level and interest: weeding, mulching, fence building, digging.

Bring: work gloves, small garden tools (if you have), and a desire to “be” part of your amazing  community.

Parking: Free

THANK YOU: 

 Whole Foods Oakland for energizing the volunteers with cartons of fresh fruit. http://wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/oakland/

Service For Peace for recruiting 100 volunteers for the MLK Day of Service. http://volunteer.truist.com/vccc/org/opp/10443130871.html

Urban ReLeaf for planting trees in the Gardens at Lake Merritt on Monday, Martin Luther King Day of Service.

Martin Luther King, Jr., said ” . . . life at its best is a creative synthesis of opposites in fruitful harmony. “

Lepidoptera is the insect order that contains the butterflies andmoths. The Lepidotpera are the most recently evolved order of insects, havingarisen (presumably) from the caddisflies. Butterflies and moths are some of themost conspicuous and beautiful of insects, and they are among the few “bugs”that nearly everyone likes, although some are significant agricultural pests. Thetalk will focus on the evolution and ecology of butterflies and moths, and thelepidopteran species that are frequently encountered in the Bay Area.

Professor Washburn taught at UC Berkeley, and although retired, he is still very active and engaged in his life research. Among his many extensive accomplishments, he is an engaging docent at the UC Botanical Garden, where he can be found inspiring our next generation of entomologists!

Volunteers registering

On Saturday October 2nd 100 volunteers participated in Be the Change Day at the Gardens at Lake Merritt. The volunteers were arranged by Hands on Bay Area. I would like to thank Hands on Bay Area and the volunteers.  They worked on several projects. This is  the habitat restoration around a bed with three large redwoods.  Before the habitat restoration the bed was turf and ivy.  The volunteers today were predominately from Kaiser Permanente.  Lots of progress in a short time thanks to many hands.

The Lakeside Palmetum - Considered the most extensive established collection of cool Mediterranean and high altitude tropical palms in the United States, the Palmetum features a great variety of palm species native to cool and warm Mediterranean climates and tropical high altitude regions of Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Americas. Oakland’s unique subtropical microclimate provides the perfect growing conditions to nurture this collection.

Great sounds coming from the Palmetum

Great sounds coming from the Palmetum during last years Anniversary Celebration.  Come this Sunday June 6th for more music and a day of varied activities.

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

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

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

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

Everyone pitched in and got a lot accomplished.

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