On Sunday, Oct. 3, Berkeley Partners for Parks invites you to enjoy
• A leisurely afternoon stroll or bike ride
• A progressive picnic
• Music, food, fun for all ages
Celebrate great green spaces! See how Berkeley volunteers have transformed neglected scraps of city!
We’ll start at 1 PM at Presentation Park, Allston Way and California, where residents have turned thickets into a butterfly garden and more.
At 2 PM we’ll make our way to Schoolhouse Creek Common, Virginia and Curtis. Neighbors have turned an old parking lot behind Berkeley Adult School into a flowery oasis where neighbors gather, children play, and students take breaks and relax.
At 3 PM we’ll follow the old Santa Fe Railroad route, now the Ohlone Greenway, to Westbrae Commons (along the greenway between Hopkins and Gilman). There we’ll join the annual harvest-time celebration of three community gardens, restored native coastal prairie, and whimsical to spectacular public art along the old rail corridor.
Free, all welcome! (The distance is a level 1.5 mi. one way.) Information at www.bpfp.org, Charlie_Paths@comcast.net, 540 7223.

The 8th annual Hidden Gems of Berkeley bike ride explores the curious, quirky, and crafted features and grassroots greening initiatives that make Berkeley unique — this year in Berkeley’s charming Northbrae and Westbrae neighborhoods. Meet at the North Berkeley Branch Library, 1170 The Alameda and Hopkins, 10 AM Sat., May 15. The leisurely ride on level and gently sloping terrain ends at 1 PM. Bring lunch, water, and the family — great for children over 10. The event is free; updated Hidden Gems of Berkeley maps available for $5 donation. Sponsored by Berkeley Partners for Parks, Livable Berkeley, East Bay Green Tours, and Bicycle Friendly Berkeley Coalition; led by John Coveney, Marlene Fouche, and originator John Steere (for information contact John at 510 849 1969).

Projects in the 2008 grant range from path construction and a solar light for the Santa Fe Right of Way, projects of Berkeley Path Wanderers, to tools and gloves for the city’s 14 public-school gardens, through Friends of School Gardens. The community-built Schoolhouse Creek Common will install chess tables and a bench. Nearby, Friends of Westbrae Commons will continue transforming the Ohlone Greenway south of Gilman with native coastal-prairie plants. Friends of Shorebird Park Nature Center will spread fresh sand and build new racks at Adventure Playground, while Aquatic Park EGRET will get upgraded nataive plants and upgraded wheelbarrows. Friends of Five Creeks will be able to install signs on local natural history and plant drought-tolerant natives in a variety of sites, from the Santa Fe Right of Way to Mortar Rock Park.

Aquatic Park EGRET also will partner with Earth Team Environmental Network, Berkeley Community Media, College of Natural Resources, and Berkeley Community Garden to involve local teens in habitat restoration days that teens also will film for showing on local cable TV. This project received a $5000 Chancellors Community Partnership grant.

Join us to carry out these projects! Contact BPFP or the affiliate group you are interested in — click on “Affiliated Groups” at right.

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From the Board introduction:

We are hopeful the energizing power of partnerships will become a theme of the 21st century. Around the world individuals are organizing in their local areas to improve their lives, and Berkeley Partners for Parks is a leader in those efforts in our community.

Date: Sunday, September 17
Time: 2-5 p.m.
Place: Peralta Community Garden (on Peralta between Hopkins St. & Gilman St.)
Cost: Free
Wheelchair accessible

The Westbrae Neighborhood Commons includes the Peralta, Northside, and Karl Linn Community Gardens, the Ohlone Greenway Natural and Cultural History Exhibit, and the Berkeley EcoHouse. These unique community spaces feature artwork and eco-friendly technologies amidst lush vegetable gardens and native California vegetation. A network of beautiful common spaces invites visitors to enjoy nature and each other’s company. A testament to the spirit of community, these commons were created and are maintained by volunteers and neighbors.

See you there!
Nicole Becker, coordinator
Friends of the Westbrae Commons