Celebrate birthdays with Schoolhouse Creek Common, Friends of Five Creeks

Schoolhouse Creek Common, the community-built park, native plant garden, and play area at Curtis and Virginia, celebrates its 10th anniversary 10 AM – 1 PM Sun., May 1, 2016. Join them for pastries, coffee and tea, games, music, and beauty! All welcome.

More info: day7715@gmail.com. All also welcome at garden volunteer days, 10 AM-noon, second Saturdays.

Friends of Five Creeks celebrates 20 years of working to protect and restore watersheds and nature from Berkeley to Richmond with a relaxed picnic 10 AM – 1 PM Sat., May 14, 2016. Join them for an easy nature-and-history walk, bug hunt, and snacks with weed ingredients (if you can’t beat ’em, eat ’em). There’s a kids’ play structure, and if it’s warm they can splash in the creek. Join them at El Cerrito’s Creekside Park at the foot of Albany Hill, south end of Santa Clara Ave. (Map here.) Details and schedule upcoming at www.fivecreeks.org.

BPFP Supports Berkeley Measure F

Berkeley Partners for Parks urges a “yes” vote on Berkeley’s Measure F, a modest (16.7%) increase in Berkeley’s parks tax, passed in 1997 and based on square footage. The average Berkeley home of about 1900 square feet will pay about $40 to help support our 52 parks, 30 park buildings, 100+ pathways, and 35,000 trees. A real bargain!

For information from supporters, or to donate or volunteer, go to //www.healthyberkeleyparks.com/.

Grant opportunities for neighborhood — UC partnerships

UC Berkeley has launched the 2015-16 cycle of Chancellor’s Community Partnership Grants, offering up to $260,000 to innovative campus-Berkeley community partnerships for projects beginning in the summer or early fall of 2015.

The Fund supports projects in arts and culture, community safety, economic development, environmental stewardship and education. Since its establishment in 2006, in partial settlement of a lawsuit by the City of Berkeley, the fund has awarded nearly $2 million to more than 120 neighborhood-improvement and community-service programs, including many park projects.

Pre-applications are due Dec. 8. About 20-25 of these applicants will be asked to submit detailed proposals, due Mar. 2. Awards will be announced in May, with funds available in last summer or fall, 2015. A “mixer” with opportunities to learn more about the grants and meet potential UC partners is set for 4-6 PM Wed., Oct. 22, at the Berkeley Skydeck, 2150 Shattuck Ave., penthouse level.

Information including forms and guidelines is here or at 510/643-5299 or calpartnershipfund@berkeley.edu.

Happy 100th Birthday to Live Oak Park

Happy 100th Birthday to Live Oak Park, Berkeley’s first “nature park,” bought by the city in 1914. Neighbors are celebrating with an old-fashioned picnic. One, Susan Schwartz (also head of Friends of Five Creeks, vice-president of the vanished Friends of Live Oak, and a BPFP board member) wrote this history. Corrections welcome at www.fivecreeks.org; the responsibility for errors is entirely Susan’s.

City of Berkeley celebrates park volunteers, seeks more

Berkeley’s Parks, Recreation, and Waterfront Department kick off a new effort to recruit and recognize volunteers with a Community Parks Day, 9 AM – 2 PM Sat., Sept. 27, at San Pablo Park. Volunteers can work with city staff planting trees and more, enjoy a BBQ lunch, and meet citizens who have volunteered many hours over the years. For kids, there’s a carnival including rock climbing and more. Info including upcoming volunteer opportunities here.