Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Christmas Tree Featured in Carnegie Museum of Natural History

The 20-foot tall Christmas trees that adorn the Hall of Architecture in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History are a hallmark of Pittsburgh’s holiday season. This Christmas marks 51 years that the all volunteer-based Carnegie Museum Women’s Committee has decked the halls for the museum with the grandest trees you ever did see. This year’s festive conifers share the theme of the Museum of Art’s current exhibit - Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World’s Fairs, 1851-1939.   

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy was thrilled to be included when the Women’s Committee asked us to be involved. Our tree pays homage to the Conservancy’s signature event, the Spring Hat Luncheon. With the theme Hats of the World’s Fair, the Parks Conservancy tree features images of hats and hat advertisements from 1851-1939 as well as photographs that pay tribute to several of the supporters of our annual fundraising event, the Spring Hat Luncheon. In each photo the friend of the Conservancy is wearing a hat that is either a replica of, or inspired by the fashions of the World’s Fairs.

We used nearly 3,000 LED lights to make this big guy shine

We held our breath as the art handlers hoisted our hand-made 3-foot top hat tree topper onto the highest branches.

Almost there!

Among the vintage hat advertisements and Hat Luncheon photos you’ll find miniature one-of-a-kind hats fashioned from recycled materials by Trinkets of Life.

The final tree is surrounded by dozens of hat boxes which were generously donated by a long-time Parks Conservancy supporter.

The trees will be on display through January 6, 2013 with museum admission. Send us your photos of it on twitter @pittsburghparks! Happy Holidays! 

To support the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy in our mission to improve the quality of life for the people of Pittsburgh by restoring the park system to excellence in partnership with the City - donate here.

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Education through Restoration – Creating Meaningful Service-Learning Projects in the Parks

I love breakfast meetings. First off, there is breakfast. Plus I am a morning person so I’m freshest and most engaged for these early morning gatherings. A couple of days ago I found myself at a breakfast meeting sitting next to a woman who works with youth through the Allegheny County Department of Human Services. I had just returned from a week-long training on service learning with the Community Works Institute so when she mentioned that her kids need to perform community service and asked if there was anything they could do in the parks my answer was a resounding “Yes!” – but with a twist. I said we had lots of opportunities for youth service projects in the parks, but that we aim to have our programs go beyond service to service-learning. She was clutching her coffee (not a morning person, perhaps) and looked at me with a quizzical what’s the difference? expression.

I immediately leapt into a quick overview of how ‘service learning’ builds on ‘community service’, enriching the participant experience significantly. I stressed that if her kids came out into the parks with us they would not only complete a great project, they would actually be given the opportunity to understand more about the why of the work. We would help make connections between their on-the-ground efforts and the larger needs that they are helping to address. Perhaps most importantly, though, they would have the chance to reflect on the impact they were having – and the impact the work was having on them.

Shelburne Farms

Before I began CWI’s Institute on Service Learning EAST at Shelburne Farms just outside of Burlington, Vermont, I felt sure that our educational programs were already using service learning. Joining me at the training were Taiji Nelson, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s Education Program Coordinator, and two Naturalist Educators from the Frick Environmental Center, Lydia Konecky and Eva Barinas. The Parks Conservancy Board of Directors had generously agreed to fund this professional development opportunity for all of us in order to build our team and strengthen our education programs in anticipation of a new Environmental Center that we hope to begin construction on in 2013.

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy has been working closely for several years with the Environmental Center staff to knit our environmental education programs together. We are all using the theme of education through restoration as a guiding principle and are jointly giving folks of all ages the chance to learn about the local environment as they do meaningful, hands-on work in Pittsburgh parks. Still, before the training if someone had asked me what exactly I meant by service-learning or how that was different from community service, I would have fumbled. As a team we have been delivering our programs using well-honed instincts developed over years of doing outdoor education with youth and adults. This was our chance to build on this knowledge by examining best practices in the field of service learning, critically looking at our existing programs, and taking time to consider how to apply these ideas back home.

Now, after 40 hours of training including 8 workshops, daily work with my incredibly thoughtful peer discussion group, more daily work with my Best Practices Study Group, an icy-cold dip in a Vermont stream, walk and talks with my fellow Pittsburghers, fantastic lunches prepared with local foods by Shelburne Farms, and reflection, reflection, reflection…not only can I articulate how our environmental education programs use service-learning or why that is important – I now have concrete ideas for how to make our programs better.

My big a-ha moment for the week came during the workshop Reflection: An Essential Ingredient. We already include reflection in our High School Urban EcoStewards program through daily journaling and end-of-year presentations. This year’s students did everything from create a Tree ID game to illustrate a watercolor book on how to plant a tree. But I realized during the workshop that we could be infusing all of our programs with reflection, even our one-day volunteer events. Last year we had more than 1,500 volunteers contribute time to the parks. What if every volunteer day included time for fun and simple reflection, helping people gain a deeper understanding of the value of their work? This could be as simple posing questions for people to consider as they carry tools back from the work site such as, “What does this project mean to my community? To the park? To our rivers?” We could also ask for reflection on the day in follow-up online surveys.

The Institute also made me realize that we could do a better job revealing our educational goals to our students. Last summer we worked with 3 teachers to develop the Big Ideas for our High School Urban EcoSteward program and map the program to the PA State Standards. Why not share these directly with the kids – let them know what we thought was important for them to learn and why? Our High School students do so much fantastic work for the parks (just this past year they planted close to 300 trees), but have we dialogued enough with them on how each tree planting connects to improved water quality? We certainly present this information at the beginning of our sessions, but I’m looking forward to giving our students more room to explore their sites and develop their own observations and questions about the impact of their stewardship.

In many ways, though, the single most important part of the week was bonding with our Pittsburgh team. A few of my favorites moments: early breakfasts with Eva (also a morning person); searching the shores of Lake Champlain for the most beautiful rocks until our hands were overflowing; racing to our car through a magnificent summer downpour at the end of a day; and spending evenings huddled on lawn chairs in the cool Vermont air sharing stories of past travels around the world.

Our Pittsburgh Pack

It was these in-between times where I really got to discover more about each of our backgrounds and our visions for the future. It was great confirmation of what I already knew: we have an absolutely incredible group of environmental educators here, people who are committed to connecting people with nature and making our City even better. The workshop was the perfect chance to practice lifelong learning together, prepare us for another year of our growing environmental education programs, and reaffirm what we all believe – that giving students a chance to not just learn about our local environment but actually improve it is the key to fostering the park stewards and engaged citizens of the future.

Marijke Hecht is the Director of Education at the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. Please visit our website for upcoming volunteer days and updates on the development of the new Environmental Center at Frick Park. If you’re interested in making a donation to the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy to help us continue our education through restoration, please visit our Donate page on our website.

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Pittsburgh’s Central Fire – Finding Common Ground through the World’s Green Spaces

As crowds of people slowly began filing into the Lighthouse at Chelsea Pier in New York City for the kick-off of the Greater & Greener International Urban Parks Conference, Peter J. Madonia of the Rockefeller Foundation remarked, “It’s like Woodstock for parkies.” A rumble of laughter filled the room and the largest urban parks conference in history was underway. Looking around the crowd, it was obvious this was more than just a few environmentally and community-minded folks getting together to gab about green spaces. The City Parks Alliance brought together over 850 people from 210 cities and 20 countries to participate in more than 100 workshops focusing on topics including environmental advocacy, development, and management. Experts in their fields from major organizations, foundations and government intermingled with people and small organizations committed to promoting the influence parks have on our communities.

Staff from the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, City of Pittsburgh, Mount Washington Community Development Corporation, Riverlife and many other organizations attended the conference. Determined to not only gain new ideas, but to share success stories and strategies of how our urban parks have contributed to Pittsburgh being consistently named “most livable city” year after year. Keynote speaker, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, got the first full day of workshops started by discussing how parks have become a “powerful catalyst for community development.” This became one of the three overlying themes of the conference: community development, public health and future technological advancements. The conference slowly unveiled a more enlightened and deeper value for urban green spaces other than their beauty.

Public Art at The High Line

Community Development

The Parks Conservancy supports and promotes the environmental benefits of parks, but also focuses on the tremendous community and economic development that comes from urban green spaces. When an urban park is designed or restored, it creates a chain reaction in community development and overall quality of life. It creates jobs both in the implementation and maintenance process. Home values around the park increase while access to trails and open spaces for recreational activities enhance public health. All of these factors combine to increase economic growth for the community. It can be difficult to show citizens not living directly within city limits the advantages to urban development when they can feel so far removed from it. Mick Cornett, Mayor of Oklahoma City, is responsible for leading his city towards an undeniable rebirth and discussed the need to put money and effort into the city infrastructure to benefit the entire metro area. He stated, “ The quality of life in urban areas is directly connected to the quality of life in the suburbs. You can’t be a suburb of nothing.”

The High Line Zoo

A visit to The High Line in New York City revealed another unexpected perk to urban parks and community development.  Strolling down the restored elevated freight line that has been repurposed into a modern public green space on Manhattan’s West Side, you’ll be greeted by a gorilla, an amorous sailor and a portrait of a young Native American child to name a few. A menagerie of public art has popped-up along the buildings and open spaces lining The High Line, intertwining the worlds of nature and art into one harmonious story of city culture.

Digging in the dirt at the Frick Environmental Center

Public Health

Park and nature prescriptions were buzzwords used throughout the conference. Daphne Miller, M.D. discussed the “disease of the indoors” and the Health Care Provider Initiative being implemented through the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF). The initiative educates health care providers on the importance of outdoor activity in the prevention of childhood obesity and diabetes, encouraging them to provide nature prescriptions in addition to traditional healthcare. “I think of parks as part of our healthcare system”, Dr. Miller said. United States Secretary of State Ken Salazar, who closed the conference, informed us that children only spend an average of four minutes outside a day. Access to parks and green space is an issue for children in some communities. Many have to walk through dangerous areas or cross highways to get to a park.  Dr. Miller discussed the idea of creating green corridors to connect parks throughout the community and provide “veins of access to green space” for children and others to safely enjoy the parks. The healthier we make our parks, the healthier the people of our community will become.

Playing tag in Highland Park

Technological Advancements

With the role parks play in the health of a society and way to get people outdoors, the topic of technology and the future of parks can often be a tricky subject to tackle. There’s no doubt that we are currently in the era of technology; however, there is still resistance to how technology can contribute to the park system and whether it belongs there at all. Many view the demons of video games, television, Internet, social media and smartphones as the antithesis to the mission of parks and the exact cause of what is keeping people holed up indoors. Garry Golden, Futurist and Founder of Forward Elements, Inc. spoke about the purpose of technology in the future of environmental infrastructure. “Technology doesn’t have to be at odds with simple design”, he explains. Workshop presenter Erin Barnes and her organization, ioby (In Our Back Yard), is a perfect example of how to incorporate technology with environmental advocacy. Ioby is an organization committed to bringing green initiatives to the local level by connecting people to fundraising resources via their website. It’s great to hear about organizations raising millions of dollars to fund environmental causes in the community, but this can at times seem inaccessible for smaller causes.  Ioby uses “crowd-resourcing” and “DIY activism” to empower the community to form their own small fundraising projects through their website.  On the ioby website you can search for projects using filters to discover the needs of a group and how you can get involved. Currently, there is an open project listed on the ioby website in the Pittsburgh community called the Homewood Agricultural Project. They are looking for both donations and volunteers for the project and it’s a great way to help out concerned citizens trying to better our community. Technology isn’t going anywhere, so many of us are embracing it to inform the public about parks and get people active.  The Parks Conservancy has welcomed technological advancements. We are currently developing a mobile app funded through a grant from UPMC Health Plan and the “Parks Are Free” campaign promoting use of the parks and public health within our own community.

Pittsburgh’s Schenley Plaza

Pittsburgh was well represented at the conference as presenters shared expertise in the field and highlighted successful restorations of our beautiful parks to their intended splendor. The Parks Conservancy Founder and CEO, Meg Cheever, served as a moderator for a workshop discussing the importance of public-private partnerships when developing and maintaining urban parks. Parks Curator, Susan Rademacher, sat on a workshop panel called, “People Over Cars” to discuss the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy campaign to restore a parking lot to its original purpose in the development of Schenley Plaza. Ilyssa Manspeizer, Ph.D., Director, Park Development & Conservation for the Mount Washington Community Development Corporation filled the crowd in on the “scrappy do-it-yourself ethos” that has helped transform a steep hillside in Mount Washington to the beautiful 280 acre Emerald View Park overlooking the Pittsburgh skyline.

Picnic in Schenley Park

Central Fire

As speaker after speaker discussed the role parks play in the development of a community, it was National Park Service Deputy Director of Communication and Community Assistance, Mickey Fearn that hit closest to home. He spoke of the “central fire where people used to come together to get warm, share stories and inspire and further community.” This immediately evoked images of our own Pittsburgh parks. Swirls of children sprinting to the playground on Schenley Overlook while families reunite at picnic tables. International students fresh off the plane meeting each other for the first time at the University of Pittsburgh international welcome picnic in Schenley Park. Neighbors who have never met swapping stories while their pooches splash mud at the off-leash dog area deep within Frick Park. High schoolers blushing as their parents embarrassingly take pictures of them at the Highland Park Entry Garden before they head-off to their Senior Prom. Our community coming together in our parks to share life and love, this is the central fire that has been burning in Pittsburgh for the past decade.

Holly Stayton is the eCommerce Development Officer for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. Learn more about how you can get involved with Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy on our website. Also, keep up-to-date on how the Pittsburgh Greenspace Alliance has joined together to promote and improve Pittsburgh’s green spaces.

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What’s In Bloom – June 2012

Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy gardener, Angela Masters has been busy adding splashes of color to our City parks.  With the weather warming up, now is a perfect time to take a stroll through our June blooms.

Highland Park Entry Garden

Allium (Allium caeruleum)

Annabelle hydrangea, Hydrangea arborescens “Annabelle”

Asiatic lily, Lilium Apeldoorn

Coral bells, Heuchera x brizoides

Hardy Sunflower, Heliopsis helianthoides

Montauk Daisy, Nipponanthemum nipponicum

White Trumpet Lily, Lilium regale

Yarrow, Achillea “Parker’s Gold”

A beautiful day at the Highland Park Entry Garden

Mellon Park Walled Garden

Astilbe

Daylily, Hemorocallis ‘Happy Returns’

Hardy Geranium, Geranium x ‘Brookside’

Lavender, Lavandula angustifolia

Oakleaf Hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snow Queen’

Riverview Park Chapel Shelter

Yarrow, Achillea

Don’t just take our word for it, get out to the parks and spend the day relaxing among the flowers!  If you’re ready to get your hands dirty, join us for Weeding Tuesdays at the Mellon Park Walled Garden or for Weeding Wednesday at the Highland Park Entry Garden.  For more information, visit our volunteer page or email us at volunteer@pittsburghparks.org.

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The Emerald City – How the Pittsburgh Parks Welcomed Me to My New Home

You would think, at thirty-something, telling your parents you’re moving over 800 miles away to Pittsburgh would be easier.  Being a close-knit, Midwestern family combined with the fact that I’m the baby, this was not the case.  I’ve spent my entire life listening to my dad’s stories of growing up in Pittsburgh.  How he painstakingly walked up steep hills ten miles one-way, typically in two feet of snow whether it was winter or not, wiping soot from his face just to get his mother some bread for dinner.  By this point in my life, the snow in his stories had gotten deeper, the hills steeper and he was barefoot carrying his little sister on his back. Though I knew my dad had a flair for the dramatic in his childhood tales, this was how I pictured Pittsburgh, black and cold.  My dad is a Marine and a retired Special Agent.  He’s tough.  So inevitably I predicted his hometown to be just as tough and wasn’t sure how I’d be able to find my place, but now it was my turn to create my own Pittsburgh story.

Schenley Overlook

My husband and I packed up our three-bedroom home, loaded the cats in the car and set out on our new adventure from Kansas City to Pittsburgh almost two years ago.  If I said the transition was smooth, I would be a big ol’ liar.  Though this would be the seventh state I’ve lived in, I’ve spent the past twenty-two years in a suburb of Kansas City.  It wasn’t incredibly exciting, but it was familiar and it was home.  We moved into a one-bedroom townhome that I swear, still to this day, is on top of one of the steepest hills in Pittsburgh.  Nothing looked familiar, I didn’t know how to get to work and I felt as though I was suffocating.

The entire first week in our new city, I was stricken with anxiety that we had just made the biggest mistake of our lives.  Not willing to let me just wither away, my husband coerced me into getting into the car and taking a drive to warm-up to the city.  We drove through Shadyside and made our way towards Squirrel Hill.  As the car climbed up yet another hill and rounded a wide corner, we found ourselves in an open park overlooking the city skyline.  I felt my lungs open and the tension melt as I stepped foot for the first time onto Schenley Overlook.  With the skyline smiling at me and nothing but emerald surrounding me, I definitely wasn’t in Kansas anymore. This began my love affair with the Pittsburgh parks.

Clicking my heals through Frick Park

Elated to see what the other regional parks had to offer, it wasn’t long before I went on my first run through Frick Park.  I rounded my way down Braddock Trail passing over small wooden bridges and stone staircases feeling like I just stepped into my own personal enchanted forest.  The canopy of trees drizzled sunlight to illuminate my path along the way.  As I headed up the Falls Ravine Trail, every jogger I passed nodded with an out-of-breath smile, walkers said hello and playful pups trotted along without a care in the world.  No one knew I wasn’t an authentic Pittsburgher, nor did they seem to care.  We were all park lovers.  Like an underground society delivering our secret handshake as we passed one another, I was embraced like one of their own.

I quickly found my way to Schenley Park and onto Phipps Run Trail wanting to see if Frick Park was just a fluke or if my dad failed to mention the best part about Pittsburgh.  I ran longer than normal partly because I had to stop every two minutes to take a picture and post it to Facebook, but mostly because I couldn’t wait to see what was around the next corner.  There were less people on this trail, but the scenery wasn’t any less magical.  My feet propelled me forward past Panther Hollow Bridge overlooking Panther Hollow Lake towards Steve Faloon Trail.  I couldn’t believe this urban oasis was sitting in the middle of Pittsburgh.  Why were people not flocking to this city and more importantly, why had I waited so long to move here?  It was at that moment it hit me.  I was home.  These were my parks.  Not being able to make a choice between the two, I was able to work out a joint custody agreement between Frick and Schenley Park.  I see Schenley in the evenings after work and Frick on the weekend.  It’s worked out quite nicely with little to no jealousy between the two. 

I’m thrilled that I now have the opportunity to formally share my love of our parks through my role at the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.  The parks have become my refuge.  They’re the backdrop to the stage I set when telling anyone about my new home.  I get it now when Carrie Bradshaw referred to The City as her best friend.  Frick and Schenley have become my closest confidantes and are always there even on my worst days.  Whenever the hustle and bustle of daily life gets to be too much, I know I can just head down to visit my friends in the park and pass along our secret handshake.  Pittsburgh…I think you’re stuck with me.

My new home

Holly Stayton is the new eCommerce Development Officer at Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.  She manages the overall online presence of the Parks Conservancy.  Her responsibilities include website content management and coordination of our blog, social media and e-newsletters.  She doesn’t understand why her office can’t be on a bench in the middle of Frick Park.

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What’s in Bloom – May 2012

If you walk into any park in Pittsburgh this week, you’ll find gardens full of blooms. Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy gardener, Angela Masters says that she’s starting to see a lot of the perennials blossoming. She took to the parks with her camera on May 7th to show us what’s in bloom.

Walled Garden at Mellon Park

Rhododendron catawbiense “Album”

Cranesbill, Geranium “Brookside”

 
Highland Park Entry Garden

Baptisia australis

Bearded iris, Iris germanica “Cranberry Crush”

 

Catmint, Napeta x Faassenii “Six Hills Giant”

 

Dutch iris, Iris x Hollandica

 

Globeflower, Trollius x Cultorum “Lemon Queen”

 

Purple Allium, Allium aflatunese

 Schenley Plaza

Clematis, Clematis x Jackmani

Yarrow, Achillea millefolium “Paprika”

Flowering Sage, Salvia nemorosa “May Night”

  Help us keep the gardens of Pittsburgh’s public parks beautiful! We have gardening volunteer days begining in May. First volunteer day in the Walled Garden in Mellon Park is Tuesday, May 15th 5-7 pm, Highland Park Entry Garden volunteer days start Wednesday, May 16th 5-7 pm. To learn more about our horticultural volunteer days visit the volunteer page on our website or e-mail us at volunteer@pittsburghparks.org.

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What’s in Bloom – April 2012

Spring is here! Last week Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy gardener, Angela Masters, took photos in the Highland Park Entry Garden and the Mellon Park Walled Garden to share what’s in bloom in our parks! All photos were taken April 11, 2012.

Highland Park Entry Garden

Aurinia saxatilis Compactum, Basket of Gold in Highland Park Entry Garden

Iris Pumila, Dwarf Iris ‘Baby Blessed’ in Highland Park Entry Garden

Iris Pumila, Dwarf Iris ‘Manhattan Blues’ in Highland Park Entry Garden

Tulipa Species, Pink Tulips in Highland Park Entry Garden

White Tulips and Irises in Highland Park Entry Garden

Yellow Tulips and Irises in Highland Park Entry Garden

Mellon Park

Aronia Melanocarpa, Black Chokeberry in Mellon Park

Tiarella Starfish, Foam Flowers in Mellon Park Walled Garden

Viola Species, Jonny Jump Up in Mellon Park Walled Garden

Dianthus Firewitch in Mellon Park

Tulipa Ivory Floradale in Mellon Park Walled Garden

Can’t get enough budding blooms?  Help make Pittsburgh parks golden by designating The Daffodil Project when making your next donation.

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Mellon Square Reconstruction a Colorful Process

As construction in Mellon Square progresses, downtown inhabitants have no doubt noticed some colorful changes. The demolition portion of our First Phase of restoration in Mellon Square is over, “We’re on to reconstruction,” says Parks Conservancy maintenance and management director Phil Gruszka. “It’s all about the orange, black, and blue now. Then we start pouring concrete.”  

orange waterproof membrane

  

The orange Phil is referring to is a waterproofing membrane being laid under the concrete to ensure its longevity – especially in the planters which will be retaining water regularly. The black is a sealant applied to where the membrane overlaps.

The blue is lightweight construction foam. One of the focuses of our First Phase of construction is the implementation of a new terrace above the Smithfield Street shops. This new patch of green will increase the Square’s usable space by 15%. The construction foam will be placed followed by a lightweight concrete which will make the terrace structurally strong, but still light enough to be over the shops.

Blue construction foam

Learn more about our restoration of Mellon Square here. To make a donation of support to this project please visit our donations page, or call us at 412.682.7275. 

Follow our progress in photos at our flickr account’s Mellon Square set. 

All photos by John Altdorfer

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Cake, Balloons, and a Unicycling Juggler: Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Celebrates 15 Years

 

Happy 15th Birthday!

Schenley Plaza is my favorite Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy project. It’s so lively and energetic, and it provides an unexpected, peaceful oasis in the middle of the busy Oakland traffic. It serves many purposes to many people: a Wi-Fi spot for students and professionals, a place to enjoy lunchtime music, an outdoor yoga studio, a concert venue. And when it comes to hosting kids’ events, the Plaza is unmatched. That’s why it was the perfect place to host our 15^th birthday celebration on July 10.

The party plans were already in the works when I joined the Parks Conservancy staff this spring, so I’d been looking forward to the event and envisioning many smiling faces filling the tent. Although I’ve hosted and attended events at the Plaza before, this was my first as a Parks Conservancy team member, and I was eager to welcome families to my favorite spot.

Of course, waking up to a 90 degree forecast on Sunday was a little intimidating. I went into what I call “event-mode”, which basically means worrying about cake melting and water staying cold, and ultimately going through the checklist a dozen times to make sure we didn’t forget anything. Sun block liberally applied, I headed to the Plaza and joined my coworkers and the entertainers to get ready.

The Citiparks Roving Art Cart kept budding artists busy all afternoon.

One thing I did forget is that kids don’t really mind the 90 degree temperatures like us adults do – in fact, the kids who came to the party seemed hardly phased at all. Promptly at 2 p.m., they headed right for the treat table, arming themselves with oranges, bananas, cookies and water before wandering onto the next activity. A few immediately got in line to get the first balloon animals, some opted to start the party with the face-painter, and others headed directly for the Citiparks Roving Art Cart to challenge the budding artist within. The more patient children sat for the caricature artist, who busily sketched their smiling faces, while others grabbed their favorite color marker and signed our big birthday banner.

With everything successfully underway, I wandered through the Plaza tent to see the results of our hard work and planning. I never tire of seeing a happy child enjoying him or herself on a summer day, but I admittedly was moved by the level of enthusiasm. Our hundreds of guests were fully engaged; beautiful, bright artwork hung from a clothesline by the Roving Art Cart, swinging in the welcome breeze (did I mention it was hot?). A toddler giggled and ran to hug

"Sharkie" offered hugs and high-fives to the kids.

“Sharkie”, the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium’s mascot who graciously greeted guests all afternoon. Kids lined up to take a free ride on the PNC Carousel, and others grabbed a seat for a front row view of the juggler’s lively show, which had everything from a unicycle to a tiny basketball hoop attached to the juggler’s head.

REI's Peter Greninger presented CEO Meg Cheever and Board Chair Jerry Voros with a generous check to support volunteer training.

We did have a little business to conduct at the party; it’s our birthday, after all, so we have many people to thank for helping us achieve so much in 15 years. Director of Education Marijke Hecht took time to honor several of our outstanding volunteers, Maria Kyriacopoulos, Steve Harvan, Russ Braun, Mike Markey, and Fred and Carol McCoullough, who run the gamut from Volunteer Crew Leader to Urban EcoSteward, invasive species warrior to signage gurus. How’s that for dedication?

We also thanked Direct Energy, who generously sponsored the 15^th Birthday Celebration, and many of our city and non-profit partners. And the fun part: REI presented a check to Parks Conservancy President and CEO Meg Cheever and Board Chair Jerry Voros. The check is REI’s support of our Volunteer Crew Leader training programs, appropriate as we honored volunteers. Thanks, REI. Love those big novelty checks!  

At that point we sang a hardy verse of “Happy Birthday”, and cut into a big birthday cake. It was my favorite part of the day, as I got a chance to say hello and thank our guests while serving them. (Nothing brings people together like an icing-covered piece of cake.) I was filled with pride as guests thanked us for the hard work we do in their parks, and wished us a happy birthday. And then it was back to the Art Cart, Sharkie, and the entertainers.

What could be better than seeing such happy faces enjoying our parks?

So my love for Schenley Plaza continues and is even strengthened after the 15th Birthday Celebration. As we started to clean up and guests started to head out, I heard a loud cheer come from the PNC Carousel. “Sharkie” was on his way back to the Zoo, and the kids were eagerly waving goodbye and thanking him from coming to see them. How cute is that?

Jessica Romano is proud to be Marketing & Communications Manager for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.  Check out more photos from the 15th Birthday Celebration on our Flickr site.

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Goodbye tree friends

After five years of having the privilege of documenting Pittsburgh’s parks and sharing stories about them with all of you, this is my last blog post for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.  I moved back home to Memphis last week (to borrow the politicians’ phrase) to be closer to my family.  Saying goodbye was tough, especially since I was surrounded by such a warm and wonderful community of people who have taught me so much.  But it wasn’t just the people.  I think when you’ve spent so much time in the parks, especially slowing down to really get to know them, you realize you’re going to miss the trees too.  And so it was that I found myself, over the last few weeks, visiting some favorite trees to say a final farewell.  (At least until my next visit…)

Not all these special trees were blooming or leafing out yet (you picked a nice year to delay spring, Pittsburgh!), but there were plenty that were eager to show off.  In a lot of cases, I photographed a tree one day and then came back about a week later to watch it progress from flower to fruit to leaf (not necessarily in that order).  And in a switch this spring, I shot exclusively with a 100mm macro lens to get as much detail as possible.  This stymied Phil when I came back to the office and asked him for ID help; “I’m a silhouette guy!” he would exclaim.  “Come back when you photograph the whole tree.”  So these IDs are good guesses–thanks very much to both Phil and Erin for sharing their expertise.

So enjoy the final batch of tree photos.  I will miss these trees–and interacting with all of you–more than I can say.  Take good care of them for me.

I spent a good deal of time over by Westinghouse Pond, which has a nice assortment of trees that flower and leaf out early. Here’s a sweetgum whose leaves look like tiny stars.

Redbuds near the Frick Environmental Center.

One of the earliest bloomers of spring, the Cornelian cherry dogwood, at Mellon Park.

This one’s pretty but unfortunate: a honeysuckle vine that’s twisted itself around a spicebush in Frick Park.

Now we start with the trees-in-progress shots.  Here is a horsechestnut tree in Highland Park that’s just started to leaf out.

And here’s a horsechestnut the following week.  These were beginning to flower–probably right now the flowers will be standing up in white and pale pink stalks if you pass one of these trees.

Back at Westinghouse Pond, everything was pink.  Here’s a saucer magnolia and some cherry blossoms that haven’t opened yet.

And now a magnolia that’s in full bloom…

…and a cherry blossom.   Some on the tree had petals, others (like this one) didn’t.  I don’t know whether that was because of all the recent wind, or if that just happens sometimes.  Either way, I thought it made for an unusual photo.

Another beautiful kind of magnolia tree grows right around the basin of Westinghouse Pond–the sweetbay magnolia.  Here it is before the flowers have opened.

And a week later, delicate white flowers.

The hawthorn tree is lovely, but you probably shouldn’t play tag anywhere near it.

Here it is beginning to flower (they’ll be pretty and white–check this one out over by the Bartlett Meadow, where the daffodils are blooming):

And now we come to the maples.  Last year, my fascination was with redbuds; this year, it’s been maples.  I was a little disheartened that it seemed like so many of the trees I was asking Erin and Phil about turned out to be invasive Norway maples…but I have to give it up, they are pretty fascinating in the spring.  The trees that look like they’re covered in neon green popcorn balls are Norway maples–probably the first trees you saw flowering this year.  The photo on the left is a native sugar maple, and the one on the right is a Norway maple for comparison.

This one is also a Norway maple, although it sure looks different.  Popcorn of a different variety?

And here’s another Norway maple that’s begun to produce leaves.

This one in the Westinghouse woods in Schenley Park appears to be a sycamore maple–another tree considered by some to be invasive, although it’s not nearly as prevalent as the Norway maple in Pittsburgh’s forests. (Thanks Burlton for the ID!)

Finally, we come to four different red maple trees.  I think these are such beautiful harbingers of spring, especially the big trees that just light up with red flowers.  So I decided I’d track one red maple tree every couple of days for a month to watch its progression.  While it is a pretty tree, I happened to pick one that wasn’t producing seeds, and I had to leave town before the leaf was fully formed.  But here’s the tree (at the corner of Bartlett St. and Panther Hollow Road) on March 22…

…and on April 23.

Since that tree wound up not being particularly showy, I supplemented with some other red maples.  This one was across the street, near the drive up to the Schenley Oval.  It was my original choice to document, but all the branches were too high to get close to.

This one (and many others like it) was putting on quite a show lining the Bob O’Connor Golf Course in Schenley Park.  You can see the winged seeds starting to take shape.

And finally, a closer look at the seeds of another maple along Bartlett Street.

Thanks again for reading and commenting, and for generally sharing the park love over the last few years.  If you want to keep in touch, you can still find me online at www.twitter.com/MelissaPics, where you can bet you’ll see some of the superstar trees of Zone 6.

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