Every little bit helps – a volunteer extravaganza

Upper Panther Hollow Trail

As a member of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy staff who spends most of my time behind a desk, I wistfully watch as my colleagues – whom I affectionately call “the nature people” – march out the door each day to interact directly with our parks and the people who love them. Our office is at times a strange place, the convergence of the printers, faxes, and cubicles with post pounders, shovels, and fountain fixtures. I have gone to the kitchen to retrieve a second (or third) cup of coffee to find our Education Coordinator contemplating the storage of invertebrates gathered from a stream in Frick Park in our office refrigerator. Right next to my left-over chicken and rice.

Working in our development department, I get to meet a lot of passionate people at our fundraising events, and I have the opportunity to thank people for their generosity when they make the choice to give to us financially. I fervently advocate for our cause to improve the quality of life for the people of Pittsburgh through parks restoration in partnership with the City. It is not every day, however, that I get to dust off my Keens and stand shoulder to shoulder with the volunteers who contribute something equally as valuable – their time. It is rarer still that I have the beautiful experience of seeing how it all connects.

Volunteers clearing a landslide on Panther Hollow Stream Trail

One such day was Saturday, October 20^th when we held our third annual Panther Hollow Extravaganza. The volunteer day is our largest, and an integral part of our plan to restore the Panther Hollow Watershed and eventually, Panther Hollow Lake. The clouds hung dark and heavy with promise for rain, but our 200 volunteers were unshaken. “The nature people” moved quickly throughout the crowds, buzzing with the excitement of what the day would accomplish – what all these helping hands would mean for Schenley Park. Before the day was done, the volunteers would plant 125 trees, cut down hundreds of invasive vines, and clear a portion of a once impassable park trail. I was among these volunteers, eager to help and to learn.

Volunteers cutting invasive vines

I quickly found Parks Conservancy horticulturist, Angela Yuele, and joined her group on the Upper Panther Hollow trail cutting invasive porcelain berry vines away from trees.  Angela gave us the loppers and gloves we would need to get the job done as well as a lesson in tool safety, demonstrating how the loppers should be used, held, and carried. She explained that porcelain berry is overtaking this section of the park and that as it winds its way up into the trees, it threatens their growth. Before we stepped off the trail and into the brush, Angela had one more thing to say. “Thank you all so much for coming,” she said. “By working in the park today you are part of a much bigger picture. Every little bit you do makes a difference.”   

We spent hours hacking away at those vines, surrounded by foliage in kaleidoscopic fall color. When we emerged back onto the trail – picking the burrs from our hair – it felt as though we had in fact made a difference. As a writer, I am infatuated with stories. I love to discover a stranger’s character or learn what led them to stand right here, on this trail, with me. And so I began asking my fellow volunteers what compelled them to donate their day to the park. I found myself talking to a woman and her elementary-aged son, both of whom seemed very comfortable with our activity. They had both volunteered with us before, I learned. And then something unexpected…

Thalia and her son hard at work in Schenley Park

“We love all the parks, but we just donated a tree to Highland Park,” the mother (whose name I learned was Thalia) said. I stopped dead in my tracks. Though we had never met, I had been Thalia’s contact for months after she got in touch with us to have a tree planted in honor of her mother and father-in-law. We had e-mailed each other countless times and chatted on the phone more than once. We had carefully considered the options of tree type and location to pay tribute to two people she loves so dearly. I had thanked her, again and again, for choosing to give a gift that would benefit the park and all those people who use it. I felt as though I was meeting an old friend, but for the first time.

The Tulip Poplar tree that Thalia and her family donated to Highland Park

I am astounded by the generosity of all of our donors, but the dedication of Thalia’s family to our mission through donation and actively volunteering is something remarkable and special. Meeting Thalia and her son on that trail reminded me that even as a desk-dweller, I am part of the story of this organization and the good work we do. And more importantly, that none of us, nature person or desk-dweller, would be able to do what we do without the dedication of our enthusiastic supporters. How lucky we are to live in a city with such a spirit of generosity. Remember – every little bit you do makes a difference.

Kathleen Gaines is a Development Associate at the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

If you’d like to support the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, consider making a donation, or join us for one of our volunteer days. Help us name our new smart phone app which will be released in summer of 2013.

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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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How I Fell in Love with Schenley Plaza (and parked my reservations elsewhere)

The parking lot that once occupied Schenley Plaza

When I transferred to the University of Pittsburgh in the fall of August 2004, the grassy retreat that is now Schenley Plaza was a parking lot, and I was fine with that. I didn’t see anything wrong with it really. A parking lot seemed like a fine use of space in Oakland’s pulsing urban setting, because where else would the cars go? I went about my days riding the elevators from class to class in the Cathedral of Learning unaware of the ten years of work that had been poured into the future Schenley Plaza already. I was fine with it being a parking lot, because I lacked the imagination to envision it as anything else. I’m thankful the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy was not so short sighted.

First a little sign went up. One that I, like many of my classmates, was far too preoccupied to look at. Then a rumor started to spread, Did you hear they’re getting rid of the parking lot outside the Cathedral? This statement was always followed with quiet gasps of disbelief and annoyed mutterings. We all wondered what they were going to do with it? What possible use of Oakland land could be better than a small piece of concrete that’s yours for the low price of $5 for the first two hours and $3 for each additional hour?* It took us a while, but we finally figured it out. They’re turning it into a park! This seemed almost too crazy to bear. Where are we supposed to park our cars?!

Spring at Schenley Plaza

We live in a world where green spaces are bulldozed and packed flat with concrete all the time. Many of us are outraged by this, so it was strange that we were almost equally resistant to the opposite happening. In truth, when Schenley Plaza was completed in 2006 it was a fulfillment of the legacy of that land. The Bellefield Bridge was built in 1897 and became the primary entrance of Schenley Park, but Edward Bigelow, then the City’s Director of Public Works, envisioned a grand entrance to the park in front of the bridge. Different versions of this “grand entrance” were created over the next several decades in the Schenley Plaza space, but as Oakland (and the Pirates at Forbes Field) grew, so did the number of cars. In 1949 the plaza was paved over as a parking lot.

By the time I graduated from Pitt in the winter of 2006, Schenley Plaza had opened and enjoyed the successful reception of its first summer season. In the duration of its construction everyone got used to the missing spaces, and in actuality new traffic patterns were put in place to add more street parking. The total number of spaces lost was fewer than 100. The Plaza became a favorite space of mine. When you sat in the middle of the lawn things felt quite and still, like you were sitting in a bubble, surrounded by the buzzing of a busy world that couldn’t quite touch you. It was close enough to school that I wouldn’t be late to class, but far enough away that I could rest my mind.

The WYEP Music Festival

I am reminded of the embarrassing skepticism I had about the Plaza every year at this time because of the WYEP Summer Music Festival. Each year this big bash brings thousands to Schenley Park’s gateway with blankets and coolers in hand. Kid’s activities, craft sellers, and great live music – both local and national – has made this Plaza event a hallmark of summer in Pittsburgh. We all enter the peace of this urban oasis, the soapy film of our bubble painting everything a little more rosy. Every time I visit the Plaza now, whether it’s for a WYEP event, or one of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s many free events, I look around at the people enjoying the thriving energy of what the Plaza has become and I smile as I think, I wonder where they parked?     

* I don’t actually remember the parking rates. This part is pure fiction.

Kathleen McGuire loves learning about the amazing history behind the Conservancy’s projects in her new position.

 

Click here to follow Schenley Plaza on facebook to keep up with all the great events happening this summer. Or visit Schenley Plaza on the web on our website.

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Environmental Center at Frick and Treehouse Meeting June 2nd an Engaging Success

Kathleen McGuire is thrilled to be the newest member of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Team

I had accomplished little more than locate the bathroom and arrange my pens in the oval plastic cup on my desk, when I was told that my second day would involve a community meeting for the Environmental Center and Treehouse at Frick Park. A community meeting, I thought, and quickly flashed to a recent episode of NBC’s Parks and Recreation, where the well-meaning Leslie Knope was berated with meaningless, whiny, nit picking issues, largely unrelated to the project she was proposing. Well, I thought, l guess I’m just going to dive in and get it over with. When I accepted the Development Associate position with the Conservancy, I had done so beaming with excitement for all the possibility the position presented. I would be a champion of public space, a defender of nature, an enabler of beauty! Yes, this would be my thumbprint on the city of champions! I also knew, somewhere in the back of my mind, that my sacrifice would be (gasp) public meetings.

I was told the meeting would be in Frick Park. At least there would be nature surrounding us, but I still pictured rows of stiff plastic chairs, perhaps in a modest taupe color. There would be a flyer printed in black and white and folded accordion style, which I would hand out with a plastic smile to each of the participants as they came in and readied themselves for boredom, and we readied ourselves for an attack on all of our good intentions.

I watch too much TV.

A young artist with his treehouse model

PPC’s Director of Education, Marijke Hecht, greeted me at the gate, beaming with an energy I didn’t know was possible after business hours. She showed me the event she had prepared. There were three stations for participants to visit and interact with, all situated around the old environmental center. Along the path to the first station were model treehouses, constructed from sticks, and stones, and recycled materials, by the children who had attended the last “public meeting.” Each one was a glimpse into a mind untouched by limitations.

Working with the design team on placement

At the first station, the design team for the Environmental Center at Frick Park stood ready with a lazer-cut foam board that represented the terrain of the area the center would go. Participants used blocks, bits of plastic, and other materials to show them what they wanted to see in terms of building placement and the surrounding areas. I overheard one mother telling her elementary-aged son. “This is an important opportunity and I want you to pay attention. This never happens, usually when things are made in parks they just do what they want. These people want to hear what you think.”

At the next area our Parks Curator, Susan Rademacher, sat under a tent filled with ways to inspire the building’s design. On large pieces of paper she invited participants to write the first word they associated with when they thought of an environmental center. My mind flashed to my rush hour commute, Pittsburgh’s paved streets and sidewalks, the hot exhaust of a bus as it sits at a curb to pick up its passengers. In thick, purple crayola marker I scrawled the word, “escape.” One side of the tent was covered with a web of string where we were invited to clip pictures out of a box that represented our vision of the future building. I found a clip of a building that was made so completely of glass that I wondered how it stood.       

The last station allowed us to enter the future space of Kate and Peter’s Treehouse, which will be a dedicated to the children’s love of play and nature. There, the design team welcomed participants, who wandered past huge sheets of white material with poems and quotes about trees on them. The sheets swaying in the breeze, coupled with the thoughtful words created a peaceful reflection in each person who entered the space. A nostalgia for my childhood swelled inside me. In the center of the platform the treehouse will rest on, there were dozens of strings hanging from branches. The designers asked us to write “what you think a treehouse should be” and pin them to the strings. Wrapped in the comfort of this quiet place in the woods, I wrote “it should be magical.”

What do you think a treehouse should be?

In my first twenty-four hours as an employee with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, I had already been stunned by how passionate, welcoming, and kind the staff is, but there was little to prepare me for how wrong I was about their public meetings. I had underestimated them I suppose, but even more I had underestimated the involvement and passion of the Pittsburgh community that supports and engages with them. I look forward to meeting each of you, and working with you to keep Pittsburgh green and beautiful. Perhaps I’ll see you at the next public meeting.  

Get involved with these two exciting projects! Join us on June 16th for a discussion and listening session at the Carnegie Library of Homewood, sign up here. And for the next design meeting at Frick Park on July 28th, by signing up here.

Photos by John Altdorfer

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More hats

If you missed seeing yourself in the first batch of Spring Hat Luncheon photos (or just like checking out all the hats), we now have a second installment of pictures from the event.  Thanks to Mary Jane Bent for the photos!

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Our hats are off!

Last Saturday we had stunning weather for the 12th annual Spring Hat Luncheon, held in the Highland Park Entry Garden.  The sunshine, delicious luncheon by the Duquesne Club, and decor by Toadflax brought out 670 ladies and gentlemen in their finest hats.  We saw everything from a hat made of tiny hatboxes to a Pope hat to feathers galore.  In all, $360,000 was raised for the parks, making it a beautiful event indeed!

To see photos of this year’s Hat Luncheon, check out the slideshow below.  You can also see coverage in the Post-Gazette and the Tribune-Review.

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Art in Bloom today!

Here’s a post from our CFO, master gardener, and flower arranger extraordinaire, Debbie Beck, about this weekend’s Art in Bloom event at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

If you are not planning an immediate visit to the Carnegie Museums, you are missing spring at its best. The Women’s Committee has re-defined “Flower Power” with this year’s Art in Bloom event. Local non-profits, garden clubs and florists selected art objects (from a blind drawing) in January, and began designing creative flower arrangements to interpret their lot. The Scaife Galleries are fragrant and alive with the results!

The Parks Conservancy’s arrangement depicts the life-cycle of the steel industry as a Pittsburgh hallmark that dictated the evolution of the Mon Valley. The painting, by Johanna Hailman, Jones and Laughlin Mill, depicts its industrial height, transforming the once lush Mon Valley to a smoky inferno.

Remnants of the natural horticulture appear in the lower left corner of the painting, and are represented in the base of our interpretation. Harsh, metal stacks stretching above portray the rising industrial landscape. Dark, flowing flowers from the stacks emulate the smoke, steam, sulfur, and fire that once clouded the valley. The rust, rivets, and saw blade represent the abandoned Eliza Furnace.

Today, this mill site stands reinvented: It is the home of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy offices and the pedestrian/cycling-friendly restored Hot Metal Bridge.

Art in Bloom 2010 runs from Friday, April 8 – Saturday, April 10. Enjoy!

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Spring Hat retrospective

The invitations for this year’s Spring Hat Luncheon are winging their way to homes as we speak, so we thought we’d celebrate with a look back at the Hat Luncheons of years past. Here are some slideshows from 2007-2009. If you’d like to look at them on Flickr instead, you can check them out here.

All photos are thanks to our wonderful photographers, Mary Jane Bent and Stan Franzos!

To buy your tickets to this year’s Spring Hat Luncheon, click here.

2007 – Riverview Park

2008 – Frick Park

2009 – Schenley Park

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Parks Are Free Film Series

Who doesn’t love a free movie? Or better yet, four free movies? The Parks Conservancy is partnering with Pittsburgh Filmmakers to bring you the first-ever Parks Are Free Film Series March 25-27. Since the weather will still be too cold and dreary to host any events outside, we thought we’d get our park fix indoors until spring finally arrives.

The films will be shown at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts in Shadyside. The screenings are free, but seating is limited so you should reserve your seat in advance by clicking here. Have a look at the schedule below, and be sure to note a few extra presentations we have in store for the weekend!

The Garden
Thursday, March 25, 7:00pm

Filmmaker Scott Hamilton Kennedy’s politically charged, Oscar-nominated documentary follows a group of low-income families struggling to protect a 14-acre urban farm in the middle of South Central Los Angeles from bureaucratic real estate developers.  Runtime: 80 minutes

The Gates
Friday, March 26, 7:30pm

The Gates chronicles the decades-long struggle of Christo and Jeanne-Claude to bring their most ambitious work of art to life, and reveals the intricate process of completing the 7,503 saffron-colored gates and fabric panels used in “The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1979-2005.”  Runtime: 98 minutes

Join us at 6:30pm before the screening of The Gates for a tour of the restored Mellon Park Walled Garden.

Pale Male
Saturday, March 27, 3:00pm

A red-tailed hawk’s astounding arrival in 1991 made Manhattan history. No other red-tailed hawk had ever attempted to make Manhattan his territory. Affectionately dubbed Pale Male, he made an exclusive Fifth Avenue apartment building his home.  Runtime: 56 minutes

Join us after this screening at 4:00pm for a presentation by the National Aviary and Rachel Carson Homestead.

A Sense of Wonder
Saturday, March 27, 5:00pm

Depicting pioneering environmentalist Rachel Carson (Silent Spring, 1962) in the final year of her life, this film was made at Carson’s cottage on the Maine coast.  Runtime: 54 minutes

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Running toward spring

Soon the Spring Hat Luncheon tents will return to Highland Park for the first time since 2005.

Picture a fountain, if you will, surrounded by benches in the spring time.  The flower beds just behind the benches bloom purple and pink, the green leaves bigger than you think leaves should be.  The big, open garden is alive with new growth, and a white tent is slowly going up amidst a hubbub of workers that chuckle with good nature.

You jog through the entrance to this scene, happily, heading down a hill, following a winding road that circles the Highland Park Reservoir.  You step onto the path to your right, realizing you should get out of the way of cars and then promptly, you slip.

You slipped, you did not fall, and that counts for something.  It counts for a lot, but nothing can make up for the fact that it’s still not May and that the scene you imagined at the outset of your run was something of a hallucination.  Indeed, the Spring Hat Luncheon and its cheerful garden preparations are still over three months away. 

The Entry Garden resting for the winter.

The run I took this past weekend in my native Highland Park was not without its rewards, however (and by native I mean I’ve lived there since July), and in fact I consider it a highlight of my holiday weekend.  Martin Luther King, Jr. would have been proud, I’m sure of it, if for no other reason than I did something active in a community setting.  The air was fresh, the sky was a pretty blue, and for 20 minutes I spent time amongst my neighbors, a diverse collection of dog walkers, stroller pushers and other runners.

I’ve been a member of the Parks Conservancy team for three months tomorrow and have yet to visit Riverview Park in the North Side, the original destination for my run on Monday.  I don’t know.  If the trails are clear, maybe next weekend.

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