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- This
was an online Zoom videoconference meeting. Mike sent out a meeting
link for this Zoom meeting.
- Attendees: Mike
Boulland, Ron
Horii, Joan Murphy, Kim Gardner, Park Interpreter Rob McDonnell.
- Our
next First Friday Work Day will be tomorrow, 5/3/24, meeting at 9 am in
front of the Bernal Ranch House. We'll have middle school students
coming to help out. Maintenance wants us to clear the debris from
around the spring.
- Our "Mothers and Flowers" hike is on May 11
from 9 am to 12 pm, starting at the Stile Ranch Trailhead. We will be
talking about famous mothers in the park's history and about
late-season wildflowers. Mike will be portraying Nicholas Berreyesa,
Jose Reyes Berreyesa's father. Joan will be acting as Maria Zacarias
Bernal Berreyesa, Jose's wife. Mike's wife Dorene will be Clementine
Fortini. We need someone to be Jesusita Bernal, mother of Pedro Bernal
and owner of the Santa Teresa Spring Water Company. Kim said she could
do it. We'll meet at the trailhead between 8 and 8:30. We need to sign
in the visitors at the table by the trailhead. We may need to direct
cars for parking, as there are limited parking spaces. Joan and Mike
can talk at the trailhead. Joan can welcome the visitors in Spanish.
Dorene can talk at the shady spot by the creek on the Fortini Trail,
past the old dam. We can have a snack break at the overlook spot off
the Mine Trail. Kim can talk there. From there on, it becomes a
wildflower hike. Ron will take over, pointing out wildflowers along
the way. During our past hikes, we have had talks about Maria
Berreyesa, her husband Jose Reyes Berreyesa, and Clementine Fortini. We
have not talked about Jesusita Bernal before. Rob sent information
about her. Ron will look up other resources. Joan thinks we should pass
out a list of resources about the historic figures.
- Report from Rob McDonnell:
- There
was a big leak in the water pipe at the corner of the garden at
the Bernal Ranch. Water was pouring out of it and into the nearby
drain. Later, the water was shut off, which also cut off water to the
restrooms and drinking fountain. Port-a-potties were brought
in. The leaking water pipe by the ranch house has been repaired,
and water
to the restrooms and water fountain have been restored. The
port-a-potties were removed. However, the
anti-backflow valve is dripping and needs to be repaired and
inspected.
- They will be deep cleaning the chicken coop, so they need the water on.
- The
plants are OK, despite the watering system being turned off. Rob
planted squash, beets, spinach, and chard. They are heritage plants. He
watered them yesterday. A poppy volunteered.
- There will be a
school tour tomorrow at 11:15. Normally, there are 2 every Friday, but
1 canceled. They will be doing school tours until June 7.
- Rob did 2 custom school programs in April on the Amah Mutsun and Muwekma Ohlone.
- Jeremy
Celaya is in charge of maintenance at the ranch. Jason Bombardier is
working at the ranch. Martial Cottle Park Maintenance is in charge of
all of Santa Teresa Park. It used to be Hellyer Maintenance.
- Mike
said that Santa Teresa Park is listed as an H4 historic district in the
Santa Clara County Resource Heritage book. He thinks there should be
some signage in the park about it.
- We will not be putting on National Night Out this year. We will be only doing La Fuente.
- We
sent in the final report for the Beautify San Jose Cycle 5 Grant. The
grant was for $1500. We spent $1581.83, so we don't have to give any
money back. We got a separate $100 grant from UNSCC to buy tools for
our cleanup. We spent $97.28.
- We have been approved for the Beautify San Jose Cycle 6 Grant for $1400. We requested $1500.
- We will have $335 in the bank after the outstanding bills are paid and until we get the new grant.
- Ron showed pictures:
- 3/10/24: CNPS had a wildflower hike on the Stile-Mine-Fortini Trail loop. There were not a lot of flowers blooming at the time.
- 3/16/24: There was grafitti on the legs of the bench at the Joice-Vista Loop junction. Ron cleaned it off.
- 3/21-22/24: Water leak in the corner of the garden.
- 3/23/24: Grafitti on the Bear Tree Lot monument was removed, though some traces of paint still remain.
- There was a statue of St. Francis on the shrine at Santa Teresa Spring. It was gone later.
- A
large branch of the coast live oak tree at the intersection of Manila
Drive and Manila Way fell down. It's on city property. Park staff made
sure the road wasn't blocked. The city later picked up the fallen
branches.
- 4/5/24: First Friday work day. A lot of
volunteers showed up. Some had come to previous work days. A group from
a local company came. They cleaned up grass and weeds from around the
ranch house, the gardens, and the parking lot.
- 4/10/24: The
grass in the field on the way to Santa Teresa Spring was mowed into a
winding path that looked like a snake. None of the park staff know how
it got there.
- 4/20/24: The first work day for the Santa Teresa
Montly Habitat Stewards met at the Pueblo Area, led by Park Steward
Steve Cassidy, with help from Park Maintenance worker Alex Ale. They
spread mulch over the field between the corral parking lot and the
restroom.
- Hike on the Mine, Fortini, and Stile Ranch trails. Lots of wildflowers were blooming. The hills were green.
- 4/25/24:
Weeds and grass are growing around the grounds of the Bernal Ranch,
which can be cleared during the next work day. The field by the spring
has been mowed, but traces of the "Snake Trail" are still visible.
There are fancy carp in the pond. Mud has flowed around Santa Teresa
Spring and the shrine. Lots of plants are growing in the mudflow, but
they are native plants and shouldn't be removed until they dry up.
- 4/26/24: The hills are turning brown, but the wildflowers are still blooming on the Stile Ranch Trail.
- 4/28/24:
Blackberries are growing by the sign at the Bernal Ranch entrance.
There are grass and weeds along the retaining wall and parking lot
entrance at the ranch. Grass is growing in front of the ranch house, on
the left. The anti-backflow valve at the irrigation pipes is
leaking.
- The County Park has a new challenge program, called "Hike the Hundred."
It is a scavenger hunt on 13 trails in 12 parks. One of the parks is
Santa Teresa. The challenge follows the same route as our Mothers and
Flowers hike. The destinations are the Fortini Barn and the memorial
bench on the side trail, which is unmarked, at the peak of the Mine
Trail.
- There are upcoming ranger-led programs at Santa Teresa Park.
- 5/11/24, 5-6 pm, Yoga with Yogi Bear
- 5/11/24, 7-10 pm, Santa Teresa Night Hike
- 5/18/24, 3-4 pm, Wilderness First Aid
- We have our field trip to the Black Diamond Mines on July 14.
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