Friends of Santa Teresa Park Meeting, 8/1/19

 

    • Attendees: Mike Boulland, Kitty Monahan, Kim Gardner, Gus Letona, Sam Drake, Ron Horii, visiting Park Interpreter Kelsi Ju, visiting ranger Lisa Pappanastos.
    • National Night Out (NNO) is on August 6 from 5:00-7:30 pm. Today, we received our permit from the County Parks for holding National Night Out at the Bernal Ranch. We started the process in March. It took a long time to get all the approvals. We got the event insurance and food permits to hand out ice cream and popsicles. Food has to be wrapped, so we can't give out unwrapped cookies or other food. Mike wrote up a request to get a fee waiver. Otherwise, it would have cost us $576. Kelsi will be there. She'll open the barns. Park Interpreter Victoria Heyse will be handling the roping and branding. Steve Crockett will be helping at the interpretive tables and can lead tours of the house. Sam can't make it. His wife Elaine will help with setup and cleanup. She will direct people to our event. Ranger Carley Bolitho will be bringing a ranger's truck. The rangers will have an information table. They will be bringing park giveaways for raffle prizes. The sheriffs will be coming. The Koopmans will be holding their own NNO, but they will be supplying pizza for our  volunteers. Mike's wife Dorene will be handing out the ice cream and popsicles. She has to leave at 7. Mike's daughter Michelle will then take over. Gus will bring the ice cream and popsicles. His daughter will handle the games. Ron will bring park photography displays. We'll need 6 tables. Lisa will bring 3 canopies. We'll start setting up at 3:30-4:00. Mike spent $87 for 5 posters for NNO.
    • Our Summer 2019 newsletter is out. We'll print up lots of copies and hand them out at NNO.
    • Treasurer's report (Mike for Greg, who is on vacation): We have $2342 in the bank. Pending charges are $562.42. We have $245.08 from the grant left to spend. In-kind donations are $1068.92. The balance is $1294.12 after everything is paid. We allocated $300 for event supplies.
    • The next Beautify San Jose Cycle 3 Grant application is due on August 13. Ron went to the workshop about it. We'll apply for the same grant items as this year.
    • Kelsi Ju, Park Interpreter at the Bernal Ranch, talked about upcoming events. La Fuente is Saturday 10/19 from 12-4. Kelsi gave Mike a list of supplies she needs for events at the Bernal Ranch, showing the price, quantity, and links to the vendors. We need to verify that our grant covers them. 
    • The County Parks' Interpretive Programs Department has been re-organized. Beeny Sander is the acting manager, replacing Robin Schaut, who retired in June. Elizabeth Evans is back as supervisor. Park Interpreters report to the program coordinators, who report to the supervisor, who reports to the manager. Lynda Will is Region 1 coordinator, overseeing programs at Almaden Quicksilver and Vasona. Carolyn Schimandle oversees Region 2, which includes Santa Teresa, Martial Cottle, and Alviso. The Region 3 coordinator position, which includes Chitactac, Coyote Lake, and the Junior Rangers, is open. Interpreter Bridgett Orcutt is returning to Almaden Quicksilver.
    • Carolyn Schimandle directs facilities maintenance and approves money for programs at the Bernal Ranch. Acting Senior Ranger Lisa Pappanastos for Hellyer/Santa Teresa/Martial Cottle says that the rangers handle safety, signage, and after-sunset programs. Martial Cottle Park Maintenance (Jeremy Celaya) covers the Bernal Ranch, while Hellyer Maintenance (Jason Gorman) takes care of the rest of Santa Teresa Park.
    • 10 adult volunteers are needed for school field trip programs at the Bernal Ranch. They have 6. They need 4 more. Volunteers need to go through training from August 21-22 and need to be Livescan fingerprinted. The programs are from 10-12 Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Contact Kelsi Ju at 408-918-7776, or kelsi.ju@prk.sccgov.org​ for more information.
    • 2 school programs are coming up at the Bernal Ranch. Raptor Route is for 5th graders. They learn about raptor migration. The program runs from October to the first week of November during raptor migration season. Pieces of the Past is a history-themed program for K-1. It runs from December to June.
    • The Raptor 101 bird identification program is for adults. It's on October 12 and November 2. The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is participating.
    • On August 31, the Environmental Educators of Color are having a gathering at the Bernal Ranch from 6-8:30 pm. It includes dinner and interpretive stations. Kelsi helped start the group in San Francisco when she worked for the NPS. It's for those who self-identify as people of color and whose work involves environmental education. It includes professional environmental educators, park rangers, interns, maintenance workers, and interpreters. 
    • For our 11/7 meeting, Kitty will give a presentation about the New Almaden Mines.
    • Ranger Lisa gave a report. The maps at the mapboards have been updated. The trail markers have junction numbers. The Curie Drive house has been OK since the cleanup. No more vandalism. Lisa thinks there should be an interpretive sign for the barn on the Fortini Trail. The Rosetto House is moldy. It's been shuttered. There are 2 trail work days coming up. Ruben Suarez is doing a full-moon hike in Santa Teresa on 9/14 from 7-9 at the Pueblo Area. 
    • Ron showed pictures: The brambles at Santa Teresa Spring were cut, but more work can be done to remove the mud around the spring and shrine. There were free concerts at the Santa Teresa Golf Course Banquet Facility, as part of the Summer Music Series. They were packed. There was a 200-acre fire on Coyote Ridge. It started next to Field Sports Park and burned into OSA's preserve. Kelsi had work days at the ranch for middle school kids. On one of the days, they pruned the pomegranate tree and cleared weeds from a garden box. Some kids were riding their bikes and digging trails on the restricted area of Rocky Ridge. Ranger Ali Famalett came and caught them. Their parents were called. A large group of volunteers from a Girl Scout troop came to a work day at the Pueblo Area. They spread mulch around picnic areas. A couple was flying a drone from the Joice Trail. The Norred Trail is in good shape. Ron showed sunset pictures from the trail.
    • Construction is done at the Muriel Wright Center to turn it into a residential mental health treatment facility. In June, Telecare, the contractor running the center, started moving in and trained their personnel. Patients will be moving in after that, around July-August. The County Sheriffs and the Park Volunteer Office will remain in their part of the facility. 
    • Ranger Bryan Lu is is leading hikes to Coyote Peak. We should help with one or more of them: "Saturday June 29, Sunday July 21, Sunday August 4, Sunday August 18, 2019, What's "Shaking" in Parks? 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM, Santa Teresa's Pueblo Day Use Area.Trek to the highest peak in the park to view fantastic vistas and explore local geology formations. Meet in 2nd parking lot (on left by yellow call box) with hiking shoes, layered clothing and water. Questions? (408) 225-0225."
    • This is coming up: Saturday, August 3, 2019, Light Life Night Hike, 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM, Santa Teresa Park, Bernal Road. This moderate 2-mile night hike will investigate the role of light in the life cycles of animals and humans. Bring a flashlight. Meet at the top of Bernal Rd, parking lot on left before IBM gate (GPS coordinates: 37.214513, -121.796560). Reservations (408) 226-5453.
    • The first of these was held already. There are 2 more left: Saturdays July 27, August 24, September 21, 2019, The Impact of Fire, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM, Santa Teresa's Bernal Ranch.Take a 2-mile walk with park staff through the site of 2018’s Curie Fire while exploring our community’s relationship with wildfire in the 21st-century. Young adults encouraged to attend. Minimum age 12. Bring water and sun protection. Meet at the Bernal Ranch on Manila Drive. Questions? (408) 918-7779.
    • This is coming up: Saturday, August 10, 2019, Movie Night Campout, 7:00 PM - 08:00 AM, Santa Teresa's Pueblo Day Use Area. Join us for a family-friendly movie and overnight campout in the park. The evening begins with a feature-length movie under the stars, followed by a campfire and 2nd movie. Bring your own tents, chairs, bedding and food. $15 fee for each tent or RV, and $6 per vehicle. Fee collected onsite. No dogs please. Reservations (408) 225-0225.
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       Created 8/8/19 by Ronald Horii, secretary of the Friends of Santa Teresa Park