Restoring Pittsburgh’s Public Green Space • Frick, Highland, Riverview & Schenley Parks
Summer 2007
Make Schenley Plaza your destination for summer fun
Hat Luncheon Toasts Riverview Park
Live Lunchtime Music Monday through Saturday, now through October
Kids Days Free carousel rides, face-painting, balloon animals, caricature artists, and special programming during each event - Sunday, July 22, 2 - 4 p.m. The Pittsburgh Glass Center demonstrates glass bead blowing - Sunday, August 26, 2 - 4 p.m. Hackysack demonstrations; plus George Nowack hand-carves carousel animals - Sunday, September 16, 2 - 4 p.m. The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh presents “Storytelling Alive!”
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Special Guest Visits Schenley Fountain
Harry Potter “Wizard Rock” Concerts with the Carnegie Library Tuesday, July 31, 6 p.m. - The Remus Lupins Sunday, August 19, 5 p.m. - Harry and the Potters with Draco and the Malfoys Thousands of kids and their families enjoyed activities at Schenley Plaza as part of the Carnegie Library’s Summer Reading Extravaganza this June. Carousel rides were free all day thanks to a generous grant from a local foundation.
page 4 Volunteers Spring into Action
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Donors Take Blue Slide Playground to Another Level
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Check www.schenleyplaza.org for the latest programming updates, a schedule of all musical performances, and information about how you can make your next special event memorable by holding it at Schenley Plaza!
International Parks Conference Coming to Pittsburgh By Melissa McMasters
n 2008, the city of Pittsburgh will celebrate its 250th anniversary. The city will soon have the opportunity to tell the world the story of its transformation from rust belt to green belt and highlight the Ravenstahl administration’s working partnership with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, as the 2008 International Urban Parks Conference comes to Pittsburgh September 21-23, 2008. The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is the local host and producing organization for the conference, which is sponsored by two national organizations, the City Parks Alliance (CPA) and the National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP). The conference will provide an opportunity for hundreds of parks professionals, thought leaders, policy makers, and other interested parties around the globe to come together and share their park knowledge. The conference’s title, “Body and Soul: Parks and the Health of Great Cities,” highlights the connection between healthy people, healthy parks, and healthy cities. With cities now housing over half the world’s population, urbanization must be balanced by a commitment to issues such as public health, environmental sustainability, and responsible use of green space. Meg Cheever, President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, points to several recent studies about the impact of cities on the environment as inspiration for the conference. “More and more, cities are at the vanguard of environmental progress,” says Cheever. “Local governments are taking the lead in the creation of public green spaces with sustainable funding structures, energyefficient buildings, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. “What better place than Pittsburgh, which is enjoying its designation as America’s most livable city, to bring
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together representatives from around the world to share their success stories and plan for the future?” The conference will explore the variety of roles parks play in the urban experience: as democratic spaces where everyone is able to take spiritual and physical refreshment in a natural setting, as the oxygen-producing “lungs” of the city, and as engines of economic development.
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Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Newsletter
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
How well do you know Riverview Park?
ur Spring Hat Luncheon fundraiser was recently held in Riverview Park, which showed itself off to great advantage. Thanks for that are due to many folks, beginning with dedicated park foreman Bob Lacki, Mike Gable, and Guy Costa of the city’s DPW, as Meg Cheever and Mayor Luke well as the park crew Ravenstahl at the Riverview Park and the many Chapel Shelter construction site. volunteers who have worked in the park to stabilize slopes, remove invasive plants, and put new plants into the ground. Riverview Park has been on my mind lately because we are in the final stages of the major capital project there, the Chapel Shelter and landscape restoration. In the ten years since the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy was formed, we have developed close relationships with many of the groups and individuals who live near Riverview and love the park. In the past, two major challenges loomed for those interested in improving this park. The first was that so many Pittsburghers had never heard of Riverview (it is located in the North Side off Perrysville Avenue). Our 1998 survey showed that only 13% of Pittsburghers were even aware of this park, so the chances of their supporting it or ever visiting it seemed unlikely. Someday soon we hope to take a repeat survey, and we are confident that the percentage will have improved. The other challenge was that it seemed difficult for the various park-loving groups to forge a consensus for action. One of the keys to Riverview’s future prosperity is bringing together the many people who care about the park and have ideas about how to improve and sustain it. After ten years of effort, park restoration efforts are maturing and Riverview Park is beginning to come into its own. The Chapel Shelter project will soon be finished. The University of Pittsburgh is working
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on restoring the façade of the Observatory. The city has cleaned and restored the visitor center, and it is now being staffed by Moses Carper, an Urban EcoSteward and owner of the Chiyou Corral, which continues the tradition of horseback riding in Riverview Park. The playground was restored some years ago with an astronomy theme, and the crew is working hard on normal park maintenance. A lovely trail out to Snyder’s Point has been established. But many problems remain. The unstable shale soil and steep topography of the land have always made the park landslide-prone, so ecological restoration, including slope stabilization, must continue. The water quality in the streams was tested during the 1999 BioBlitz, and the coliform bacteria level was unacceptably high. We need to retest and, if there is still a problem, find a way to improve the water quality in the park. Deer overbrowse is causing great pressure on the plant communities in this park (and in Frick Park as well), particularly on the understory. This is a problem with no easy solution. And some high-ticket capital projects from the Regional Parks Master Plan remain to be accomplished, such as the restoration of the entry fountain and swimming pool improvements. But the most promising development is that a Riverview Park “working group” is in formation which brings together the parks crew, the Parks Conservancy, and interested groups and citizens. More than any particular capital project, this increased emphasis on stewardship embodies great hope for the long-term future of this wonderful park. I hope that the situation in Riverview mirrors park restoration efforts in Pittsburgh as a whole. With limited budgets and resources, we absolutely need to work together to make sure we get the best result for the parks—and ultimately for our community.
Directions to Riverview Park: Head west on Ohio River Boulevard. Take the Marshall Ave. exit. Bear right as you come off the exit ramp and stay on Marshall until it dead-ends into Perrysville. Turn left at Perrysville. Go 0.8 miles. Turn left onto Riverview Avenue. This is the park entrance.
Test Your Park Knowledge! Can you match the four city parks--Frick, Highland, Riverview, and Schenley--to the following historical facts? Answers appear on page 7. 1. This park’s acreage includes land that once housed a grist mill that for many years ground most of the grain in the Pittsburgh area. 2. This park has a historic structure whose name describes not what the structure was actually used for, but the material out of which it was originally constructed. 3. A proposal to use public bonds for construction of this park was solidly defeated in an election several decades before it was eventually created. 4. This park houses a monument that marks the resting place of one of the families whose land was purchased to create the park. Source: Historical Data: Pittsburgh Public Parks. Collected and compiled by Howard Stewart under sponsorship of the Greater Pittsburgh Parks Association, 1943.
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy 2000 Technology Drive, Suite 300 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Phone: 412-682-PARK (7275) Fax: 412-622-0160 www.pittsburghparks.org
Staff Meg Cheever President and CEO Debbie Beck Chief Financial Officer Philip J. Gruszka Director of Park Management and Maintenance Policies Roy E. Lenhardt Director of Development Laurie Anderson Grant Writer Kim Barner Accounting Assistant Beth Bodamer Administrative Assistant Joyce Collier Membership Assistant Lisa Conti Development Coordinator Erin Copeland Restoration Ecologist Amy Gelzheiser Special Events Coordinator Melissa McMasters Marketing Communications Coordinator Jake Milofsky Field Ecologist Gudrun Wells Volunteer Education Coordinator
Board of Directors Alan Ackerman Robert Agbede Joe Belechak Meg Cheever G. Reynolds Clark Lynn Davenport John Diederich Helen Faison Karen Wolk Feinstein Audrey Hillman Fisher Elise Frick Ethel Hansen Jean Anne Hattler Harry Henninger Dan Holthaus Elizabeth Howard Mark Kamlet Becky Keevican Robbee Kosak John P. Levis, III David Malone Brian Mullins Marlee S. Myers Susan Nernberg Eliza Nevin Robert Petrilli Richard Reed, chair James Rogal Ritchie Scaife Tom Schmidt Sharon Semenza Alex Speyer Jr. Gerald Voros Michael Zanic Government Representatives: Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, City of Pittsburgh Chief Executive Dan Onorato, Allegheny County State Representative Dan Frankel Duane Ashley, City of Pittsburgh Guy Costa, City of Pittsburgh Noor Ismail, City of Pittsburgh
By Melissa McMasters
itiparks Special Programs Unit is working with the Highland Park community to create a new permanent mural for the retaining wall on One Wild Place. The wall’s upcoming renovation made it necessary to replace the existing mural, which was created by local youth under the guidance of artist and teacher George Morris and has been in place for over a decade. The Highland Park community wanted the wall to remain an artistic gateway to the neighborhood and sought to engage residents in the design process once again. This July, volunteers will attach non-reflective mosaic tiles to pre-cut concrete boards, creating a mural that is low-maintenance, long-lasting, and fun to build. In August, the concrete boards will be attached to the wall and sealed in place. The new mural, Animal Adventure, was designed by artists Laura Jean McLaughlin and Bob Ziller and depicts animals journeying through the city. Like the original mural, it prominently features zoo animals, along with the addition of Highland Park community landmarks. The park’s entry fountain (pictured above) is depicted lifting a penguin in a top hat, in a nod to the garden’s Victorian origins. Other area features shown in the mural include the Highland Park farmhouse, the Super Playground, and a park bench. Volunteers can participate in constructing the mosaic during the Roving Art Cart’s July rounds and at free community workshops at the Highland Park farmhouse. For more info, call Citiparks at 412665-3665. The mural is a project of Citiparks, the office of Senator Jim Ferlo, the Pittsburgh Zoo, the Highland Park Community Development Corporation, and the Highland Park Community Kids help build a turtle for the mosaic at the Super Playground’s Sweet Sixteen celebration in Highland Park this June. Council.
Riverview Park was brimming with parks supporters this May, as the ninth annual Spring Hat Luncheon unfolded in view of the PPC’s most recent capital project, the renovated Chapel Shelter. Over 600 guests stylishly showed their love for the parks. PPC will celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Spring Hat Luncheon on May 3, 2008 at Frick Park.
Top: Honorary chairs Cynthia and David Stanchak. Bottom: 2008 Spring Hat Luncheon committee co-chairs Peggy McKnight, Susie Dorrance, Charena Swann, and Christine Hilliard.
Q&A with Park Naturalist Patty Himes of the Frick Environmental Center By Jake Milofsky
hat are some of your favorite aspects of working at the Frick Environmental Center? I really enjoy working with the Frick team, which includes staff, interns, and volunteers. Everyone is committed to offering the public high-quality environmental education programming as well as a wonderful, caredfor park space to enjoy. I also enjoy working with children. They have a natural interest in nature. They are so excited to explore and so willing to help take care of the park.
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Melissa McMasters
Photos courtesy of Citiparks Special Programs Unit
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Spring Hat Luncheon Celebrates Restoration in Riverview Park
Mary Jane Bent
New Mural Designed for Highland Park
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Stan Franzos
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Newsletter
What do you hope to accomplish with a rebuilt FEC? This spring Citiparks aided the development of environmental education programming by providing a classroom tailored to FEC. This will enable us to expand our programming opportunities. A new facility would help us reach even more people and include more people in our mission. We will be able to expand the number and types of programs that the Center can offer. We are hoping that the new building will become a destination: a place to visit with your family, a place to stop in and learn about the natural history of the park, a place to take a break from your enjoyment of the park and have a rest.
Can you talk about FEC’s involvement Patty Himes (left) and the FEC summer staff discuss plans for future with the Urban EcoSteward Program? programming. The Urban EcoSteward program is growing very quickly. It’s gratifying to What are some challenges the FEC faces? see how many people are willing to share their Restoration of the park is always challenging. time and talents to care for Pittsburgh’s amazing Every project site is in need of constant The PPC has been working with the City to seek parklands. This has become such an important assessment and maintenance. We propagate and funds to reconstruct the FEC building, which program that Kathryn Hunninen, FEC’s newest was tragically gutted by a fire in 2002. A plant a variety of native species, which must staff member, is dedicating a large portion of constantly be protected from our animal friends Strategic Business Plan and an Environmental her time to coordinating this program. Our 17 in the park (deer, chipmunks, etc.). Fortunately, Programming Plan are the first steps towards a Urban EcoStewards have been making a big new FEC that will provide the community with we work with an extraordinary Department of difference on Clayton Hill and the Tranquil Trail Public Works staff headed by foreman Dick high-quality environmental programming while wetland area. We’ve noticed a decrease in many Wilford. In addition, we have a great bunch of remaining financially self-sustaining. Visit www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/parks/html/the_ invasive species such as garlic mustard, interns and volunteers that make completing frick_center.html for more on FEC programs. multiflora rose, and Japanese knotweed. projects possible.
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The Invasive Advisor
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Newsletter
Historic Park Features Inspire Donors By Amy Gelzheiser
Invasive plants decrease the biodiversity of our natural areas – even in our own backyards. These invasive, non-native plants were introduced from other countries, often for gardens and landscaping. With few or no natural enemies, you can now see these plants taking over entire landscapes like roadsides, disturbed woodlands, and sections of our parks.
This Edition: Tree of Heaven
Annette Paluh
Common name: Tree of Heaven Scientific name: Ailanthus altissima Origin: China
DESCRIPTION: Tree of heaven has smooth, pale gray bark and long, teardrop-shaped compound leaves which alternate closely along the stems. It is distinguished by a rancid peanut butter odor in all parts of the plant. In spring, it produces clusters of small, yellow-green flowers near the tips of its branches. Flat, twisted, papery seeds are produced in late summer to early fall. ECOLOGICAL THREAT: The plant can quickly establish dense stands through prolific seeding, resprouting of cut stumps and root fragments, and allelopathy (the secretion of toxins that harm other plants in the ecosystem). Its root system is also strong enough to cause structural damage in built environments. HABITAT: Disturbed urban areas, roadsides, woodland edges, and forest openings are particularly vulnerable to a tree of heaven infestation. One tree can produce hundreds of thousands of seeds in a year, quickly taking over fields and other open spaces. SIZE: The plant grows rapidly and can reach up to 80 feet in height.
LOOK-ALIKES: Both staghorn sumac (Rhustyphina) and black walnut (Juglans nigra) resemble tree of heaven, but these native species both have hairy twigs and stems and toothed leaflets. Tree of heaven has smooth twigs and stems and smooth leaflets with a “thumb” at their base.
Alice Enz
MANAGEMENT OPTIONS: Pull young seedlings up by the roots in spring when soil is moist, making sure to remove all plant material. Follow up several times a year to determine whether plants have re-sprouted. SUGGESTED ALTERNATIVE PLANTS: Deciduous shrubs such as staghorn sumac, black walnut, box elder, fringetree, and ash all make acceptable substitutes for tree of heaven.
Melissa McMasters
Join the battle! Learn to recognize and control invasive species by reading this column and by picking up Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas at the Schenley Park Visitor Center ($4.00, published by the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).
The new Pittsburgh park bench donated by the Alexander C. and Tillie S. Speyer Foundation provides a shady spot to relax.
hanks to the generosity of the Alexander C. and Tillie S. Speyer Foundation and PPC board member Alex Speyer Jr., a park bench in the new park standard style, as well as a new drinking fountain, have been installed near the Christopher Columbus statue by Phipps Conservatory. As a child, Alex Speyer Jr. regularly walked through Schenley Park with his parents. The fountain and bench commemorate the special times he shared with his parents. “I would like to encourage people to use this area, sit down, and enjoy themselves,” said Speyer. Speyer’s favorite aspect of Schenley Park is its trail system, which he feels that most visitors don’t fully appreciate. As a PPC board member, he enjoys the opportunity to help develop and improve the parks, especially the trails. The new bronze and granite drinking fountain is a replica of 30 fountains featuring a dolphin design that were installed throughout city parks in the 1930s. The original fountains were sculpted by Frank Vittor, who also sculpted the Columbus statue in 1958. Park benches like the one Speyer donated are becoming visible in other city parks as well, as wooden benches meeting the new park standard specifications are ordered and installed by City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works crews. Commemorative benches can be sponsored for $1,500, including a plaque; if you would like more information about funding one to place in the parks, please contact the PPC at 412-682-7275.
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Mary Schenley Memorial Fountain Receives a Special Visitor By Laurie Anderson
funds. Along with the remaining $85,000 n June 8, Joseph Brenner visited needed for repairs, an additional $50,000 is Pittsburgh to view A Song to Nature, the being sought to cover ten years of preventive large bronze and granite fountain in maintenance. front of the Frick Fine Arts Building in While in Oakland, Mr. Brenner viewed Oakland. Why would a European philosopher another sculpture of personal interest. The make a pilgrimage to this particular memorial? Christopher Lyman Magee Memorial, one of His uncle, Victor David Brenner, designed it. the last sculptures designed by August SaintBest known for the design of the Lincoln penny, Gaudens – known as the Father of American Victor Brenner won a national contest for the Sculpture – stands across Schenley Drive in commission to memorialize Mary Schenley. front of the Carnegie Library. Mr. Brenner’s The allegorical figures of Pan and Song above father Michael studied with Saint-Gaudens the fountain signify the yearly regeneration of after apprenticing with his older brother Victor nature, an appropriate theme for acknowledging and became an accomplished sculptor in his Ms. Schenley’s gift of 300 acres of her family’s own right. estate to become Schenley Park – Pittsburgh’s The Magee Memorial, which used to be first city park. supplied with water from the Carnegie, no Mr. Brenner was moved by his first visit to the longer functions, and the stone and concrete fountain and its park setting. As he was greeted require cleaning and repairs. The estimated by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and representatives cost for renovation and long-term maintenance from the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, the of this sculpture is $120,000. No funding has Office of Public Art, and the University of yet been received toward its restoration. Pittsburgh, he shared a poem he wrote about Joseph Brenner’s visit is a reminder that seeing the fountain for the first time. these magnificent public works of art need Sadly, the fountain Mr. Brenner saw is a far and deserve the community’s care. As cry from the sculpture dedicated in 1918. Even the untrained eye can see extensive PPC Board Chair Richard Reed, Kirk Savage of the University of Brenner observed during his visit, “Today, no responsible adult, from whatever domain of corrosion, stains, and cracks. In 2003, the Pittsburgh, and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl greet Joseph Brenner at the Mary Schenley Memorial Fountain. activity, cannot try to contribute wherever he Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy retained McKay or she can to maintaining the beauty and Lodge, a professional restoration firm, to inspect So far, The Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, the PNC Foundation, and the increasing the function of parks as a carrier of A Song to Nature. Their report documents culture and meaning.” necessary repairs costing an estimated $130,000. National Endowment for the Arts have donated Melissa McMasters
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Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Newsletter
Spring Volunteer Work Contributes Over 1,400 Hours to Park Restoration By Gudrun Wells
his year, 407 volunteers have worked with PPC on one of our 13 volunteer days, on our field work days, or as Urban EcoStewards, for a total of 1,411 hours! This translates to over $25,000 worth of work that has been put into the parks by our dedicated team of volunteers. This spring we removed invasive plants (most notably garlic mustard, Norway maples and various vine species), built deer exclosures to protect native plantings, did erosion control work, and planted native trees and herbs. Four of our volunteer days this spring were coordinated in partnership with fellows from the Public Allies Americorps Program with CORO Center for Civic Leadership. Public Allies is a program that trains young leaders in non-profit community work. In addition to learning about park management issues and techniques, they assisted us with recruiting volunteers and are in the process of putting together a manual on how to train crew leaders. To have information about future volunteer days delivered Above: Public Allies crew leader L’Oreal Snell and Michele Gregorich use a weed wrench to directly to your inbox, visit www.pittsburghparks.org and click remove invasive jetbead shrubs in Frick Park. “Subscribe to eNews.”
Melissa McMasters
Above: Public Allies program manager Molly Nichols and volunteers from CMU combat invasive garlic mustard in Schenley Park. Below: Volunteers from the Ellis School pulled garlic mustard and cleared trash from Highland Park’s seasonal pools.
Volunteer Days by the Numbers
Below: A volunteer group from Urban Impact planted and weeded gardens and stabilized a steep hillside in Riverview Park.
Melissa McMasters
Events: 13 Volunteers: 407 Total Hours: 1,411 Value: $26,484 (based on $18.77/hr. Source: Independent Sector 2006) 16 Community Partners: Public Allies, SCA, Rodef Shalom, Calvary Church, Girls Math and Science Partnership, The Ellis School, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, PULSE, Urban Impact, Perry High School, Riverview Park Alliance, Chatham University, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Chiyou Corral, Men’s Garden Club of Allegheny County
Mary Jane Bent
Gudrun Wells
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PPC Continues Natural Areas Restoration in the Parks By Erin Copeland
his spring PPC continued its work to improve the parks’ ecological health, partnering with the City’s Department of Public Works, staff and students at the Student Conservation Association (SCA), interns, and volunteers on natural areas restoration projects. The four sites below represent the main areas of focus from the past spring, and portions of three of them will be maintained into the future as a result of citizens becoming Urban EcoStewards.
removal out of canopy trees, centered on restoring native plant cover to the watershed. Work will soon begin to stabilize the slopes and plant large diameter trees into canopy gaps.
Chapel Shelter Slope – Riverview Park PPC and DPW crews worked this past fall and winter to stabilize much of the hillside using cross slope trenching and jute netting. This spring, the slopes were seeded with a native grass seed mixture. During a volunteer day with the Riverview Park Alliance, garlic mustard, jet bead, and Siberian elm were removed from under the retained canopy. Similar species management has continued throughout the growing season. Future endeavors include restoring all forest layers to the slope, including flowers, shrubs, and trees this fall and next spring. Panther Hollow Watershed – Schenley Park The work in the watershed has been twofold: data collection through university professor and student efforts and continuing invasive species
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Girls Math and Science Partnership participants collect data used in monitoring Highland Park’s seasonal pools.
management with volunteers. Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Chatham University are collecting data on E. Coli, sediment rates, and macroinvertebrates, which will provide insight as to how restoration activities should progress in the watershed. Volunteer efforts, including a garlic mustard sweep with Pitt students and regular vine
Seasonal Pools – Highland Park This past winter DPW crews, volunteers, and PPC staff girdled and removed Norway maple trees around the seasonal pools on Washington Boulevard. As part of citywide Earth Day festivities, volunteers removed garlic mustard and Norway maple and created deer exclosures. The Girls Math and Science Partnership also collected physical parameters and flow information about the pools. In upcoming seasons, PPC will be planting native trees in the area. Tulip Run Slope – Frick Park As part of the Nine Mile Run restoration, a team from Invasive Plant Control and the Frick Park DPW crew removed an entire grove of Tree of Heaven (a third of an acre) and bush honeysuckle. With SCA and PULSE, PPC created deer exclosures around native plantings. During an SCA volunteer event, 70 trees and shrubs were planted to re-vegetate the area with native species. PPC staff has since watered and fenced the trees and shrubs and will create more deer exclosures to protect them.
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Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Newsletter
Entertainment continues all summer “Reservoir of Jazz” Series
“Stars at Riverview” Jazz Series
Sundays, 5 - 7 p.m. August 5 - September 2 Highland Park (Highland Ave. at Reservoir Drive)
Saturdays, 7 - 8:30 p.m. through August 25 Riverview Park Sponsored by Mellon Financial Corporation, DUQ 90.5 FM, and the New Pittsburgh Courier.
Sponsored by Highland Park Community Club, State Rep. Joe Preston, Mellon Financial Corporation, DUQ 90.5 FM, the New Pittsburgh Courier, and Aunt Cheryl’s Catering. August 5
August 12 August 19 August 26 Sept. 2
July 7 July 14 July 21 July 28 August 4 August 11 August 18 August 25
CMU School of Music Pre-College Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Choir plus Center of Life Jazz Group Walt Harper Tribute presented by MCG Jazz Opek Big Band Art Blakey tribute featuring Roger Humphries and special guests Spirit on the Hill
30th Annual City of Pittsburgh Great Race Takes Off from Frick Park When: Sunday, September 30
Sweaty Betty Blues Band Phoenix Jazz Project Patrick Arena Randall Troy The Flow Band Ken Karsh Brother Joe Baione Quartet Mahajibee
Citiparks Roving Art Cart Comes to a Park Near You
What: 10K race; 5K run and fitness walk
Info:
The Great Race Hotline at 412-255-2493 or www.RunGreatRace.com
Cost:
$18 before September 7 $25 afterward Benefits Richard S. Caliguiri Amyloidosis Fund
Schenley Park, Flagstaff Hill Sundays and Wednesdays at dusk July 1 July 4 July 8 July 11 July 15 July 18 July 22 July 25 July 29
Open Season World Trade Center The Lake House The Astronaut Farmer Zoom The Pursuit of Happyness Barnyard Mission: Impossible III Little Buddha
Melissa McMasters
Courtesy of Citiparks
Times: 10K - 9:30 a.m., Frick Park (Beechwood Blvd.) 5K - 8:30 a.m., Atwood and Fifth, Oakland
The Roving Art Cart travels throughout the city all summer long helping kids unleash their inner artists. For a complete schedule of its appearances, visit www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/parks/html/roving_art_cart.html.
Schenley Park, Flagstaff Hill Sundays and Wednesdays at dusk August 1 August 5 August 8 August 12 August 15 August 19 August 22 August 26
Heart of the Game Charlotte’s Web Rocky Balboa The Ant Bully Comcast Popcorn Night We Are Marshall Unaccompanied Minors Happy Feet TBA
For info, call 412-937-3039 or visit www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/parks
Riverview Park, Observatory Hill Saturdays at dusk July 7 July 14 July 21 July 28
Zoom Barnyard Material Girls Charlotte’s Web
August 4
The Ant Bully Comcast Popcorn Night Unaccompanied Minors Happy Feet Monster House
August 11 August 18 August 25
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Newsletter
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long in Pittsburgh’s regional parks
Test Your Park Knowledge! Answers 1. Frick Park. The Swisshelm Grist Mill was located on the south side of Braddock Avenue on the Nine Mile Run Road in the late 1700s. 2. Riverview Park. The Bear Pit, which still stands beneath the hill housing the park’s activities building, did not actually contain bears, but its foundation was built from materials used in the bear pit at the former Riverview Zoo. 3. Schenley Park. In 1869, City Council wished to use bonds to purchase the Schenley property, but voters defeated the measure, many claiming it was a political trick and there was already plenty of land for recreational use. 4. Highland Park. A granite monument above Serpentine Drive was erected by Sarah Jane Negley Mellon to honor her greatgrandparents, Barbara and Jacob Negley, who are buried in the park along with about 50 other settlers.
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Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Newsletter
Non-Profit Org. U S POSTAGE
P A I D PITTSBURGH, PA PERMIT NO 4906
Matching Gifts Double Your Donation to PPC By Lisa Conti
ould you like to maximize your donation to the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy? The PPC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization eligible to participate in corporate matching gift programs. Making a donation is easy! Your employer will give you a matching gift form for you to complete. Many companies even post their form on their company website. Send the form to us along with your donation. We’ll process everything for you and return it to your employer, and then we’ll notify you when your matching gift is received. Current full-time employees, retirees, and sometimes part-time employees’ gifts qualify. Below is a listing of a few local companies and their respective matching gift hotlines. If your employer is not listed, check with your Human Resources department to see whether your company has a matching gift program.
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Who will you be this year? Alcoa Consol Dominion Resources Duquesne Light H.J. Heinz Company Mellon Financial Corporation Michael Baker Corporation National City Bank PNC Financial Services Group PPG Industries Sony Electronics Sysco Food Services of Pittsburgh United States Steel Corporation UPS Verizon Communications Wabtec
772-403-2014 412-831-4000 866-235-9136 412-393-1259 412-456-5773 412-234-2732 412-269-6300 412-644-8083 412-762-7076 412-434-2962 858-942-7753 281-584-1445 412-433-5790 404-828-6374 866-247-2687 412-825-1000
T HE P ITTSBURGH P ARKS C ONSERVANCY'S
A Z A N Y H A L L O W E E N BA S H Saturday, October 27, 2007 — Hunt Armory For tickets, visit www.pittsburghparks.org or call 412-682-7275
Presenting sponsor:
“Mini Jupiter” Expands Horizons at Frick Park’s Blue Slide Playground By Melissa McMasters
see the new addition to their favorite playground--and they’re not the only ones. Only a few minutes after a DPW crew put the finishing touches on the Mini Jupiter’s play area, it was covered with children excited to check out the new view. “It fulfills our dreams for a structure to cap off the park,” says Nourbakhsh. “It’s great!”
Melissa McMasters
the top of the playground helps bring together park users because “it creates a space where children and their siblings can play in one structure appropriately with each other.” Nourbakhsh, who is a robotics professor at Carnegie Mellon University, finds Frick park a valuable tool in recruiting talent to the region. He is able to show potential recruits a city with great neighborhoods, shopping, dining, and easy access to green space--something they would pay top-dollar for in cities like New York. “The sense that Pittsburgh excels in neighborhood and community is in a sense Kids play on the blue slide as their classmates watch from the keystoned by the parks, especially Frick Mini Jupiter on top of the hill. Park in my opinion,” says Nourbakhsh. hanks to a generous donation from Dr. He feels that the parks are a huge component of Illah Nourbakhsh and Marti Louw, Frick what makes Pittsburgh so attractive to its Park’s Blue Slide Playground on current and potential residents. For Beechwood Boulevard now features a great Nourbakhsh, donating to projects in the parks is view from a climbing structure that gives a way to “take the very best thing about visitors a whole new vantage on the park, Pittsburgh and make it even better.” including the downtown skyline. The “Mini The Blue Slide Playground project has been Jupiter” is a round structure that all age groups several years in the making, since Nourbakhsh can climb. and Louw moved to Pittsburgh and envisioned a “This is probably the nicest playground in dome-like climbing structure like one near their Pittsburgh,” says Nourbakhsh. “And the reason previous home in San Francisco. After working for that is that it’s a multi-tiered playground” with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, the City with equipment for children of all ages placed of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works, and down the hillside. Adding the Mini Jupiter at contractor Jeffrey Associates, they are thrilled to
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Illah Nourbakhsh and Marti Louw take the first climb on the Mini Jupiter as their daughters play below.