IN EVERY WALK WITH NATURE ONE RECEIVES FAR MORE THAN HE SEEKS. – JOHN MUIR –
Play areas for children are still mainly closed, but the Wilshire Park NatureSpace has been a great place for kids to explore all season long. Should you visit the park, remember to keep a safe distance from other groups and bring along a mask. Right now you can see new growth on Oregon grape and watch the curling fronds of native ferns unfurl, or go slug hunting under a log. The fun of spring is still here!
One of the Friends noticed this fun image on NextDoor today. Looks like someone was feeling some peace and love at Wilshire Park!
It doesn’t snow often in Portland, but when it does we make the most of it — even the dogs! These shots were provided by Friends member Katie Day.
The Friends of Wilshire Park raised $500 at its open house held on February 1, all of which will go directly toward the cost of the new playhouse for the toddler area of the playground. New and old Friends met on a characteristically gloomy January day in Portland, but that just made the several varieties of homemade soup and loaves of hot bread all the more tasty.
We are so very close to reaching our fundraising goal for the playground. Completing the playhouse will make the toddler area even nicer than it was before, with all of the play features that generations of neighborhood kids have loved. If you weren’t able to make it out to our open house, feel free to drop by at our next group meeting or make a donation. All contributions are fully tax-deductible and go straight toward the park.
This Saturday is Mulch Day at the NatureSpace! Now that the fence is in, we need to spread mulch over the site to smother out grass and weeds and prepare the soil for Planting Day on November 10. Tell everyone you know — whatever their age or ability, there will be something do do. Parents with little ones are especially encouraged to come, as it’s never too early to provide children with an opportunity to serve in their community. Also, playing with mulch using toy buckets and shovels is really, really fun. Even if your family can only stay a little while, the Friends of Wilshire Park will be very happy to have you.
We will get started at 8 a.m. and likely finish up around noon, depending on the number of volunteers that show up. Bring a picnic lunch, as we’ll all eat together at about noon. All volunteers must wear gloves, and please bring buckets, shovels, hard-tined rakes, and wheelbarrows to help distribute the mulch over the site. Please do not forget to sign up on our official volunteer form so that you can be counted and receive up to date information. All volunteer hours can be used for scouts, school, or other official programs.
We have another volunteer opportunity coming up next weekend — repainting the lettering on the sign posts around the dog park. The words on the posts are pretty much illegible, which isn’t helpful as we want dog owners to know the boundaries of the off leash area as well as provide a reminder that dogs should never be off leash elsewhere in the park. One of the top complaints at early meetings of Friends of Wilshire Park is that many dog owners fail to keep their dogs on leash, and when dogs bolt through the children’s play area they frighten little children or even knock them down. Additionally, many older children and adults are not comfortable around unleashed dogs, so repainting the sign posts will help remind dog owners to have good park etiquette.
We will paint the signposts on Saturday, October 13 at 9 am, staying as long as we need to. If we are rained out, we will try again on Saturday, October 20. Volunteers should bring old kitchen dish brushes to clean out the recessed lettering and small craft paintbrushes if they have them. Paint will be provided. If you wish to help repaint the signposts, please send an e-mail to friends@friendsofwilshirepark.org.
Tomorrow, August 7, is National Night Out and the Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood Association will be hosting their picnic at Wilshire Park. Join your neighbors at 6:30 p.m for a pleasant evening at the park. BWNA is providing hot dogs, hamburgers, and veggie burgers as well as music and activities for children, and you’re encouraged to bring a side dish to share with your neighbors.
This event will be a great chance for Friends of Wilshire Park to enjoy a pleasant evening with friends and family, so we hope to see you there!
This morning six Friends turned up at Wilshire Park despite the threat of summer showers to help spread new bark mulch. Most of the mulch had already been spread at the bases of trees and alongside the jogging trail, but a little help was needed to finish off the job. We patrolled the off-leash dog park and removed large or sharp chunks of wood that might hurt running paws, and then spread out some piles of mulch that were still heaped up on the north side of the park. About 9 volunteer hours later, the park was in just a bit better shape and we had all become better friends.
These kinds of small, simple projects will do a lot to help make Wilshire Park more enjoyable for everyone as well as provide chances for neighbors to get to know one another and have some fun outside. Our next mini-project will be cleaning and repainting the sign posts marking the perimeter of the off-leash area. If you are interested in hearing about upcoming projects, subscribe to our newsletter or e-mail friends@friendsofwilshirepark.org.