If you drive by the intersection of Marengo and Woodbury, you will see that the
Altadena/Pasadena Oak Woodland pocket park is getting closer to completion. Mountain
View Cemetery workers completed the digging of the holes for sumps and project manager
Rick Carron got all six in the ground in early May. Our concrete contractor, PB
Construction, started work on Friday, May 11. Rick will install the irrigation system
(to allow the plants to get established) and then we will be able to plant. We will be
planting native and drought tolerant plants in late May or early June. If you know
anything about gardening, however, you probably know that this is not the right time of
year to be installing a new garden. Thus, we will complete planting in the fall of this
year. Check back here for opportunities to volunteer.
Water-wise park gets $20,000 greener
Project to show efficiency of watershed
by Kimm Groshong, Staff Writer, Pasadena Star News
ALTADENA -- A $20,000 grant has moved a bare dirt patch at the southwest
corner of Marengo Avenue and Woodbury Road closer to its planned
transformation into a small water-wise pocket park.
The Metropolitan Water District granted the funds to the Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy as one of 22 city makeover grants that will
provide a total of $950,000 over the next two years to water conserving
landscape projects throughout Southern California.
Rick Carron, a member of the conservancy's board and project lead for
the park, said the triangular, 8,000-square-foot park will serve two
purposes.
First, it will give the area residents a small nearby park. And second,
it will serve as a miniature watershed, demonstrating how water can be
used efficiently and effectively in a park of California native plants.
"It will be an illustrative site where people can come, walk through the
park and see how native, indigenous plants can be used and how
attractive they are," Carron said.
Organizers envision the park bringing aspects of the habitat found in
the San Gabriel Mountains and foothills down into the urban area,
beautifying the plot at the border between Pasadena and Altadena.
The overall targeted budget for the park is $43,000.
Spearheaded by Altadena Town Councilwoman Michele Zack, the council's
Watershed Committee, and the conservancy, the project now has the
support of a number of partners.
Supervisor Mike Antonovich's office has donated $10,000 to help purchase
some of the plants and the County Department of Public Works has donated
boulders and provided engineering support and permit fee waivers.
Pasadena Water & Power is excavating a pipeline and installing a meter
at the site, giving the dirt patch a water source. Mark Goldschmidt
Design has donated its landscape design services.
Other partners include the Arroyo Seco Foundation, the Theodore Payne
Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants of California, Altadena
Heritage and the Foothill Municipal Water District.
Current plans for the 136-foot deep and 106-foot wide park call for
dozens of plant types, including coast live and Engelmann oaks, pepper
trees, deer grass, lupines and bushes such as pink fairy dusters, sticky
monkey flowers and white sage. "The whole idea is we've got gateways
into Altadena that don't look like gateways," said Nancy Steele, the
conservancy's president. She said the park will serve as an
aesthetically pleasing gateway that will make residents proud to live in
the neighborhood.
Beyond that, the conservancy hopes to use the park as an educational
platform to teach the public about how the watershed works and what a
precious commodity water is in the San Gabriel Valley's foothill
communities.
Carron said the conservancy hopes that after visiting the park, "people
might think twice before they purchase plantings that require a large
amount of water... We also hope to inspire people to go up in the hills
and take hikes on the trails."
Plans call for ground-breaking within 90 days and park completion early
next year.
-- Kimm Groshong: kimm.groshong@sgvn.comat or (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4451.
