Valley Clean Up Day- History
By Jim Rawlinson
My wife and I moved to Woodacre in the late sixties. Shortly after moving here, we participated in a valley litter clean up. We enjoyed the feeling of doing something good for the valley, and met some new friends. The litter has always bothered me over the years. Fast forward to 2008. After I retired, I decided to pick up litter as my way of giving back to the Valley. One day when I was picking up on Sir Francis Drake, Bruce Gapinski from Forest Knolls stopped to thank me, and commented that he sometimes also picked up litter. He was off work with a disability, and we agreed to meet each Friday morning when we would clean a section of road. Well one day, Bruce had to go back to work, so our Fridays had to cease.
In the past, a litter clean up had been organized by various Valley organizations. When I asked around, I found that no organization was planning to continue the event. This is when Bruce and I decided to take charge and make it happen. The San Geronimo Valley Lions Club gave us a donation, and Bruce and I chipped in to purchase the safety vests, grabbers, and plastic bags. Lisa Crosse in Steve Kinsey’s office helped us to connect with Redwood Sanitary and have two debris boxes donated. (One for recycle, one for landfill). Dave Cort has helped with the use of tables and chairs, and the parking lot at the community center. 2012 is the third year we have had this event. We sort out the litter to recycle as much as possible. About 30 volunteers help each year with the event. Last year someone found a $20.00 bill. Mostly we pick up paper, plastic, wood, cups, cans, bottles, and cardboard. We try to concentrate on the roadside only, not creeks, gully’s, etc. We usually fill the debris boxes about 1/2 full.
Community Garden Update
By Liz Lauter
Things are moving forward with magical support! We have just a few plots left and the group of members is so interesting and full of energy, each with different kinds of expertise. I love that!
We had soil donated and one of our gardeners brought over a composting bin that he built. We also have grape vines and plan to build our common area with a pergola and train the grape vines to
crawl over it. We are in the final stages of getting the irrigation system in and that is a big deal. We will have a licensed contractor/plumber who will tie in the irrigation lines.
For more information contact: lizlauter@hotmail.com
Disaster Prep; Neighborhood Parties
By Linda Nave
The Disaster Council hit the ground running this year and continues to gain strength. As the weather improves neighborhood leaders are stepping forward to organize gatherings. Lagunitas, Forest Knolls and Woodacre have neighborhood gatherings planned. The purpose of these get-togethers is to map access points for the fire dept and identify skills & supplies, such as who has a generator or battery operated tools or medical skills.
The Council has begun the tedious paperwork to officially re-register St. Celia’s, The Presbyterian Church, the Gym and Woodacre Improvement Club as Red Cross Shelters. In the meantime the Council is working to inventory supplies. It is clear that the shelves in the storage shed at St. Celias in Lagunitas are empty. They are unsure of what may be at the Presbyterian Church, but attempts are being made to make contact them and set up an appointment. The Gym is new and has not been outfitted. Woodacre has a shipping container at the fire Dept. with supplies in big plastic tubs marked for each of the Villages. Initial inventories have proven that some of the supplies may have historic value being that they are leftovers from the Korean War. The question lies in how effective are these supplies would be should we need them any time soon?
In a relatively short period of time Brian McCarthy, Mike Stephens, Jim Frazakerley, Greg Bentley and Nancy Wilson have accomplished a tremendous amount of volunteer work. Go team! The Council has a number of seats left to fill. Interested parties should contact Jim at jimfazack@yahoo.com
Trail to the Spiral Circle
After the record breaking successful fund raising drive in Dec. 2011 to raise the final $100,000 to purchase a remainder parcel for Open Space members of the San Geronimo Valley Planning Group Steering Committee (SGVPGSC) and interested parties from CDA and Marin County Open Space recently met on the 17+ acre parcel to be incorporated into the Giacomini Preserve. The newly laid survey markers were reviewed, as well as, issues concerning possible development of lands retained in private ownership. Upon careful review the SGVPGSC noted in a letter to CDA ‘that moving forward with the land acquisition is desirable and will benefit the community.
The Morrison Parcel is by no means pristine. Past activities in the form of construction, dumping, access trails have led to some environmental degradation. We urge the Open Space District to leverage the surplus publically raised funds with other funding sources to remove construction
debris, restore inappropriate trails and roads that contribute sediment into the watershed, and remove invasive plants that are degrading the native habitat.
The Planning Group would be more than willing to help sponsor supplemental volunteer
workdays to further these restoration efforts and urge the Open Space District to prioritize these restoration projects as soon as the land acquisition is finalized. We applaud the efforts of the various Marin County agencies that have worked on this public land acquisition and look forward to the real benefits your work has provided to the community