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Lincoln Parks & Recreation Newsletter, October 2010
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Greetings!
This
month's banner image features a fall favorite: pumpkins! Nebraska has over 16 pumpkin patches throughout the state. Please, feel free to contact us at parks@lincoln.ne.gov with your comments and suggestions. If you know of someone interested in this
information, please spread the word by using the link at the bottom to forward
this newsletter. Past newsletters can be found on the News & Publications section of our website. |
Howling Halloween at Pioneers Park Nature Center
It's going to be a BIG week of Halloween celebrations at
the Nature Center, check out all the possibilities here.
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AmeriCorps Helping in the Core
Ten AmeriCorps members kicked off their year of service on September 4, 2010. They are working together to offer new and exciting programs, while also enhancing existing programs at "F" Street Community Center, McPhee CLC, and Everett CLC.
Everett CLC Reach for the Stars members are Suzanna Perez and Lindsay Boyd. McPhee CLC Reach for the Stars members are Travis Benesch and Morgan Godemann. Go Green Nebraska member is
Steph Custer. "F" Street Reach for the Stars members are Matt
Abrams, Maggie Mitteis and Danielle Smith. The Go Green Nebraska members
at "F" Street are Holly Campbell and Jeffrey Eggerss. Campbell,
Eggerss, Perez and Abrams are starting their second year of service, while the others are beginning their first year.
For more information about AmeriCorps and how they help Lincoln Parks & Recreation, please click here.
The ten AmeriCorps members serving in the core of Lincoln. Morgan Godemann is not pictured.  |
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Garden Volunteers
Every Tuesday and Thursday, Garden Gab volunteers meet from 9-12. Volunteers include community members who love the gardens,
master gardeners seeking certification hours, and others who want to give
back to the community. The program now hosts 10-15 volunteers per week. Each session varies, ranging from
assisting Parks & Recreation staff with re-planting, weeding, dead heading,
raking rock, mulching or other activities.
The Garden Docent program is available for volunteers who assist Parks &
Recreation staff with providing tours to the public and informing visitors
about the gardens. This program hosts docents in the gardens on most
weekends and at varied times during the week. Groups of any size are
welcome to arrange a free tour of the Sunken Gardens, Hamann Rose Garden, or the Strolling Garden by contacting 441-8267 or 441-8248.
For more information about these programs please click here or contact Steve Nosal at 441-8267 or snosal@lincoln.ne.gov.
Garden Gab Volunteers and Garden Docents  |
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Prairie Immersion Program
By the time the last classroom visits the Nature Center on
October 15, 1215 LPS 4th graders will have experienced the Prairie Immersion program in 2010. Funded by the Hugo A. and Thelma Aspegren
Charitable Trust, the students have a full day to discover the rich history,
the natural diversity and the breath-taking beauty the tallgrass prairie
has to offer. In their words:
Perfect place to be
Rain is scarce
Acres of grass
Insects are cool up close
Raging fires
Indiangrass so tall
Elk on top of the hill
Prairie Immersion program  |
On Tuesday, October 5, a perfect fall morning on the
prairie, Mayor Chris Beutler, Dr. Marilyn Moore, Lincoln Public Schools
Superintendent for Instruction, Lynne Ireland from the State Historical
Society, and Jim McDermott of the Nebraska State Fair Board joined Terry
Genrich, Natural Resources Manager for Lincoln Parks and Recreation, as well as
Mrs. Henn, Heritage School teacher, and 4th graders from Arnold
School, representatives of the Lincoln Cares Program, members of the Lincoln Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and Lincoln Parks Foundation,
Friends of Pioneers Park Nature Center, Nature Center staff, and interested
members of the public to dedicate Heritage School and the Hudson Cabin. Both buildings were formerly at State Fair Park and were moved to the Nature
Center after the re-location of the fair.
Hudson Cabin dedication  | Heritage School dedication  |
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Legacy Tree Grove Planting Ceremony
A sun kissed autumn afternoon welcomed visitors to Antelope Park on Wednesday
October 6th for the first ever Legacy Tree Grove Planting Ceremony.
The Legacy Tree Program was established in 2009 by the Lincoln Parks Foundation and Lincoln Parks & Recreation Department. This program was created to
accommodate the many requests received from the public to honor their community
or a loved one through a gift of a tree to city parks, trails, and green
spaces. This program offers $100, $250, and $500 levels of participation.
Donations support engraved bricks at the Legacy Tree Groves in Antelope Park
and Mahoney Park and the planting of new trees and replacement trees throughout
the parks system. The first year of the program welcomed strong
participation and approximately 25 memorials and gifts were purchased. These generous gifts allowed a grove of 5 oaks and 11 flowering crabs to be
planted in Antelope Park and an additional 30 trees throughout Lincoln's parks. A spring planting ceremony will be held at Mahoney Park for new gifts and each
fall we will return to Antelope Park for the fall planting ceremony. $50,000.00
in initial funding and matching grants were made available thanks to the
generosity of the Ken Good Environmental Enhancement Fund and the Marjorie
Barstow Environmental Enhancement Fund held at the Lincoln Community
Foundation. To learn more about this program please visit www.lincolnparks.org.
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