Archive for December, 2015

The 2015 Martin-Fontana Parks Association website in review

Annual Review image

Check it out, you’ll find lots of interesting statistics such as:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. Our website was viewed about 5,000 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

There were 358 pictures uploaded; that’s about 7 pictures per week.

Click here to see the complete report.

Our gift to you. A new fence for Island C.

The new fence around Island C in Jeffrey Fontana Park.

The new fence around Island C in Jeffrey Fontana Park.

Well we did have a little rain that muddied up the place, but we got the job done!

Thanks to the Martin-Fontana Parks Association for their support of this project; but a special thanks to the well-oiled machine that put the fence in today….. in record time… and with uniformity of thought!

The fence crew from left to right. Richard Grialou, Larry Sasscer, Sunny Wagstaff, Pat Pizzo, and Dave Poeschel.

The fence crew from left to right. Richard Grialou, Larry Sasscer, Sunny Wagstaff, Pat Pizzo, and Dave Poeschel.

Vince, Patrict, Larry, & Richard hard at work.

Vince, Patrict, Larry, & Richard hard at work.

Thanks Sunny, Larry, Dave, Rich, Vince and Pat.  The fence really does look good…. If you get a chance take a gander!

*Photos provided by Susan Mosher and Sunny Wagstaff

Saving the Monarch Butterfly

On Saturday morning, December 5th, a group of volunteers from the Martin-Fontana Parks Association (both officers & residents) and folks associated with the SCV-CNPS, Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, planted a 20 by 4 foot patch IMG_0264of the Monarch caterpillar habitat plant, Asclepias Fascicularis, a California Narrowleaf Milkweed. Most of you are aware that the population of the West-Coast Monarch butterflies has dramatically decreased, due in large part to the near elimination of the host plant.

Young plants were planted and seeds sown. This patch constitutes another step in our goal to establish a corridor of Monarch habitats through our two parks. We already have Dave Poeschel’s Butterfly Garden that was established March 2014 on the west-side of Golf Creek in the middle of Jeffrey Fontana Park. Dave has extended plantings from the Golf Creek bridge both east and west. Soon, patches of milkweed will be established from the Fontana Tot Lot to Almaden Expressway. We now have three patches of narrow-leaf milkweed planted in the west end of T.J. Martin Park, located in the undisturbed meadow between the formal park and Coleman Avenue. Plans are underway to complete the ‘corridor’ concept through both parks and to perhaps extend the corridor beyond, along the PG&E right-of-way.

Thanks to all those that participated to make this happen. Special thanks to Dave Poeschel and Lee Pauser for collecting the seeds this last autumn. Thanks, also to Patrict Pizzo who arranged and directed this planting.

Won’t it be wonderful to see all those orange-black-and white Monarch Butterflies once again, visiting our parks and gardens?  monarch butterfly photo (2)