Posts Tagged ‘drought resistant plants’
8 Jan
We have lost Pat Pizzo
SCCAOR Sept 2014 work-party
Patrick Pizzo, a long time member and guiding light of the Martin-Fontana Parks Association passed away on the 2nd of January 2020 at the age of 75. If you look around our two parks, you will see many examples of his handy work. Pat was the brains & brawn behind all the native plant islands located in Jeffrey Fontana Park. His most extensive creation was the 5 Islands Project near Meridian Ave.
Here is a link to a 2017 article on Pat and his many accomplishments by Our City Forest: http://www.ourcityforest.org/blog/2017/1/4/the-remarkable-pat-pizzo?fbclid=IwAR0FxrzleTYiHR_K8EacOjotqX71Vqwz0FL73QNzDkcOXa7bj6GjCKz1pU8
To view a larger image please click on any photo below:
Island A Oct 2011
Native Plant Island C Construction Oct 2011
Restoration Committee Jan 2012
Bench Dedication Aug 2012
Earthday April 2013
Island A fence installation June 2013
Beautiful Day – May 17, 2014
Heart of the Park Sept 2014
Butterfly Garden planting Dec 2015
Island C fence installation Dec 2015
On Feb. 8th 2018, Patrick was awarded the status of “Park Heroes” at the State of the City address.
5 Islands Dedication May 2018
SCCAOR Jan 2019
SCCAOR May 2019
3 Jul
An Aerial Overview of some of Jeffrey Fontana Park’s Native Plant Islands
Rich Grialou, Pat Pizzo, David Poeschel, Lee Pauser, Vince Piazzisi, and Sunny Wagstaff
Thanks to Patrick Pizzo, shown above second from the left, for providing us with this “Bumble Bee” view of several of the islands located in Jeffrey Fontana Park.
Please enjoy as you buzz along
9 May
TJ Martin Beautification Project
Thanks to Scout Jason Graves and his Eagle Scout project, we will be seeing more beautiful native plants blooming under one of the electrical transmission towers in TJ Martin Park. This particular tower is located between two towers in the middle just across from Glowing Court and Oakglen Way.
Scout Jason Graves on the right along with fellow Scout Brian Zayas
On the left is Larry Sasscer, MFPA project coordinator
Tilling the soil
The finished project
Awaiting the blooms to come
Helping with the project is Martin-Fontana Parks Association’s Project Coordinator, Larry Sasscer.
Thanks to Scout Jason and his fellow Scouts and volunteers for doing such a wonderful job. We will be looking forward to seeing the fruits of all their labor in the years to come.
25 Nov
A updated video of the Five Island Project by Patrick Pizzo
These Islands were created by the Martin-Fontana Parks Association (MFPA) to provide alternative landscape features using California Native plants. The five berms, or islands, are situated between Heritage Coast Live Oaks and were finalized in January of 2018. They are in Jeffrey Fontana Park just across the street from 1278 Oakglen Way in San Jose.
19 Jun
Have you been to the Islands yet?
Well you don’t have to go far. Just drop by Jeffrey Fontana Park at the corner of Meridian Avenue and Oakglen Way and you will see our beautiful 5 Islands display of native plants. Stroll around the Islands, find a plant you like, check the name on the plant ID signs, head to your nursery, and add one to your yard. Mother Nature will thank you.
Almaden Valley Nursery has a wonderful island displaying some of the plants they have available for sale.
Almaden Valley Nursery Island
Almaden Valley Nursery Island
Check out East Bay Wilds‘ Island:
Then there’s DGDG‘s Island:
And don’t forget PG&E‘s Island:
And last but not least, is the Presidents’ Island, so named for the past MFPA Presidents who we want to thank for their generous donations to make this island possible:
In fact we want to thank all these generous organizations for their contributions of either Plants or Monetary donations. We couldn’t do it without you.
Come on out. 
The Islands await you.
9 Feb
Our 2018 Membership Team is off and running
Thanks to the efforts of our hard-working team, six new members have been signed up to date; bringing our total membership count to 165. In addition, sponsorships are up as more people are becoming sponsors for the first time or our current sponsors are increasing their gifts. Thanks so much, members & sponsors. Without your generous donations where would we be? Just take a look around our parks to see where your money has been going. Lots of projects such as:
New Native Plant Islands
New trees planted
Piles of mulch spread
Lots of weeding
Remember, you too can become a member or sponsor by just selected the “memberships/sponsorships” menu selection at the top of our page and follow the directions provided. We are a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code so your donations are tax-deductible.
4 Dec
Our first of five Native Plant Islands is completed
Our first of five islands completed
Our first island visitors, Vince Piazzisi & great-grandaughter Amber
It may not look like much for now but just wait till Spring arrives and these plants get going. Thanks to our Martin-Fontana Parks Association members Larry Sasscer, Lee Pauser, Rod Carpenter, Vince Piazzisi, Sunny Wagstaff, Richard Grialou, Pat Pizzo, PRNS District 1 Manager, Dan Greeley and our Fontana West Park maintenance person, Mark Conklin, for all their hard work and expertise.
Rich Grialou, Pat Pizzo, David Poeschel, Lee Pauser, Vince Piazzisi, and Sunny Wagstaff
Mark Conklin
And, of course, a BIG Thank You to the sponsor of the island, Pete Veilleux of East Bay Wilds for providing over 40 plants. He didn’t just donate plants. He spent almost a day sorting, loading and driving them down here with a paid member of his staff, placing them and instructing the volunteer crew in rock and plant placement. What makes this distant nursery special is that Pete has a broad selection of CA native plants. Plants that cannot be found in other South Bay nurseries. Additionally, Pete has extensive experience with native plants. His use of native plants in containers is unique. We encourage anyone interested in CA native plants to visit Pete’s nursery, Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley, and the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley some weekend!
We still have four more islands to go and we have sponsors lined up for two of them. Look for more planting to come now that all the water lines have been completed. Sponsorships for two of these islands are still available for service clubs or community groups.
For more info please contact Martin-Fontana Parks Association President, Rod Carpenter for details at 408-997-2174.
27 Nov
Five Island Project update
Volunteer Dave Poeschel and PRNS employee Mark Conklin
Early on the morning of Nov 13th. a new Parks Recreation and Neighborhood Services employee, Mark Conklin, met with Martin-Fontana Parks Association President, Rod Carpenter, members Dave Poeschel, Sunny Wagstaff, Rich Grialou and Project Coordinator, Patrick Pizzo. Mark was there to show us how to install the water manifolds that will be used to irrigate the five islands. These five islands are located in the West end of Jeffrey Fontana Park. Mark was there to show us on how to install the water manifolds for each of the five islands. These will provide the connections for the drip lines.
Note: For more info on the project see Five Island Project Becomes a Reality in Jeffrey Fontana Park.
Mark Conklin of PRNS
Dave Poeschel and Patrick Pizzo
Each of the five islands now have irrigation systems. The next step is to have our ‘sponsors’ commit to a planting date. For that day, we will ask for volunteers to come help our sponsors plant their plants and lay-out the drip-line, emitter-tubing. We’ll have to spend a little time too, spreading the wood bark on the islands after planting… to keep weeds down, lower surface temperature and to hold moisture in the soil.
Thanks to Project Coordinator, Patrick Pizzo, for putting all these pipes together in his garage at home and those volunteers who spent about five hours getting the job done. A BIG thank you to Mark for helping us. Great work, guys!
Pat Pizzo with his pipes
The sponsors have been contacted and we have asked them for pending dates,
suitable to their schedules.
29 Mar
Jeffrey Fontana Park’s Native Plant Islands
Before they were islands of rocks:
Island C 2012
Island A March 2010
Thanks to MFPA, we now have islands of beauty.
Island C now
Island A March 2015
Patrick Pizzo, one of Martin-Fontana Parks Association coordinators, has produced a video explaining what plants are in these islands. Thanks, Patrick!
Enjoy!
MARTIN-FONTANA PARKS ASSOCIATION 