Category Archives: parks & gardens

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Ok, Oaklanders… I asked last week what dreams you had for our city and only one person responded.  And he kinda has to because we share a bed!

I have to say I was a bit disappointed. But hey, I’ve been busy too, so I understand that most folks are swamped once January rolls around… putting away the holiday decor, returning those god-awful sweaters your aunt bought you, digging through the backlog at work, and working off those chocolate-candy-booze-infused extra pounds.

But in all seriousness, the questions I posed in my last post were not rhetorical.  I really want to know. And in a certain sense, I believe it’s really important to form, verbalize, and actually announce to the world, our dreams/hopes/visions for the future.  Because a dream undeclared will likely remain just that… a dream.  But one voiced aloud, for one’s self and others to hear, ponder on, and process… is far more likely to be manifest into reality.

This is why Martin Luther King, Jr. announced his “dream” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to a crowd of hundreds of thousands (and millions more via television)… to effect real change.  Nearly five decades later, with enormous progress made, we still find inspiration in his words.

So tell me… what’s your vision for our city?  What would you like to see change?  And how will you help achieve that reality?

As a kickstart to this little exercise, I thought I’d mention that Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is this Monday, January 17th.  In addition to recognizing and honoring the incredible achievements of the civil rights leader, the day has also been set aside as a National Day of Service.

What is the MLK Day of Service?

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’”

Each year, Americans across the country answer that question by coming together on the King Holiday to serve their neighbors and communities.

The MLK Day of Service is a part of United We Serve, the President’s national call to service initiative. It calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems. (from MLKDay.gov)

There are lots of ways that each of us, individually, can contribute to make Oakland a better place for all of us, collectively, to live. OaklandSeen has a nice recap of some local service opportunities in their recent post Give Back / Pay Forward by Anna Edmondson.

  • One that I’m particularly inspired by is the Habitat Restoration project at Martin Luther King Jr. Shoreline.  Apropos, right?! Volunteers will help continue the beautification and restoration of this tidal marsh & shoreline habitat by planting native shrubs, weeding invasives, and removing debris.  Workday is Saturday, January 15th from 10am – 1pm. (map here)

Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline

I paid a recent visit to this park, my first time, and was really surprised.  I hadn’t even known of its existence as it’s located in a semi-industrial area near the Oakland Airport.  Similar to Cesar Chavez State Park near the Berkeley marina, the area was previously an old landfill (aka dump!), but since has been restored to its natural environment, comprising over 71 acres of tidal and seasonal wetlands.  Native plants have recolonized and many species of migrating and non-migrating birds have reestablished themselves.

Part of the larger 500 mile long San Francisco Bay Trail, there are miles of short walking/biking trails along the waterfront and through the marshes with several bridges and a large observation tower.  It’s a great spot for bird-lovers, but also for picnicking, fishing, hiking, and biking. Check it out…

east bay parks, east bay hiking trails, east bay wetland restoration
MLK Jr. Regional Shoreline, east bay birdwatching spots
wetland observation tower, observation platform, shoreline observation platform
wildlife at MLK regional shoreline park
marsh birds, east bay bird watching
East Bay Shoreline Park, East Bay Wetlands Restoration, Oakland Parks
Walking Trail at MLK Jr. Regional Shoreline, bridge across san leandro creek
oakland bird watching spots, east bay bird watching spots
great egret, east bay marsh birds
shoreline trails, east bay shoreline trail
East Bay Wetland Restoration, Martin Luther King Regional Shoreline

Patience Grasshopper

Awhile back you got spiders.  Today you get grasshopper.  Just because.

long horned grasshopper, california grasshopper, grasshopper photograph

This little bugger was on one of my tomato cages. As a gardener, I know I’m not supposed to like these hungry herbivores, munching away on my carefully tended goods. But I can’t help but dig them… they’re so cute.

I’ve been visited by vibrant green grasshoppers like this from time to time in my garden, both in West Oakland and here in the lower hills. I decided, one seemingly mundane day, that one of these visits was a sign. But of what?

I did a bit of quick internet research to discover that grasshoppers (and locusts, which are a type of grasshopper) figure into cultural lore for many centuries, especially in Asia.

  • Regarded in China as symbols of good luck, longevity, happiness, prosperity, fertility, and virtue (wow, that’s a lot), families often kept them as pets.
  • In ancient Greece, they represented symbols of status and even immortality – Athenian women would wear decorative hair pieces and jewelry featuring the figure of the grasshopper as an indication of nobility.
  • And the Japanese cherished the songs produced by these insects (particularly the long-horned grasshopper, which I believe this one is), and considered them to be symbols of good luck.

As I lay in bed before falling asleep, I often hear the lovely chirping of what I thought was a cricket.  I now think it’s likely this little guy (or gal).  Woohoo little grasshopper!  You can come visit anytime…

long horned grasshopper, green grasshopper, photograph of green grasshopper

Upcoming in Uptown…

So there’s much ado in the Uptown District of Oaktown and it’s all pretty fun and exciting stuff…

uptown sculpture garden, uptown art park

First up, an Art Park / Sculpture Garden. Becks’ Living in the O blog posted about this news late last week with We did it! The Uptown sculpture garden will soon be a reality.  Her post tells the story of a bunch of scrappy folks (activists, bloggers, and blog readers) who fought the good fight against plans to install a large parking lot in the now vacant lot on Telegraph [photo above], in favor of something far more interesting. Against all odds – they were frequently told there were no other viable options for the lot and a motion to approve it was even unanimously passed – they pressed on and proved that a few committed individuals really can make a difference.  And what a difference this will make…

With a $200,000 grant from the NEA to help make the art park a reality:

“The park will include rotating temporary exhibitions of public sculpture, newly commissioned public art projects, and an amphitheater for events by arts and community organizations… [and] the division is partnering with Black Rock Arts Foundation to exhibit works of public art, many by Oakland artists.”

How cool is that? Super cool.

oaksterdam, oakland pot school, new mural for uptown

Next up, a new mural for Uptown. Possibly.  I’m not sure of the status of this project but I was informed a few weeks ago that Oaksterdam University was interested in painting over one of their walls (all white with green lettering) with a more artistic mural depicting the cultural richness of the Uptown area. My understanding is the project was slated to be completed by the end of the year, and that the hope was for local Oakland artists to produce the work.  I heard there was going to be an open proposal process but haven’t heard any specifics since… I’ll keep you posted.

Also, a restored street clock. Remember my post Past & Present about the old Art Deco street clock at 16th and Broadway? Well, apparently the clock is in the process of being restored (this info in from Naomi Schiff, thanks!).  I happened by there a couple of weeks ago with my beau… we were on our way to a show at the Fox, and I said, “Hey!  The clock is gone!”  He thought I had the wrong corner, but I knew I was right.  Hah.  I can’t wait to see the finished product…

And lastly, how about a new Parkway Speakeasy? Ok, this is not a for sure deal, but a group of film lovers, community activists, and entrepreneurs are rallying to re-establish the sorely missed Parkway Picture Pub Speakeasy Theater, and one of their proposed locations is Uptown (they’ve cited difficulties in negotiating with the landlords of the old location).

I, for one, think Uptown would be a fabulous location for a small dual screen theater specializing in eclectic films.  If you think so too, check out their site The New Parkway for more information including multiple ways to get involved and help make this a reality.

Remember, individuals can make a difference.  Go Uptown!

There once was a garden here…

I was in my old hood the other day and passed a fenced in triangle of property at the intersection of 32nd and Union streets. I’ve driven or biked past this spot hundreds of times over the years.

It’s right in front of a couple loft developments, an older converted building called West Clawson Lofts (the building once housed the Clawson Elementary School ) and a newer development called Magnolia Row, built from scratch on the neighboring empty lots in the early 2000’s.

There once was a community garden installed in the small lot. I thought it was wonderful. I never knew who installed it there, but it existed for a year, maybe more, and consisted of raised vegetable beds surrounded by more ornamental flowering plants. One of the cool features was the reuse of old bicycle wheels (without the tires) along the chain link fence. They were used as trellising to encourage climbing plants (like morning glory) to obscure the ugly fence. I thought it was a lovely addition to the neighborhood.

But soon after it was established it was removed. My information is only hearsay so I can’t verify its validity, but someone told me that there was a dispute over the ownership of the lot and that, apparently, the rightful owner was intent upon installing a coffee stand/shop there.

I thought, well it’s a shame the garden is gone. But a coffee stand could be cool too.

It never came.

Years went by, and at one point it seemed promising as a small wood shack was erected inside the fence. But nothing ever followed.

And so for years, we West Oakland neighbors were deprived of our pretty little community garden, and instead, were left with a ramshackle hut inside a weed and litter strewn lot locked inside a chain-link fence. sigh.

empty lot west oakland, vacant lot art installation, west oakland graffiti

But recently some artists have taken measures to reclaim the lot, repurposing the walls of the hut as outdoor gallery space for their art. It currently houses a number of pieces but it looks like the bulk of it was jointly installed by a number of artists working collaboratively: Ras Terms, Dead Eyes, and Safety First included. I’m not sure about other participants.

Ras Terms, Safety First, Dead Eyes, Turnip, empty lot art

collaborative art installation, west oakland graffiti art, empty lot 32nd street

safety first graffiti art, safety first west oakland art

I hope more artists follow suit.

And who knows… maybe one day we could have our garden back too. A peaceful green space to sit and reflect upon the art…