From time to time we will be posting community service information that seems especially useful to BPC supporters. See below for information from the College Hill Association about electronics recycling this weekend, January 14th, at Hope High School.

CHNA Electronics Recycling Collection Event – Saturday, January 28 9AM – 1PM Hope High School

A great opportunity to recycle all of those electronic components that we all have in our homes! Finally a great solution!

CHNA has secured Metech Recycling for this event. Metech provides secure shredding of all data containing devices. In addition to data devices, they accept: Audio & Video Tapes, Batteries, Cameras, Cell Phones, Circuit Boards, Complete Computer Systems, Computer Mouse, Copy Machines, CPU, Data Cartridges, DLT Tapes, Docking Stations, External Drives, Modems, Fax Machines, Floppy Drives, Keyboards, LCD Flat Screens, Laptops, Microwaves, Monitors, Printers, Projectors, Scanners, Slide Projectors, Stereos, Speakers, Tape Drives, Telephone Systems, TVs, VCR/DVD Players, Work Stations. Mark the date on your calendar. Additional information to follow.

http://www.collegehillna.com/chna_updates_news.html

Although bad weather discouraged some volunteers on Trail Day, October 1st, there were still enough to accomplish a lot of the plan devised by the Parks Department and the Conservancy.

Three Appalachian Mountain Club volunteers extended the split-rail fence around the northeastern bluff all the way to the steps. Another half dozen carried heavy logs and staked them in place to narrow and line trails that have widened over the years. Volunteers from the Conservancy and Friends of Blackstone Woods worked hard.

Alas, the photos are blurry, but in at least one–with project organizer Chris Shafer in the foreground pounding in a stake–it’s because the AMC’ers were working so hard and fast as well. And the Parks Department sent half a dozen men to cut or grind trees felled by Hurricane Irene. Supplies were purchased with a grant to the AMC from the Department of Environmental Management.

What was accomplished? More of the trail definition park visitors have been requesting and more reclamation of areas vulnerable to erosion so that plants can again anchor the soil there. The Parks Department plans to bring in loam for pilot projects in a few key areas.

Our hearty thanks to everyone who participated. We look forward to the follow-up workday now scheduled for October 22nd. Rain date is October 23rd.

A family celebration, presented by the Friends of India Point Park.  For further details see here.

Earlier this summer 40 City Year Rhode Island volunteers, aged 18-22, spent the better part of a day working in the Conservation District. They tackled an enormous patch of Japanese knotweed on Irving Avenue and River Road, leaving an easier job for Conservancy invasive species experts to follow up on through the rest of the summer and fall. In the central woodland they went after bittersweet with some success and wheel barrowed mulch to the new habitat planting.

Second-year volunteer Eric Calogianes pauses from his job of disentangling a bittersweet vine from a sapling to talk about his experience in a Providence school.

Zoo Camp on the Move came to the aid of the Blackstone Parks Conservancy on August 3rd this summer, once again tackling invasive species such as bittersweet. Aged 14 to 17, the volunteers are longtime Zoo Camp participants and seasoned weeders. They love the woods and understand the problem of invasive plants.

At the end of a long, dusty morning Ryan Mobley, Roger Laflanne, and Patrick Pollard wrestled an impressive euonymous (“burning bush”) root out of the ground and held up their prize as ospreys shrieked overhead.

Afterward, BPC president ex officio Anna Browder explained the habitat planting at York Pond and the kids spotted a hummingbird and monarch butterflies dancing among the native plants. The next word on everyone’s lips was “lunch.”

Over 300 people of all ages relaxed to the music of two swing ensembles– the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School and the Faculty Jazz Band June 29th. Some brought picnics while others streamed across the street to Pascal’s gourmet truck.

The next concert, performed by a swing/jazz/Latin group called the Automatics, is Wednesday, July 13, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Chairs are available, but feel free to bring your own chair or blanket to the Trolley Shelter on Blackstone Boulevard at the corner of Elmgrove Avenue.

Last December, while searching for ways the Blackstone Parks Conservancy and dog-owners might work together in Blackstone Woods, Susan Olson, Elena Riverstone and Jane Peterson decided to ask the Narragansett Boat Club to co-sponsor a photo exhibit depicting the Seekonk River and the woodland and ponds. It was Elena’s photographs of mushrooms and lichen that sparked the idea that enthusiasm for the woods and the waterfront might be shared by many: through their eyes.The resulting show, “Through Our Eyes: Woodland and Water,” drew a festive crowd to the boat club on a perfect Sunday afternoon in June. Guests floated from the workout room transformed into a sparkling exhibit space, into the interior where food and drink awaited, then out to the north deck, where guitarist David Soltz played softly.

Heron at York Pond, by Frank Kahr

As expected, a wide range of visions depicting the woods, ponds, and river suggest that people see different moments of beauty in these precious resources. The Blackstone Parks Conservancy plans to continue collaborating with as many partners as possible to find ways to enhance their protection.

A silent auction of Frank Kahr’s dazzling “Heron at York Pond” was won by artist and rower Sharon Cutts. Frank is a longtime amateur photographer and a rower as well.

We wish to thank all the photographers who shared their visions of the Blackstone Park Conservation District and the Seekonk River: Melissa Bagga, Anna Browder, Alden Bumstead, Bill Braden, James Dealy, Shirley Dimatteo, Elliot Esterman, Jonathan Ford, Frank Kahr, Alyssa Morin, Jane Peterson, Elena Riverstone, Karston Schultz, Mel Shelly, Jamie Worrell, Kimberly Worrell.

In addition, we thank the following people who pitched in to make this celebration a success:

The Blackstone Parks Conservancy, especially Gale Aronson, Carrie Drake,

Anthony Hollingshead, and Shirley Kesirian

Lucy Lepreau and the Quaker Meeting

The Narragansett Boat Club, especially Dan Gorriaran, Barbara Green, Kim Worrell, Bill Twaddell, John Ryan, Ruth Berenson, and Sharon Cutts

Spring Maple, by Alden Bumstead

Michael Glossup

Jason Dexter

Rachel Blackman

Byron Olson

India House

Whole Foods

East Side Marketplace

After the Rain, by Elena Riverstone

Snowy Woods, by Mel Shelly

On June 30, 9 to 11, from 9:00 to 11:00, five volunteers continued the work on Paterson Street, adding to the mountains of brush and bags of black swallow wort already awaiting pick-up.

Two volunteers also learned enough to remove invasive species in their own yards:

- Shirley brought along a vine from her garden and asked whether it was black swallow wort, because it was climbing the fence and the shrubs and trees and seemed invasive. We identified it as Asian Bittersweet, an invasive plant that grows all over the East Side, and now she can remove it with confidence.

- Sally went home after our last work session and identified black swallow wort in her neighborhood, which she removed.

Our free summer concert series is back!  Please join us for some great music at the trolley shelter, located on Blackstone Boulevard at the intersection with Elmgrove Avenue.

Concerts will be held on alternate Wednesdays, starting June 29,  from 6:00 – 7:30. If it rains the concert will be moved to the following Wednesday, but check this site to confirm.

Limited seating will be available for early birds, and there is plenty of room for your own folding chairs and  picnic blankets.  Enjoy dining while you listen?  Food trucks will be available or you can bring your own treats.

This year’s series:

June 29

RI Phil Youth Jazz Ensemble (big band repertoire)

RI Phil Jazz Faculty, featuring vocalist Debra Mann (a variety of jazz styles)

July 13

The Automatics (blues, swing, rhythm and blues and jazz).   Manny Vincente, lead singer, blues harp; Jeff Stanhope, guitar, John DeBossu, bass; Dave May, drums.

July 27

Latin Jazz (featuring music from Cuba and Puerto Rico)

August 10

Mike Miller’s Band (swing music with flair)

August 24

Mike Miller’s Band (swing music with flair)

This year’s concerts are funded by Butler Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, and Home and Hospice Care of Rhode Island.

Seven volunteers turned out for work from 9:00 to 11:00 on Saturday, June 18. Some levered the root systems of this potentially overwhelming plant out of the strip along the edge of Blackstone Park Conservation District bordering Paterson Street. Weed diggers and sometimes shovels were the tools of choice.

Other volunteers pruned lower branches on shrubs in order to get at the vines hidden under the shrubbery. They also removed Rosa Multiflora, another invasive species.

The work along the 300 to 400 foot strip is not yet complete. When done, bare soil will be seeded and shrubs will be mulched.

Please watch for an opportunity posted here to join us for another two hour effort. You will learn to identify and control a vine that may be in your neighborhood already. One of our volunteers just did in her own neighborhood!