Randy Caruso has been helping out in the park since 2016. He leads a group of Bank of America employees through the #BofAVolunteers Program. In 2018, Randy turned his attention to the Lower Entrance of the park when a recreational path was being built adjacent to the Nature Park. The group has beat back a serious collection of weeds, moved mulch and rocks, and turned an unsightly mess into an inviting entrance. (Click here to view the plans for the Demonstration Garden that was constructed in the site.)
The following pictures show the progress we have made since 2018. We will plant the fourth and final bed of the Demonstration Garden next winter. We hope to further enhance the Lower Entrance with a large welcoming entrance sign and the creation of an oak/walnut woodland with an intermittently wet stream bed for infiltration of urban runoff. None of this would be possible without the help of so many volunteers. We South Pasadenans should be thankful for the hours of work they and others have contributed.
Volunteers start work at Lower Entrance (Sept 2018) 
Volunteers move rocks to create borders for garden beds 
Volunteers work on new garden beds (Mar 2019) 
Moving rocks (May 2022) 
Outline of beds emerges (Sept 2022) 
Volunteers working on fourth bed (Oct 2022) 
Volunteers installing the Demonstration Garden (Jan 2023) 
First spring with new plantings and wildflowers (June 2023) 
Volunteers creating the fourth garden bed at the Lower Entrance (Jan 2024) 
The fourth bed is completed and will be planted during the fall and winter of next year (Jan 2024) 
Fourth bed with rock border and mulch (Jan 2024)
For more information on volunteer opportunities check out Facebook, or WeedingWildSuburbia.com. Email barbara@weedingwildsuburbia.com with questions or to subscribe to Nature Park Newsletter (Mailchimp).