Winter is almost over!

After a winter overdose of snow, cold, and ice, spring is coming fast.  The Volunteers have been hard at work both out of doors and inside during the past three months. 

Outside, members have continued to work with the NYC Parks & Recreation Gardener assigned to Isham Park.  Several long neglected planting areas have been cleared of weeds and pruned.  Garbage has been collected, damages were monitored and reported to Parks, so that repairs could be made in a timely fashion during the ice and snow.

The fight to remove Porcelainberry vine http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/ambr1.htm continues.  This invasive has sprung up all over Isham Park, along with Garlic Mustard http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/alpe.htm, and the saplings of Mulberry http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/brpa1.htm and Norway Maple http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/acpl.htm trees.

This coming Sunday, April 3rd, the first work day for Volunteers for Isham Park will be held at the north western corner of Isham Park along Park Terrace West near 215th Street.  This will be to clear Isham Park's northern barrier chain link fence of all of the species described above.

Please come out to assist between 10:00am and 2:00pm.   The Partnerships for Parks and NYC Parks will provide tools and supplies.  The Parks Gardener will also be with us for the first 2 hours to instruct and assist.

It is very important to control these plants before growing season is truly under way.

Inwood chosen by the Historic Districts Council for "Six to Celebrate"

The Historic Districts Council of New York recently announced that Volunteers for Isham Park successfully submitted Inwood as one of the communities chosen in their new annual advocacy program "Six to Celebrate" (see link below for more information):

http://www.hdc.org/6tocelebrate2011.htm

Happy 2011 to all from Volunteers for Isham Park!

Fall 2010 Volunteers for Isham Park activities

Last summer, the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation assigned a gardener on Wednesdays to Isham Park.  A few members of Volunteers for Isham Park have been working with the gardener on a weekly basis, as possible.

For It's My Park Day in Isham Park, which was held on Sunday October 31st, the NYC Parks & Recreation Gardener lead the planting of small shrubs and bulbs around the Isham Memorial Benches.

Isham Park is 98 years old today September 28, 2010

Today is the anniversary of the original celebration of the gift of Isham Park to New York City.  The park is 98 years old today, Tuesday, September 28, 2010.

View from Isham Park to the Hudson River and the New Jersey Palisades in 1913
Credit: Archives of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation 

Julia Isham Taylor was the generous donor of the first of what turned into a series of parcels of land by Isham family members in honor of her father, William Bradley Isham, who died in 1909.  Mr. Isham had owned and occupied the northern Manhattan land since 1864.

A New York Times article, dated March 24, 1912, describes one fact all but unknown today: that the gift of Isham Park preceded the city's purchase of Inwood Hill Park.  In fact, news of the gifts of land for Isham Park helped to inspire support for the purchase of the land that became Inwood Hill Park.

According to Parks Commissioner Stover, as quoted in The New York Times on the day of the Civic Celebration in 1912, the gift of Isham Park was the first gift of private land for the purpose of a public park in Manhattan. This fact and much of the historic information gathered on Isham Park can be credited to Gail Addiss who is a founding member of the group "Volunteers for Isham Park," formed in June 2009.

The Volunteers are dedicated to the history and physical improvement of Isham Park, in conjunction with the Partnerships for Parks, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the City Parks Foundation, and existing Isham Park volunteer groups, such as Bruce Reynolds Memorial Garden, and independent gardeners.  

In addition to our other parks related activities, the members of Volunteers for Isham Park are beginning to collect funds and plan to hold a centennial celebration of the Gift of Isham Park on September 28, 2012.  Please watch for related events over the next two years.  If interested in becoming a member of the Volunteers or in making a tax deductible donation to "Volunteers for Isham Park," please contact us at: volunteersforishampark@gmail.com.

Black Rat Snake seen in PTW Margin Garden is harmless and good for rodent control

This morning at about 8:15am, as I passed the margin garden on Park Terrace West, I saw a three to four foot long black snake fully extended among the plants. The snake looked healthy.  After informing the other Volunteers about the siting, Steve sent a link to a photo of a Black Rat Snake http://www.esf.edu/pubprog/images/snakes/blackrat.jpg

Also here is a link to a fact sheet about such snakes:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ReptilesAmphibians/Facts/FactSheets/Blackratsnake.cfm

They are non-venomous and good for rodent control. 
So we hope no one tries to do away with it, as we benefit from its assistance with controlling rats and mice.

Read this week's "Manhattan Times" article about tree damages and removals in Bruce's Garden, Isham Park, Inwood

To read local news reporting about the tree damages and removals described earlier this blog, see the following:
 
Manhattan Times interview/article on pages 8 and 10 of this week's paper issue:
August 18th-24, 2010, vol. 11, No. 33, "Community" section, heading: "Inwood," title:

Wind from July Bronx tornado costs Inwood's Bruce's Garden 11 trees

or go to the e-version: http://www.manhattantimesnews.com/2010/wind-from-july-bronx-tornado-costs-inwoods-bruces-garden-11-trees.html

Photograph of the removal of trees in Bruce's Garden

Tree removal in Bruce's Garden

This photograph shows how tall the Norway Maples (an invasive species) had become.  As they lost branches over the past year, they became more and more unstable.  Finally the wind that came over the top of the hill and the building to the north of them hit them a bit too
hard.