August 2015 Newsletter
FBMP Interview with Mayor Cook
Natalie Shaw
Tigard’s Mayor,
John Cook, met with some Tigard High School (THS) students for an exclusive
interview touching on the Bull Mountain Park and its future. Mayor Cook has been in office for two years
and a little over 15 days, not that he is counting of course. He savors the days that he can make such
positive impacts on the community. The students he met with were all
representing the park from differing roles, both Jacob Chesler and Everett
Dalton completed their Eagle Scout Projects in the park, and Natalie Shaw and
Meredith Erickson represented the National Honor Society and Key Club at THS,
respectively.
To begin the interview, we asked vision
questions about the future of the park and the connecting trails in Tigard.
Mayor Cook is proud of the new developments around the Fanno Creek Trail. There
are currently five projects for new segments that are going to be developed,
and four of them are funded by grants. The Grant Street to Woodard park grant was
just approved ($3.9 MM), and those funds will be available in a few years. In the future, there is a hope for
incorporating interesting art that would draw people to the trails and “taggers”
would be commissioned to create artistic pieces that would take otherwise blank
or uninteresting surfaces and transform them into works of art. When the Fanno Creek Trail development is completed,
the goal is to be able to walk all the way from Tualatin to Beaverton. Along
the Fanno Creek trail, Mayor Cook wants to implement more trail finding signs to
help promote the “walk-ability” of Tigard.
When considering other changes
that could be made for improved “walk-ability”, there is a need for widened
bike lanes and narrower driving lanes, with no center line, to help force
drivers to slow down on roads that are near the trails. Another aspect of improving pedestrian safety
is having a row of parallel parking spaces, sidewalks, and then some planted
trees along sidewalks to help create a practical barrier between car traffic
and pedestrians.
From left to right: Toraj Khavari, Meredith Erickson, Mayor Cook, Natalie Shaw, Everett Dalton, Linda Shaw, and Jacob Chesler
Nature Play areas, and their institution in
local parks, have become something of a controversial topic. Parents of the young
kids that would be the target audience for Nature Play areas, grew up with swings
and merry-go-rounds in their local parks, and fondly remember all of their experiences
on such equipment; when choosing a park for their child to play in, they will
commonly choose the park with the bright blue swing set and coordinating teeter
totter. Yet, with this younger
generation, the opportunity for playing in nature, climbing trees, over rocks
and through streams, becomes increasingly difficult due to the concerns over
the ecosystem and its preservation. Nature play areas are a way for kids to safely
explore what nature has to offer. In
order to help bridge the gap between nature play areas and traditional playgrounds,
Mayor Cook wants to blend the two together; he believes that there should be a
mixture so that the parks have a little bit of everything.
When asked about Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) accessibility in our local parks for children with disabilities,
Mayor Cook believes that there should be fast action toward implementing more
ADA accessible green spaces and parks. Last year's “If I was Mayor…” contest winner
made a profound impact on him when a third grade girl said that she would use
her power as Mayor to institute new parks with new kinds of accommodations for
people with disabilities. She thought, not only about the children with
disabilities, but also the disabled parents who may want to push their child(ren)
on the swing, and brought forward a new angle on the accessibility of
equipment. Able-bodied or not, a parent
should have the opportunity to push their child on a swing set.
Mayor Cook is proud to continually support
the work and projects that have been happening in Bull Mountain Park and other
parks in and around the Tigard community.
Something he would want to see is more lead time or notice for events
that need assistance from the city. When
schedules are made two or more weeks in advance, the city departments have a
better chance to help as they can properly schedule deliveries and other support.
Mayor Cook would also like to see an
educational aspect to the parks. He seeks a way to educate park users,
especially the youth, of the various plant species, the ecosystem, and why it
is important to stay on trails, not pick flowers, etc. Learning about invasive species and why they
are destructive, kids may take a keen interest in the preservation of our
parks; this would be an extremely positive outcome of such education.
The city of Tigard has purchased $23M worth
of undeveloped parkland in the last few years it has to maintain; with no
official coordinator, volunteer efforts are hard to integrate. Mayor Cook says that it is easier if a
volunteer identifies the scope of a project and then makes a proposal to the
city where they can then approve it. He
would love to see volunteer efforts augment the efforts of the city. So if one
is in need of a project, go walk the trails of the Tigard community and identify
something that you wish to change (and are capable of changing); then propose a
project to the city for acceptance (or not). Mayor Cook applauds all of the volunteer
efforts around the community, and wishes to sincerely thank the concerned
members of the community that are proposing and instituting positive changes
around Tigard. He concluded the
interview by simply saying, “Thank you, and keep it up!”
The interviewers would like to thank Mayor Cook
for giving us the opportunity to interview him.
He shared with us how each of our
clubs could help contribute to the parks in and around Tigard and what he desires
to institute. We were all proud to
represent the THS National Honor Society, Boy Scouts of America, and THS Key
Club at this session with Mayor Cook.
Phantom Orchids in Bloom
Bull Mountain Park, June 2015
Cephalanthera austiniae is a species of
orchid known by the common names phantom orchid and snow orchid because the
entire plant is white except for a few yellow markings on the flowers. The cephalanthera
austiniae is native to the western United States (California, Oregon,
Washington, and Idaho), and to
British Columbia, Canada. Cephalanthera austiniae is the only species of genus Cephalanthera
native to the Western Hemisphere. This is also the only Cephalanthera species
entirely dependent on symbiotic mycorrhizae for its nutrition. This
mycoheterotrophic orchid has nonchlorophyll, so it makes no energy for itself. The
plant is becoming scarce as its habitat, dense, isolated forest,
is decreasing. (Information excerpted from Wikipedia.)
Come Grow with Us……….. Naturally!
Sarah Soper
It is summertime in the park! I hope everyone
is staying cool in the shade. In July, we celebrated the Nature in Neighborhood
(NIN) Capital Grant approval from the Metro Council for $123,943. Irene Khavari, April Olbrich, Linda Shaw and
I were in attendance for the festivities in Cornelius. It was an amazing day of
sharing, learning, and inspiration among all the grantees. We felt honored to take part in the day and
to hear from past recipients of the NIN Capital Grants. Our region is fortunate
to have leaders and citizens so involved in preserving nature for the next
generations.
From left to right: Irene
Khavari, April Olbrich, and Sarah Soper
Progress update: We have completed the tool
shed, bathroom shelter, and two benches on the east side of the meadow. We have transferred these completed projects to the City of Tigard.
The next phase of the park development is
already in motion. A Request For Proposal (RFP) was sent out in July, and we
hope to have a selection decision by the end of August. A copy of the RFP is posted on the Yahoo
website (navigate to Files > Nature Play Projects Information). With the award of the Metro grant, we are
inspired to continue our fundraising campaign. We had a successful Picnic in
the Park in June and a Burgerville Community Partners fundraiser evening at
Tigard’s Burgerville in July. Our total dollar amount raised so far is
approximately $150,000. We submitted a grant proposal to Nike and we are
waiting a response. We could not do any of this without the volunteers and the
generous donations from the following:
Donors and Sponsors
Anonymous (One family, Visionary Donor)
Ken and Joan Austin (Patron Donor)
Mike and Cheryl Druding (Patron Donor)
Jake Egger (Patron Donor)
Greatbatch Inc. (Patron Donor)
Paul and Sarah Messenger (Patron Donor)
Pearson Financial Group (Legacy Donor)
Bonnie Conger
Conrad Pearson
Corporate Donor
Dan Muro of RE/MAX
John and Steve Barker/Barker Construction
M. Crew - Enrique Marguez
Parr Lumber
Pacific West Roofing
Tigard Burgerville
Tigard Rotary
Tigard Sherwin-Williams
Friends
Bradley Anderson
Jim & Marie Banks
Lee & Michaela Cannard
Mark Hackner
Shirley J. Jone
Karussos Family
Support and In-kind
Beaverton CarMax
Boy Scouts of America (Professional Services, Labor, and Materials)
City of Tigard - Professional Services, Permits, Professional Services, Labor, Utilities,
and a lot more
Friends of Bull Mountain Park
Highwater Johnny
John and Steven Barker Construction - Professional
Services and Labor
Khavari Foundation
Learning Landscape Design - Professional
Services and Labor
Local community and neighbors
Oregon State University – Forestry, Flora
and Fauna
Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. – Labor
Park’s Neighbors
Pearl Paulson, PhD – Education
Tigard Citizens
THS Key Club
THS National Honor Society
Tualatin River Watershed Council (Fiscal Sponsor)
Two Minds
Robert and Sarah Soper
Thank you and
remember we are still actively fundraising!
Checks made
payable to: Tualatin River Watershed Council
Check Memo
line: Friends of Bull Mountain Park Project or FBMP
Project
Send to:
April
Olbrich
Friends of
Bull Mountain Park (FBMP) Projects
Tualatin
River Watershed Council (TRWC)
PO Box 338
Hillsboro
OR 97123-0338
Picnic in the Park
Come enjoy a relaxing evening in the park
with musical entertainment.
Thursday, August 27
6 - 8 PM
Walk to the park meadow; bring
your picnic baskets, chairs, and blankets.
Get comfortable and enjoy the beauty of the park while listening to the
music of "Two Minds." This is a
musical duo featuring vocalist Betty Moss and husband, Steve Moss, on
guitar/keyboard.
“Two Minds” has put together an
unforgettable mix of pop/rock covers spanning the decades, including soulful
high-fidelity versions of Fleetwood Mac, Journey, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder,
Sting, Dire Straits, Steely Dan, Massive Attack, Amy Winehouse and more! "Two
Minds" also include songs from their repertoire of Steve's
award-winning originals.
Using the website link
below to hear samples of their music, you will see why "Two
Minds" performances have been enthusiastically received by a wide
variety of audiences in the Portland area and beyond.
(BMP
address: 13950 SW Alpine Crest Way, Tigard)
Friends and
neighbors gathered in the park meadow on June 18 for the first Picnic in the
Park. This event was organized as a
Birthday Celebration of the park's dedication.
Many thanks to “Highwater Johnny” for providing the musical
entertainment! This was a great
opportunity to meet and visit with each other in our developing neighborhood
park.
Watch for the Picnic in the Park signs at the
park entrances and plan to attend on August 27th & other future events.
FBMP & Burgerville, Community
Partners
This evening event in
June raised $300 for the park. Thanks to
everyone who attended and helped! And, of course, thank you to Burgerville for
supporting local community efforts/groups.
From left to right: Tim Pepper,
Jenn Eaton, Linda Shaw, and Jeff Jansen, Tigard Burgerville Manager
From left to right: Jaymie
Druding and Natalie Shaw
A Story of Discovering Bull Mountain Park
Teresa Rokos
I
moved to Tigard in 1998 and lamented moving to the burbs where the amount of
natural land seemed to be decreasing at a rapid rate. For years I would
drive to Forest Park or Tryon Creek Park to find "the woods" and
nature in its purest element. Then, things changed. I discovered Bull
Mountain Park about a year ago and what an AMAZING surprise. Beautiful
trails that connect to other great trails, great Boy Scout projects, signage
about the vision of the park, frisbee golf, etc. It has quickly become my
happy place that's less than a mile from my house. I'm usually on the
trails early in the morning with my dog, but had the opportunity a while back
to visit the park mid-morning on a Saturday with my son. And once again,
I was amazed to learn that all that great work, all the vision was the result
of volunteers. People were donating full weekend days to build shelters,
there was a high school group there clearing brush all day on a Saturday.
Really, this was community action and dedication at its best!
I was also pleased to hear that
when my daughter had a playdate with her 10 year old friend (a Nike family
whose house is about two blocks from the park) they spent the afternoon playing
in the woods of the park, and not in front of the TV. They came home with
muddy shoes and some scratches, but big smiles and tales of their forest
adventure and secrets. Once again, this solidified my love for this
project and park.
The thought of a Natural Play structure/area is truly amazing and would be such a gift to the people of Bull Mountain and Tigard as there is nothing comparable nearby. Often I drive to Westmoreland Park to let my kids enjoy the Natural Play area. Having it within walking distance of so many family homes would really be a gem.
The thought of a Natural Play structure/area is truly amazing and would be such a gift to the people of Bull Mountain and Tigard as there is nothing comparable nearby. Often I drive to Westmoreland Park to let my kids enjoy the Natural Play area. Having it within walking distance of so many family homes would really be a gem.
Chairperson
Column
Toraj
Khavari
The third anniversary of the dedication of
Bull Mountain Park was celebrated, June 21, 2015. As I reflect on the past
three years, I am filled with joy, happiness and amazement. The book “Unlikely,”
written by Kevin Palau, summarizes a journey that I feel reflects that of the
Friends of Bull Mountain Park (FBMP). In summary, the steps of this journey
are: knowledge leads to transformation; transformation to action; and, action
to remembrance. Expanding on these concepts
of knowledge, transformation, action, and remembrance:
Knowledge : When we are surrounded by caring communities (e.g. family, friends,
and neighbors), the sense of security, involvement, and love brings us joy.
Healthy and active lives bring quality and longevity. Protecting green spaces,
parks, and soft trails inside urban boundaries should be paramount to the
health and well-being of cities. Nature playgrounds in populated areas are
wonderful sources for education and recreation for children of all ages. The City
of Tigard has limited resources to develop parks, thus creating the opportunity
for its citizens to be involved in the Bull Mountain Park’s development. This
knowledge leads to transformation.
Transformation: The FBMP established a vision and mission brought about by this knowledge.
The mission is using the minds, hearts, and knowledge to focus on developing
the Bull Mountain Park in a service-focused transformation leading to action.
Action: Enthusiastic volunteers, local businesses, and schools have completed
more than 52 projects in the Bull Mountain Park. The Metro NIN Grant was
approved on July 9, 2015. Cash donations, in-kind professional services,
building materials donations, and volunteers are enabling the Bull Mountain
Park development. A Nike grant application was submitted June 1, 2015, with a
decision expected in October. Grant
applications, completed projects (52 projects to date), dozens of events,
multimedia promotions, etc. are the actions leading to remembrance.
Remembrance : Author and speaker Og Mandino taught me, earlier in my professional
career, to remember the past, notice the present, and anticipate the future.
Reflecting on past actions and knowledge encourages perseverance; perseverance
produces character; and, character leads to hope. Hope leads to joy and happiness.
I encourage you to reflect on knowledge;
celebrate transformation; and, take action to be involved in developing Bull
Mountain Park. Leave a legacy.
Bull Mountain Park will become a great place for
neighborhood gatherings and activity, providing trails, a nature playground, and
natural beauty.
For more details about the FBMP’s
projects and BMP concept plan refer to the following documents.
Ø FBMP Nature Play
Projects Information - https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FEBMP/files/Nature%20Play%20Projects%20Information/
FBMP
Contacts
FBMP Meetings
Please
mark your calendars and join us.
Time and Dates: 7 PM to 8:30 PM
Thursday – October 22, 2015
Thursday - January 28, 2016
Thursday - April 28, 2016
|
Where: Fire Station #50, located at 12617 SW Walnut St. Tigard OR,
97223
Bull Mountain Park
The BMP soft trails start at multiple (6) entrances: SW Greenfield
Drive, SW Benchview Place, SW Woodshire, SW Alpine Crest Way, SW Fernridge
Terrace, and SW Ridgefield Ln.
Come and enjoy the park, be active, be
healthy, and be green. Bull Mountain Park area photo and trail maps:
Connect with the FRIENDS of BMP at
the following sites:
