Bay Checkerspot Poster Child
The NY Times Green Blog has an article about the checkerspot butterfly re-introduction at Edgewood. Here is a quote to think about: The insect is viewed as a poster child for the harmful effects of nitrogen on biodiversity, which could be even more profound than the impacts of global warming.
County Parks in the News
Edgewood Park serves as the centerpiece of this NY Times article on the hard times for our parks. You can and are making a difference by volunteering. Consider this quote: Volunteers now cover many of the jobs once performed by park rangers and contribute about 20 percent of the work force hours in the park.
Green Building Award
The Bill and Jean Lane Education Center at Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve has received Sustainable San Mateo County's Green Building Award. The Center will be recognized at the 13th annual Sustainability Awards event Thursday, March 15.
Press Release
The Bill and Jean Lane Educational Center at Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve
Owner: San Mateo County Parks
Architect: Ron Yeo, FAIA Architect
Builder: Applegate Johnson
Jurors' comments: For a public project to reclaim and repurpose so many items from other public projects is impressive. The design team involved the community throughout the design process from selectign the building site to the choice of reclaimed tiles in the restrooms and even for the design of the future native plant garden. The center is sensitively sited at the location of a previous residence, and all existing trees were retained. The building features attractive daylighting of the exhibits, natural ventilation and an 8 KW photovoltaic system.
On October 1, the new playground at Quarry Park opened. The new park equipment will benefit the El Granada community by providing an outdoor location for healthy physical activity for tots and older children as well as family friendly picnic sites. Learn more.
The 2011 Tour de Peninsula was a roaring success again this year. Thanks to the riders, the volunteers and our sponsors.
We did it! Thanks to thousands of generous supporters, the Bill and Jean Lane Education Center at Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve is now open to the public. But we are not done yet and your contributions will still help.
The building is designed to be a portal to the experience immediately outdoors. Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve, roughly one square mile, is known for its remarkable species richness where almost 500 different plant species have been identified. Three plants at Edgewood are federally listed as endangered or threatened, and the efforts of Stuart Weiss, PhD to restore the federally threatened Bay Checkerspot butterfly continue.
It provides a place where the many visitors who do not join guided walks can learn about the Preserve and the green building aspects of the center through exhibits, interaction with volunteers and resource library materials. Activities at the center will support volunteerism in habitat restoration, trail maintenance and trail patrol efforts at Edgewood. Sustainable building concepts were incorporated into the location and design of the project.
For information on the hours, how to become a volunteer and to see more pictures, please see the San Mateo County Parks website.
