Adopt-A-Flowerbed for City Park; City Park Tours and Birdwatching March-May

A city park logo with the name of the park and a tree.


CPFAN Vice President, Sandrea Robnett will host City Park: Brainstorming II on March 2, 6 pm based on the success of our last Brainstorming Session. Road closures, flowerbeds, pesticide use and handicap access were only some of the topics explored and aired in January. The discussions will be fun and lively with Sandy as your guide! Members are welcome to attend the Board Meeting to follow the program. The Zoom link is below:
Topic: CPFAN March 2, 2021 Brainstorming II meeting
Time: Mar 2, 2021 06:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

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Ida’s Garden, SE section of City Park, facing 17th Avenue

Keep City Park in Bloom

Will you join us to keep City Park blooming and beautiful? With park staff halved during the pandemic, the Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR) Maintenance crew and Horticulturists at City Park need our help as volunteers with gardening tasks and projects. In response, the Parks and Open Space Committee of Greater Park Hill Community, Inc, the RNO, City Park Friends and Neighbors and the City Park Alliance are teaming up to implement DPR’s Adopt-A-Flowerbed program for City Park. This program has been successful at parks throughout the city. Volunteers at FANS of Cheesman Park have maintained their park’s rose beds for many years and FANS of Washington Park volunteers helped install a propagator flower bed in their park last year. Both of these park groups report great satisfaction creating beauty in their parks and building community among the volunteer participants.

The Adopt-A- Flowerbed program begins with an on-site orientation with City Park’s Horticulturist. Responsibilities include watering, weeding, pruning, audits, design and planting flowers. Park Horticulturists and Maintenance crew may participate and oversee volunteers’ activities. Adam Smith, the East District Superintendent with offices in the City Park pavilion, recommends forming crews of six volunteers per flowerbed or gardening area so that maintenance can continue seamlessly from Spring to Fall.

Please respond to Fred Bender at fbender543@gmail.com if you are interested in joining this effort. Indicate the time commitment you want to make and whether you have friends or neighbors interested in volunteering, either individually or as part of a six-person team. When we know how many community members and neighborhood organizations are interested in Adopt-A-Flowerbed, we will collaborate with DPR to make the program come to life. Let’s have fun together and keep City Park blooming! Musicians will be welcome to keep us in perfect gardening rhythm and form!!!

Credit: Woody Garnsey
Denver’s City Park:
Take an historical and Bird-watching stroll with us this Spring

Saturday, March 27, 2021, 10 am-11:30 am
A City Park Friends and Neighbors’ Tour for Doors Open Denver

Treat yourself to this multi-dimensional tour of City Park, the Crown Jewel of the Queen City, designed in 1882. Not only will you learn about the pioneers who envisioned the park’s evolution from a rattlesnake and cactus-filled stretch of prairie to an oasis of lakes, trees, fountains and gardens, you will learn about the rich bird-life that has evolved in our inner city as a result. Due to COVID, tour groups will be smaller this year and will practice social-distancing and masking. The tour will meet at the Snowmastodon sculpture at the NE corner of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Tickets should come on sale in several weeks. You can email DOD for information at hello@denverarchitecture.org or check the calendar at denverarchitecture.org.

Tour guides for this tour are CPFAN members, John Brett and Patrick O’Driscoll.

John Brett is a retired university professor who focused on the anthropology of food and nutrition, food security and urban sustainability. John was also the Volunteer Coordinator for Denver Botanic Gardens for ten years. He has walked and biked in City Park for nearly 40 years.
Patrick O’Driscoll is a retired career newspaper reporter who lives in the Hale Neighborhood. He took up birdwatching seriously eight years ago on a solo walk through City Park, the first of more than 280 bird outings there since then. Patrick knows where the birds are in City Park. The Pinetum is one of his favorite areas to explore. Bring binoculars, please!
Doors Open Denver was founded in 1990. Its mission is to “inspire people to explore our dynamic city, experience the importance of design to our quality of life and envision an exceptional future for Denver.” Go to denverarchitecture.org to learn more about this exceptional organization and to check on upcoming programs and tour schedules.

CPFAN member, Georgia Garnsey will conduct tours in April and May accompanied by Color Field artists, Sarah and Josh Palmeri. Sarah and Josh will expand on their Color Field concept, what inspired them to create their well-loved art installation and the vision behind it.
Credit: Katy Charles