THOUSAND OAKS PARK DEVELOPMENT UPDATE/VOLUNTEER WORK DAY SCHEDULE/GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION

We are pleased to announce that on May 16 we received our signed contract from the City of San Jose, allowing us to move forward with the long-awaited completion of the undeveloped portion of our park – the Thousand Oaks Park Woodland Area. Our goal is the protection and preservation of the oak woodland, which includes wildlife in and around the park, in particular the red-tailed hawks.

We are aware that young have hatched in the hawks’ nest. In an effort to protect the hawks from any possible harm during construction, we have sought the advice of a highly recommended expert, Joseph E. Merz, who has extensive experience working with raptors, including radio tagging and tracking of hawks. He has more than 20 years experience performing raptor surveys for utility districts and large habitat restoration projects throughout California. Dr. Merz has a Masters Degree in Conservation Biology, a Ph.D. in Conservation Ecology, and has taught the ornithology lab at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Dr. Merz visited our site on May 18 to observe both the nest and our construction site. Although he believes our project is unlikely to have any adverse affect on the hawks, based on his recommendation, we have taken the following precautions:

1) Postponed our original trail excavation date from June 1st to June 14th, to give the young hawks ample time to mature, and

2) Engaged the services of one of Dr. Merz’s technicians, specially trained in raptor monitoring, to be on site during the excavation phase of our project. The technician will monitor the nest, advise us of any unusual activity, and submit a written report.

Following trail excavation, the volunteer phase of our project will begin:

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR PARK CONSTRUCTION

SATURDAY, JUNE 16TH

30 volunteers for each of 3 shifts – 8-11 a.m., 11-1 p.m., 1-4 p.m.

FOOD AND DRINK WILL BE PROVIDED

Work to include: Loading wheelbarrows with decomposed granite; pushing wheelbarrows to trail; unloading and spreading decomposed granite; compacting decomposed granite; mixing and pouring concrete for bench installation; digging post holes for sign installation; setting signs in place.

VOLUNTEERS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR COMPLETION OF THIS PROJECT.

Please email ozmakahn@comcast.net to sign up for a shift. Don’t miss this opportunity to contribute to the hands-on construction of our woodland park!

GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION

SUNDAY, JULY 1ST, 10:00 AM

SAVE THE DATE!!