Hello Friends of the North Berkeley Rail Trail:                     (11/29/2021)

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

I am looking to complete the Mulching project at the Train Station Rail Trail Head (Lot-3) this Friday (12/3) at 2pm (for 3 hours).  If you can join us that would be wonderful.

Tools: Gloves, Shovels, Rakes & Wheelbarrows.
Plan:  Add additional 3 inches of mulch on top of the existing mulch.

Hello Friends of the North Berkeley Rail Trail: (11/19/2021)

We had a very productive day on Wednesday (11/17) with prepping and mulching Lot-3.  We also cut the grass & clean up a portion of Lot-2.  The pictures below show the park-like potential of the area.   The drive-by view from 522 does not do area justice.

I want to thank Larry Landen, Alex Teixeira, Matt Pennington, Ryan Rakhshan and Paul Johanson shown in the first picture below; and the people who are not in the picture below Rob Campbell, Deanna Bruning and Carly Swaim for all their work.   I also want to thank Rodney, Sam and Alex from the town’s maintenance dept for stopping by to help out.  I also want to acknowledge Susan Webster and Rebecca MacLeod for making connections behind the scene.

Hello Friends of the North Berkeley Rail Trail: (11/15/2021)

We completed mulching a 6ft parameter around 2 of the 10 trees on Friday in Lot-3.

The weather forecast is telling me that Wednesday (17th) is the best day to wrap-up the project.   I am planning on a 10am and 3pm (2 hour) work periods. At this time, Thursday looks like a rainy day.

A number of you have told me that could only come after work hours.  In planning future projects, I will do my best to include weekends & evenings whenever possible.  Unfortunately this time of the year, weather & daylight are limiting factors.  I will be working through 5pm based on available daylight. So please stop by to show your support, even if all you can do is work for a short time.

Working on Lot-3 on Friday gave me a chance to reflect on how the property is transforming nicely. The trail will be bordered by mulched trees on a grassy slope on one side and a row of Forsythia plants on the other side. This will be a nice entrance to the NBRT. Good planning Rebecca.

I would like to take a promotional group picture around 4:45pm on Wednesday using that view as a backdrop.   Don’t be camera shy, I want to show public support for the trail.

 

Update on Friday’s effort

Rob Campbell and I pruned all 10 trees; as well as prepped & mulched the area under two of those trees.  I am planning to simplify the preparation process on Wednesday.  On Friday we thinned out the area under the trees by pulling some of the grass by hand. We needed to keep some grass & roots for erosion control.   After discussing the prep procedure with Rebecca MacLeod, we decided that using a weed whacker would accomplish the same goal but will allow us to get the prep done much quicker.    See the attached picture for the two completed trees.

 

Wednesday effort

1) Prep the 6ft parameter around the 8 trees.

2) Transport & mulch the 8 trees

3) Pull by hand the grass in the Forsythia trench

4) Mulch the Forsythia trench

 

 

Tools needed

Gloves, shovel, rake, wheelbarrow and a smile.

 

Transport of the mulch is time consuming because we have to go around the Forsythia trench. A second wheelbarrow would be very helpful.

 

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I attest to the integrity of the attached picture. It was taken by my cell phone and has been checked by my computer’s virus cyber security system.

A view of the completed work around the Osage Orange tree.

 

Dave O’Connell

304 886-1275

Hello Friends of the North Berkeley Rail Trail:                                    (11/10/2021)
I am looking for some volunteer help to spread Mulch around the Trees on the slope on Lot-3 beyond the train station parking lot.   I am proposing a number of dates/times based on weather. Let me know if you would like to help out and what time works for you.

Proposed time:
* Friday 10 am (12th)
* Friday 3 pm
Next Week
* Wednesday (17th)
* Thursday (18th)

Tools needed:
* Gloves, Shovels, Rakes, Wheel Barrel

Additionally;
* I will be providing an update on the Rail Trail development project in email this weekend.
* I will be asking you about your communication preferences.

Contact the Town Office at 304-258-1102