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All welcome at Sat., Aug. 20, BPFP/ Los Amigos de Codornices picnic

Please join the reborn Los Amigos de Codornices — pioneers in citizen work in Berkeley parks –and Berkeley Partners for Parks at a potluck evening picnic at the historic fireplace in beautiful Codornices Park, 4:30 – 6:30 PM August 20th, 2011

See the wonderful ivy removal and “return of the natives” brought about by Los Amigos de Codornices and BPFP partner group East Bay GPA.

Chat about what other citizen groups are doing for open space and recreation. Or just relax and enjoy the beautiful setting. Family and friends welcome.

Bring a dish to share. We supply plates, cups, utensils, and (non-alcoholic) drinks.

Codornices Park is on the east side of Euclid Avenue in Berkeley, just south of Eunice Street, opposite the Berkeley Rose Garden. As you enter the park, walk down the hill past the basketball court and playground on your left. Follow trails upstream to the picnic area, on the north side of the creek.

For information contact Ivo Violich: amigoscodornices@gmail.com

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BPFP partners again funded by UC Chancellor’s Community Partnership Grants

Hands-on volunteer work by Berkeley Partners for Parks member groups has again been funded by the Chancellor’s Community Partnership Grant fund. The fund, set up by UC Berkeley in settlement of a lawsuit, funds nonprofits that partner with UC Berkeley students, faculty, and staff to benefit the Berkeley area.

BPFP groups who will share $4000 include Aquatic Park EGRET, Berkeley Path Wanderers Assn., East Bay Green Parks Assn., Friends of Five Creeks, Schoolhouse Creek Common, and Westbrae Commons. Operating as the Greening Berkeley Hands on coalition, these groups host thousands of UC students volunteers at their work parties. They have received a grant every year since 2006, when the Chancellor’s Grant project began.

BPFP also will serve as fiscal sponsor for funding for the Berkeley Project, which brings thousands of UC students into the community to volunteer on specific days.

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July 9 talk on local pollinators — Bee there!

UC Professor of Entomology Gordon Frankie speaks on native bees and other pollinators and how to create habitat for them in your garden, at noon this Saturday, July 9, at Peralta Comunity Garden, 1400 Peralta Ave., Berkeley. Enjoy bee-related refreshments and this beautiful community garden, too! An added bonus for making your yard a haven for native bees: they don’t sting!

Free, all welcome. More information on native bees at http://nature.berkeley.edu/urbanbeegardens/.

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Harry Shearer’s “The Big Uneasy” at the Rialto Cinemas Elmwood (July 8th – July 14th)

“The Big Uneasy” is the first documentary by long-time “mockumentarian” Harry Shearer (of Spinal Tap and The Simpsons). The film follows three remarkable people–the leaders of two scientific investigation teams, and one whistleblower–as they reveal the true story of why New Orleans flooded, and why it could happen in other cities across America.

Shearer speaks to the tireless investigators and experts who poked through the muck as the water receded, and uncovers a courageous whistle-blower from the Army Corps of Engineers. His dogged pursuit of facts reveals that some of the same flawed methods responsible for levee failure during Hurricane Katrina are being used to rebuild the system expected to protect the “new” New Orleans from future peril.

To learn more about the film and watch the trailer you can visit www.thebiguneasy.com.

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Schoolhouse Creek work party and “Hands Across the Sand” for clean energy

On June 25, Friends of Five Creeks volunteers removed invasives and trash at the mouth of Schoolhouse Creek, Eastshore State Park, and then joined “Hands across the Sand” as part of an international demonstraton for clean energy. The beach, sparkling with glass weathered out of the pre-World War II garbage landfill, is a symbol of how nature can heal itself if we let it!

More information on Friends of Five Creeks at www.fivecreeks.org or f5creeks@aol.com.Volunteers at mouth of Schoolhouse CreekF5C volunteers join hands for clean energy