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Work Projects - Working Together
Progress at the Pond Brings New Challenges

 

Our intrepid Delta Ponders with Intruder Lion President Judith

The EDLC Delta Ponds project has progressed to the point that we can now see definite progress.

From the start, eradicating non-native plant species has been a prime goal.  All our worse plant enemies seem to bear the names of their home territory:  Scotch Broom, English Ivy, and the infamous Himalayan Blackberry.

Our last workday at the ponds revealed that we and others have had great success in removing these and other unwanted species.  The real proof is that we spent most of our time battling a native plant, “wild cucumber.”

Lion Newt battling the cucumber vines

This plant looks about as you would expect.  The leaves and vine are strikingly similar to the cucumber vines you plant in your garden.  The fruit, however, is a small, roundish lump with more pronounced spikes than the edible variety.

Our volunteer coordinator, Brennan McCommon, tells us that the wild variety is not suitable for eating.  But that is not the reason we found ourselves ripping out these tough native vines.

At one point, Lion Andy Becker, Brennan, and I found ourselves trying to save a young tree that had literally been pulled to the ground by the vines.  This is an extreme case, but larger trees and more desirable plants can be covered by the clinging cucumber vines, denying them light, robbing them of “a place in the sun.”

The cucumber vines have had a chance to proliferate because, when we eliminated most of the blackberry vines, there was an environmental niche to fill, and the cucumbers gladly moved in.

Some of the other native plants enjoying a renaissance are more welcome than the cucumber vines:  snowberries, wild roses, and young trees.  All of these were in evidence as we fought our cucumber wars.

Lions Joy and Gino hard at work

If you believe we ought to have non-interference policy when it comes to what nature is producing, it is well to remember that the Delta Ponds are not a natural phenomenon.  They were created when a gravel company abandoned the pits they had dug to mine gravel.  We are trying to create a shallow water environment where native plants and animals can thrive, and we seem to be succeeding.

At this moment, my cosmos are trying gamely to take over one of our flower beds, threatening the petunias, zinnias, and heliotrope.  In another bed, the nasturtiums are trying to have their way, burying the salvia and alyssums.

So, we make judgments about how much space to give each plant because if we don’t, each plant will do its best to hog all the resources:  light, soil, and water.  That is the stage we seem to be entering at the ponds.  It is actually a sign of progress.

If you haven’t worked at Delta Ponds recently, take the time to visit them.  In high water, current now flows strongly through the ponds, and native trees on the banks, many planted by Lions, are beginning to shade and thus cool the water.

During our July 9 workday, we spotted largemouth bass on spawns and western pond turtles sunning on logs.

We are making a difference through our service on this truly enjoyable project.

Reporter: Lion Jim Newton
 
Food Rescue Express

Downtown Lions work for Food Rescue Express and make some new friends

This story is one of the meeting of two very different cultures with a spirit of service. Lion Andrew Miles provided the following narrative. 

Jackson Kellogg came as a guest to the Eugene Downtown Lions Club. His wife is from Central Asia and is active in the Islamic community. Many of the Arabs in Eugene are students and want to contribute to the community and also learn about American culture outside of what they might find on college campuses or in mass media.  While at the Abu Bakr Mosque I heard a conversation regarding how they could serve the community so I invited them to lend a hand at the food rescue express particularly since the sign up sheet from the Lions showed that we might be short handed.

I thought that based on human nature if 15 guys say that they will come that a few might actually show up. Instead around 20 people came and loved the experience and left with a positive impression of Lions and American culture. There was a mix of students and business owners from Eugene. The majority of the group are from foreign countries and were unsure about how to best lend a hand.  Moktor AlHemyare, owner of a car dealership said, "It's good to learn from the Lions Club as an established, respected group that can teach us how to efficiently serve the community." Ibrahim Hamide, owner of Cafe Sariah said, "This was a great experience, its our duty to feed the hungry and it was a great venue to learn how to best do this within the context of American culture."  Many of the students gained a very positive impression of Lionism and asked if there were clubs in their home countries.  Khlaid Alfallatah said, "Some have suggested that we do things as a community of Muslims to show people that we are not what some news sources say that we are, but this is not Islamic. Doing things for personal recognition only feeds the ego, even within the context of a group. The more important factor is the act of service itself. We may help people for recognition and God may later punish us for doing it with the wrong intentions, by helping existing service organizations who have more experience we keep the focus on service.” The rest of what I heard was in Arabic.  

From Lion Tim Chuey's perspective it's difficult to come up with words that could express those sentiments any better than Lion Andrew and the group members already did. We’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. There are too many people, both Lions and Muslims, to list all of their names, but it is more important that we are thankful for the opportunity to interact with such gracious people. 

Food Rescue Express is an arm of Food For Lane County. For those who don’t already know volunteers from various groups in the area repackage food fro Food Rescue Expres that was donated by local restaurants so that it can be distributed to those in need.

6 March 2011

Tim Chuey

Publicity Chairman

Eugene Downtown Lions Club

 

Both groups told what work they will be doing.

 

Lions doing their part in

repackaging the food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Local Muslims pitch in and also work hard.

Even the youngest helped out.

 

 

 




 
Pocket Park Project

Lion Andy Bakr  of the Eugene Downtown Lions works

on the upkeep of the Pocket Park

 

Club  Keeps Pocket Park Well Groomed

The Pocket Park, located at the intersection of 24th Avenue and the Amazon Parkway, is aptly named: it is really just a small pocket in sprawling Amazon Park. It is, however, a key spot for runners, bike riders, walkers, and pathway commuters.

All of these exercise fanatics and travelers meet at this spot because it is at the confluence of a bark-chip running trail and a wide, cement bike-path. Just across 24th Avenue is a large parking lot and public restroom, so plenty of walkers and runners start their workouts right here.

The park features a wooden kiosk and bulletin board where running/walking news is posted, and runners stop to stretch before and after workouts and to use the chinning bars. The kiosk is surrounded by bark dust to provide a soft, weed-free surface.

That, of course, is where the Eugene Downtown Lions come in. Venerable Lion lady Marion McDow is in charge of the periodic clean-up of the area, assisted by numerous volunteers on designated Saturday mornings. Weed pulling is a never-ending task, and the Lions also keep the lawn edged and the grass mowed.

In fact, long-time Lion John Hamson regularly shows up on his own, bringing his own mower, to keep the grass looking good. Lion Andy Bakr invariably runs the edger, and Marion and her daughter, Lion Jolayne McDow, have done numerous repairs to the wood structure and painted it to keep it looking nice.

It was Lion Jolayne who arranged for the Hammer Lumber Company to donate lumber to create a border to box in the bark-dust area surrounding the kiosk. Keeping the area weed-free and filled with fresh bark-dust is an ongoing task.

Besides the kiosk area and grass maintenance, there are other jobs to do at Pocket Park. Over the years, the Lions have planted four red alder trees and a number of native flowering plants along the chain-link fence.

Then there is the problem of invasive non-native plants at the park. The chief nemesis is the ubiquitous Himalayan blackberry, with its large, nasty thorns and extensive root system. The Lions have expended considerable time and effort over the years trying to eradicate or at least limit this pest.

In fact, Lion Jolayne once had a little fun with the blackberry work. She brought some of the large, powerful roots to a Lions luncheon and named them for various Lions, including current Lions Frank Alderson and Len Calvert. She named another root after her notoriously foul-mouthed Aunt Hazel.

Lions Jolayne and Marion are not the only members of the McDow family to help with this project. Marion’s grand-daughter Elizabeth Taft and her husband Dwayne Taft helped rebuild the deteriorating stretching equipment.

All of this work began for the Lions in 2005 under the leadership of Matt McRae, who at that time was volunteer coordinator for the Eugene parks. At first, it was a monthly project, but over the years it has become a less frequent activity due to difficulties in arranging times when equipment and supervision are available from the city.

But, when a work session can be scheduled, a loyal group of regulars shows up. In addition to Lions John Hamson and Andy Bakr, Bob Rust has been particularly dependable. Other frequent workers have included Lions Joy Troutman, Jim Bradford, Wayne Musgrove, Diane Landon, Don Bowers, Frank Alderson, the late  Al Bedbury and Dave Evans, and, in recent years, Gloria Hodges, Jim Newton, and Bill Baxter. Many more have helped during the five years of the project.

This work was especially important during the recent Olympic Track and Field Trials held at Eugene’s Hayward Field. The event brought many out-of-town visitors to Eugene, including lots of fitness fanatics. The Lions spruced up the Pocket Park as part of the city’s effort to impress and welcome the visitors to “Track Town, U.S.A.”

Like many jobs we all do, the work at Pocket Park will never be done. It is an ongoing project to keep it looking nice and providing for the needs of Eugene’s army of runners, walkers, and bikers. The EDLC is proud of its part in this important work.

Reporter:  Lion Jim Newton

 

 
 
Meals on Wheels

This Red Cross program provides a hot mid-day meal to people who find it difficult or impossible to prepare nutritious food on their own. EDT Lions deliver meals each Monday and Thursday throughout the year.
 


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