Friends of Maxwell Park
chairperson: Nancy Karigaca, to join this NAT or ask a question: (send email)
Overview
This project is also known as the Friends of Maxwell Park. In 2008, 30 neighbors came to an initial meeting to discuss how to improve Maxwell Park. Teams in consultations with other neighbors wrote a survey, developed priorities, and worked with Public Works and a landscape architect to design a plan for the park. We raised almost $90,000, mostly in two large federal grants. In the meantime, neighbors with and without mosaic experience met to begin a series of five mosaic walls to beautify the park. Over 500 neighbors and school children helped with the mosaic work, and hundreds more have participated in various work days, especially in landscaping. We now have two Little Free Libraries, one for children ages 1-12, and one for teens and adults.Current Actions
Community members are welcome to participate and comments on NAT actions. Use the form to the right to signup to help, or submit your ideas!Memorial Plaques and Trees
Project lead(s): Nancy Karicaga.
We now have memorial plaques to go with two memorial trees near the picnic area. They are joint efforts of the Neighborhood Council and Friends of Maxwell Park. The first is a madrone for Judy Salamon, a neighbor and dog walker who was killed while photographing two men who had burglarized her neighbors' home. The other is a California Buckeye for Adelle Foley, who was head of the Traffic NAT, and a well-respected poet. She volunteered in almost every neighborhood project. There is a third tree on the hillside near Allendale for neighbor from that street. The neighbors from her street are interested in putting in a plaque for her, too.
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Having Public Works Install More Benches
Project lead(s): Nancy Karicaga
We have earned enough money through a realtor donation, an award, and sales of t-shirts, cards, bags and water bottle with mosaic designs to pay Public Works almost $1,500 to build and install three more benches around the chess table area. Our hope is that the area will then be used for small performances, neighborhood meetings and gatherings, etc. One bench will add a fourth in the existing line, and two more will face them from across the open circle.
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Maintaining Greenery
Project lead(s): Steve Weitz
It is a struggle now to maintain the small irrigated meadow we had installed along the Fleming side of the park, as well as the native plants and trees around it and throughout the park. We are at present limited to short periods of water two nights a week. The rest of the watering is done by hand by Steve, or by a scout troup that comes weekly to water the Chinese Pistashe trees they planted next to the picnic tables. We will soon be asking for help in weeding in and around the irrigated meadow, as well as in and around the picnic area.
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Stocking Little Free Libraries
Project lead(s): Nancy Karicaga | Anne Burnham
Michael Cross built our first Little Free Library for children. Muigai Karigaca built a second library for teens and adults in 2015, and replaced the original children's library in 2016. The plan is that people borrow a book or two, and then return them or other books to the library. This does not always happen. The children’s library needs to be restocked at least twice a week in order to keep it fairly full. The majority of the books we stock are from the East Bay Children’s Book Project, but we also rely on neighbors who give us the books their children have outgrown. Neighbors also help with the teen/adult library by donating books they no longer want. If you help out, please clean and repair your books, if needed, before donating them directly to one of the libraries, or contact Nancy to arrange an indirect donation. We especially need books in Spanish, because the demand is high, and our donation sources are limited for these books. Close section X
Michael Cross built our first Little Free Library for children. Muigai Karigaca built a second library for teens and adults in 2015, and replaced the original children's library in 2016. The plan is that people borrow a book or two, and then return them or other books to the library. This does not always happen. The children’s library needs to be restocked at least twice a week in order to keep it fairly full. The majority of the books we stock are from the East Bay Children’s Book Project, but we also rely on neighbors who give us the books their children have outgrown. Neighbors also help with the teen/adult library by donating books they no longer want. If you help out, please clean and repair your books, if needed, before donating them directly to one of the libraries, or contact Nancy to arrange an indirect donation. We especially need books in Spanish, because the demand is high, and our donation sources are limited for these books. Close section X
Past Actions
These actions are completed and closed for activity. Please use the form at right to submit any comments or questions about these past actions.Mosaic Murals
Project lead(s): Nommi Alouf | Nancy Karicaga
Our mosaic work went on for five years, from 2009 - 2013, with one wall each year. Four of five of our murals were designed by a crew of 10 to 15 people, often with particular input from Nommi Alouf. Tile pieces were mortared individually on the wall for the most part, though occasionally whole designs were glued on mesh, and then the whole thing was mortared in place. We would hold one or two days of mosaic work in the park for children. There would be many tables set up with tubs of small, broken tiles in about ten colors. Children would draw a picture on paper, and trace it with black marker. An adult would then put the design on a piece of cardboard, cover it with thin plastic, and pin a piece of mesh on top. Then the children would glue their tile pieces on the mesh to fill in their design. Once it dried, the child or a crew member would mortar the design onto the wall.
The back wall of the restroom was done differently. We decided to wanted to let children design whatever they chose for this wall, and we wanted all the designs created by children. For this purpose, we went out to five local schools, a Boys and Girls Club, and a recreation center. A team of two to six of us would first have the children make their designs, and then go back again with everything clipped in place, and about 50 tubs of tiles on dollies, to have them glue on the tiles. We brought back about 100 designs, and had 30 more made by children at the park. We divided the wall into areas of land, water and night sky, mortared in the children’s designs, and then filled in around them.
Each year from 2009 - 2012, we had a celebration at the completion of the project, to which we invited all participants with their friends and families, neighbors and city staffer and officials who had helped us out. We would have all the child participants come forward to show off their work and be recognized. In the final year, our celebration was part of the neighborhood’s annual Day in the Park. Close section X
Our mosaic work went on for five years, from 2009 - 2013, with one wall each year. Four of five of our murals were designed by a crew of 10 to 15 people, often with particular input from Nommi Alouf. Tile pieces were mortared individually on the wall for the most part, though occasionally whole designs were glued on mesh, and then the whole thing was mortared in place. We would hold one or two days of mosaic work in the park for children. There would be many tables set up with tubs of small, broken tiles in about ten colors. Children would draw a picture on paper, and trace it with black marker. An adult would then put the design on a piece of cardboard, cover it with thin plastic, and pin a piece of mesh on top. Then the children would glue their tile pieces on the mesh to fill in their design. Once it dried, the child or a crew member would mortar the design onto the wall.
The back wall of the restroom was done differently. We decided to wanted to let children design whatever they chose for this wall, and we wanted all the designs created by children. For this purpose, we went out to five local schools, a Boys and Girls Club, and a recreation center. A team of two to six of us would first have the children make their designs, and then go back again with everything clipped in place, and about 50 tubs of tiles on dollies, to have them glue on the tiles. We brought back about 100 designs, and had 30 more made by children at the park. We divided the wall into areas of land, water and night sky, mortared in the children’s designs, and then filled in around them.
Each year from 2009 - 2012, we had a celebration at the completion of the project, to which we invited all participants with their friends and families, neighbors and city staffer and officials who had helped us out. We would have all the child participants come forward to show off their work and be recognized. In the final year, our celebration was part of the neighborhood’s annual Day in the Park. Close section X
Grants and Other Funds
Project lead(s): Laura Nicodemus | Brenda Hansen | Nancy Karicaga
Laura Nicodemus and Brenda Hansen, with some help from Nancy Karigaca, obtained two Community Development Block Grants, totally almost $90,000. The grants applications were tremendously complicated, and included formal presentations of our proposals. We were very fortunate to have two professional grant writers on our Fundraising Team. We also obtained a few small grants from Keep Oakland Beautiful, and a $500 award from the Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation. Grant money went to help pay for the last four mosaic murals, the renovation of the inside of the restroom, our irrigated meadow, the custom-built railing on top of the retaining wall around the sand, three new picnic tables, over 100 plants and trees and wildflower seeds.
We were able to get the park improvement project started initially because of a $20,000 donation from Jean Quan, who was then the City Council Member for District 4. The money paid for a Project Manager from Public Works, and for a landscape architect, who worked with us and the Project Manager to come up with a design for the park. Due to the extremely high cost of fulfilling the plan, we have been just using it as a guide in selecting improvement projects.
We also have earned a fair amount of money from the t-shirts, bags, water bottles and cards we have sold at our celebrations, at the Day in the Park, at Laurel Books and at Kelly’s Corner. A realtor from Alameda, Keiko McDonah, donates $500 to us each time she sells a home in Maxwell Park. Close section X
We were able to get the park improvement project started initially because of a $20,000 donation from Jean Quan, who was then the City Council Member for District 4. The money paid for a Project Manager from Public Works, and for a landscape architect, who worked with us and the Project Manager to come up with a design for the park. Due to the extremely high cost of fulfilling the plan, we have been just using it as a guide in selecting improvement projects.
We also have earned a fair amount of money from the t-shirts, bags, water bottles and cards we have sold at our celebrations, at the Day in the Park, at Laurel Books and at Kelly’s Corner. A realtor from Alameda, Keiko McDonah, donates $500 to us each time she sells a home in Maxwell Park. Close section X