2015-Ecological Restoration at Bear Creek Park with Colorado Native

Start Date-End Date: 10/03/2015-10/03/2015 Land Manager Office: City and County of Denver - Parks and Recreation Land Manager Contact: Kelly Uhing Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Perform important ecological restoration work at a popular Denver park, followed by a happy hour! Description: ABOUT THE STEWARDSHIP SITE Bear Creek Park, also affectionately known as "Sombrero Hat Park" to some locals, features a popular playground that has themes of nature and history in Colorado - including its famous Sombrero Slide.The park, which encompasses nearly 100 acres, is located near West Hampden Ave. and South Sheridan Blvd., and isa community favorite for picnicking, hiking, dog walking, and cycling. In addition to its playground and picnic facilities, there are sporting fields as well as the largest undeveloped natural area within Denver's city limits. ABOUT THE VOLUNTEER WORK Volunteers are needed to help with a variety of important ecological restoration tasks, including removing beaver cages from trees, planting milkweed to attract Monarch butterflies, removing invasive weeds, and more. After the work is complete, those who are interested are invited to join us for a celebratory happy hour at Platte River Bar & Grill, sponsored by Colorado Native! PARTNERS Denver Parks and Recreation Colorado Native Latitude/Longitude: 39.653730, -105.041441 Additional Information: Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Easy High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 80 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 63 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 8 Total Volunteer Days: 71 Total Unique Volunteers: 71 Total Volunteer Hours: 253 Staff Hours: 18 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: On Saturday, October 3rd, 71 volunteers came to Bear Creek Park in Denver to help out with some ecological restoration. For the 5th year in a row, Colorado Native partnered with VOC for this project, and provided hats to every volunteer, and paid for a free happy hour after the volunteer work. Volunteers worked to remove prickly lettuce and trash from the park, remove beaver cages and paint over beaver damage and graffiti, remove trash from the creek, and plant nearly 250 riparian plants. Volunteers had a good time, and went to the Platte River Bar & Grill on Santa Fe for free beer and appetizers. Successes and Challenges: On the front end of the project, I was very nervous about Kelly Uhing (from Denver Parks and Rec) coming through. Kelly doesn't have a great understanding of what makes a good volunteer project, so I had to spell a few things out for her, in terms of getting necessary materials. For project day she really came through, and the project was great. Even the volunteers that were weeding were super excited about it, and felt like they were making a big difference. Lessons Learned: When working with Kelly and her employees, just be sure that they know EXACTLY what you need, and that there is enough work to keep volunteers busy. Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Provided by VOC staff, Denver Parks and Rec, and VOC crew leaders. Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: Description of Work Completed: