Morgan Hill residents show up in numbers for tree planting
A clear, but brisk weekend morning drew more than one hundred
Morgan Hill residents to the San Pedro Percolation Pond March 18
for a community tree planting. The area is home to birds, ducks,
and geese and is quickly gaining fans among local residents.
Morgan Hill residents show up in numbers for tree planting
A clear, but brisk weekend morning drew more than one hundred Morgan Hill residents to the San Pedro Percolation Pond March 18 for a community tree planting. The area is home to birds, ducks, and geese and is quickly gaining fans among local residents.
The pond, which is used to recharge underground aquifers, has become a popular walking trail since a group of local residents took responsibility of the area as part of the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s “Adopt-a-Creek” program.
Dubbed the San Pedro Ponds Trail Volunteers, the group has been working with the Water District and the City of Morgan Hill to add back some natural beauty to the location.
“It’s been a joint effort in terms of opening up the pond area for recreation,” said Rosemary Kamei, the SCVWD district one director. “It’s an effort that we started some time ago and we were successful in opening up the paths, to let people come in.”
The volunteer group received donations of several dozen trees from resident Wendy Puder, who grew the trees from acorns, more than six months ago. Since then, they have been working with the city and water district to orchestrate the spring planting. The group received more than 120 trees, including seven different varieties that are drought resistant and native to California.
“Those were the rules the water district had,” said Ken Mort, a member of SPPTV. “That’s what used to be there 100 years ago before the farmers came. Live oak, valley oaks and others.”
The seedlings donated also included scrub oak, buckeye, redbud, ceanothus, California rose and western aster.
Mort and his wife, Irene, joined up with the volunteer group after attending the open ceremony for the pond two years ago. Irene, who is also a member of the South Valley Fleurs Garden Club, volunteered Saturday as a guide, along with fellow garden-club member Norm Watenpaugh. The duo answered any questions those who showed up to the tree planting might have as they nestled their seedlings into the ground.
“Maybe years from now, when the trees have grown bigger, someone will be able to point to them and say, ‘I planted that tree when I was just a kid,'” Irene Mort said.
The volunteers and water district made the planting as simple as possible for the citizens who showed up. The planting brought together families who live near the pond, high school students volunteering for civics classes and Boy Scout troops. City council member Mark Grzan made an appearance, as did water district director Sig Sanchez.
“It was nice to see so many kids come out because they will remember this,” Kamei said. “It’s wonderful that they learn how to [plant] correctly and why.”
The water district had pre-drilled holes for each tree and an employee gave a talk about the best ways to plant a tree. The district also had installed a water drip system that will provide water to the trees for three years.
“Some are really small. They are just seedlings,” Ken Mort said. “They are a variety of sizes and we wanted to make sure they get a good start.”
The Morts walk the trails near the pond nearly every morning, and said they promised to keep an eye on the trees while they start off their life near the pond.
The volunteers and the water district both hope the tree planting will be just the first phase in an ongoing effort to improve the trail.
“The volunteers want to keep it simple,” Kamei said. “But they are talking about a butterfly garden. They want to make it more native and natural.”
The garden would include plants that will draw local butterfly species as well as birds to the pond. The group also has plans to put in benches for visitors to the pond and the water district hopes to add interpretive benches that will explain how the pond is used to recharge the water supply.
“It will give us more opportunities to engage the community,” Kamei said. “We want to be out there and let people know more about their water.”
While the volunteer group does not have solid plans for the next phase, they are bouncing around ideas for more improvements.
“We do have a master plan that is a work in progress,” Ken said. “We are always planning.”
