CITY OF NORWALK OAK HILLS PARK & NATURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING JUNE 9, 2015 ATTENDANCE: Elsa Peterson Obuchowski, Chair; Anthony Carrano; Lisa Meserole; Peggy Holton; Call to Order Ms. Obuchowski called the meeting to order and noted those in attendance, as listed above. Approval of Previous Meetings Minutes April 14, 2015: Ms. Holton requested corrections as follows: Page 3: Replace Nature Conservancy with Land Trust. Under Encourage Sustainable Practices, replace mid range plants with mid-range trees. ** MS. MESEROLE MOTIONED TO APPROVE MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 14, 2015 MEETING AS AMENDED WITH CORRECTIONS NOTED. ** MS. HOLTON SECONDED THE MOTION. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. April 14, 2015: Ms. Holton requested corrections as follows: Page 3: Replace Nature Conservancy with Land Trust. Under Encourage Sustainable Practices, replace mid range plants with mid-range trees. May 12, 2015: Corrections: Hatton should be Holton Meseiole should be Meserole throughout Ms. Holton noted that many areas were not complete with details of discussion and action follow up points. She requested more detail as follows: Page 3: Under Plaques to Identify Trees, Wildlife: Please add the following: Do plaque markings damage trees? Need inventory of seedings. Under Field Trips Plastic Blazes New Ideas: Create inventory of seasonal birds/wildlife Bill Wrenn Jim Schell will talk to Joe about his ideas for the Rose Garden/Great Lawn. Audrey Cazzarin will work on mapping for trails. June 9, 2015 Page 1 of 8
** MS. MESEROLE MOTIONED TO APPROVE MINUTES FROM THE MAY 12 2015 MEETING AS AMENDED WITH CORRECTIONS NOTED. ** MS. HOLTON SECONDED THE MOTION. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. REPORTS Status Updates: Letter of Intent to Mayor and Common Council Committee Chair Ms. Obuchowski noted that there had not been any particular response to the letter to the mayor requesting the Memorandum of Understanding of designation of the land parcel deeds as Oak Hills Park open space. Discussion of Old Leaf Dump and Niblick Parcels with Common Council Land Use and Building Management Committee Ms. Obuchowski explained that the Land Use Building Management Committee is scheduling a public hearing in July, and the time and location is TBD. There was discussion and it was mentioned that the City can still designate the parcel as park land, but the process needs to be defined. The item has been referred to Corporation Counsel for review by the Legal Department as there is a conservation easement and designation of the conservator keeper of the land interest ** MS. MESEROLE MOVED TO CONTACT THE NORWALK LAND TRUST TO DETERMINE THE PROCESS OF EASEMENT DESIGNATION OF THE TWO LAND PARCELS AS OPEN SPACE. ** MR. CARRANO SECONDED THE MOTION. ** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. WALKING TOUR OF THE THREE PARCEL AREAS Since Mr. Schell was not in attendance, there was no update. A quick recap of the tour path followed. Discussion on the various trail paths and their destinations such as how they traveled to the condos ensued. Questions on if there was an updated map of the trail were raised and addressed. June 9, 2015 Page 2 of 8
ALLTRAILS.COM INCLUSION OF OAK HILLS PARK WALKING TRAIL It was suggested to look at federal registry of hiking trails to see what makes the area eligible for designation as official trail. Mr. Carrano noted that he would do some research. He noted that this should be posted on the OHPA website under Nature Areas. It was noted that the Mayor s Saturday morning walks is an idea for inclusion of Oak Hills. DESIGN IDEAS FOR GREAT LAWN AND GARDEN/FOUNTAIN AREAS Ms. Obuchowski stated that she is willing to talk to Jim Schell for photos and diagrams on ideas for the Great Lawn. She added that the next step it to meet with the Landscape Architect. There was discussion on the next steps and she explained that the bid process has to be followed as there are restrictions of state grant money. She added that a timeline would be determined once this is done. GRANT OPPORTUNITIES Several potential grant options were discussed especially in relation to how said money could be potentially distributed for park projects. GOALS OF THE COMMITTEE A discussion on the extension of the goals of the committee followed. Questions were raised about what should be encompassed in the goals. It was noted that they met with the Garden Club and Ms. Hinton reported that there was discussion on this Commission actually formed only as a tactic to divert attention from the Driving Range. PLAQUES TO IDENTIFY TREES, WILDLIFE Ms. Holton reported that Bartlett Tree n longer does plaques. She distributed copies of printer costs and specs. from another source for ordering the plaque tree pre-fabricated signs. She noted that these were used for Farm Creek and are easily mounted with 4-hole markings. It was decided to e-mail this to the members for review of the types and sizes for the next meeting. ENCOURAGING SUSTAINABLE LAND USE PRACTICES IN OAK HILLS PARK There was a discussion on relocating the dumpsters and for operations to coordinate the maintenance of a cleaner area. June 9, 2015 Page 3 of 8
It was noted that Mr. Guyer had agreed to talk to City Carting to move or relocate the dumpsters and to make sure there is space for the garbage truck to turn around in the parking lot. There was mention of scout troop assistance with clearing the brush areas along the Niblick property and a possible Eagle Scout Project. There was no new discussion on the marketing, budget or timeframe issues. It was noted that it was premature pending the Landscape Architect plan that will determine next steps for the areas mentioned. NEW BUSINESS Attached is a scan of the article about the artist who uses invasive plants to make paper, paintbrushes, pigments, etc. It is from the June-July issue of the nature conservancy s magazine. Also attached are Lisa Meserole s photos of the beech tree that had fallen across the trail and is now cut to allow the trail to pass through. ADJOURNMENT ** MS. MESEROLE MOTIONED TO ADJOURN. ** MS. HOLTON SECONDED THE MOTION. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. The meeting adjourned at 8:03 P.M. Respectfully Submitted Marilyn Knox Telesco Secretarial Services Attachments: Invasive Ink and Canvas Nature Conservancy June/ July 2015 Photographs of fallen tree June 9, 2015 Page 4 of 8
Invasive Ink and Canvas NATURE CONSERVANCY JUNE/ JULY 2015 submitted by E,Patterson Obuchowski *See next page for text June 9, 2015 Page 5 of 8
Connect with nature PHOTOGRAPHS BYKARINE AIGNER More than a decade ago, Patterson Clark surveyed the bags of invasive exotic plants he had just finished removing from a park near his home in Washington, D.C, and had an insight: Perhaps the fast-growing weeds and vines-the bane of park managers and preserve volunteers everywhere-were an untapped resource. "Because I'm an artist, I solve problems as an artist would," says Clark, who works as a graphics editor at The Washington Post. Clark's idea spawned years of experimentation as he made use of everything from inner bark to leaves to pulped stems in order to produce new artistic creations: wood block prints inspired by and made from unwanted invaders. -CARRIE MADREN -- LET NOTHING GO TO WASTE: Clark transforms nearly every part of invasive exotic plants He creates a yellow ink from the inner bark of leatherleaf mahonia and weed fibers. He glues fibers from the inner bark of multiflora rose, European oncelainberry into bamboo stems to create paintbrushes. Even the frames for white mulberry paper shown here-come from invasive tree species. WHITE MULBERRY LEAVES LEATHERLEAF MAHONIA BARK MULTiFLORA ROSE STEMS BUSH HONEYSUCKLE BARK GARLIC MUSTARD ROOT CROWN ASIATIC BITTERSWEET ROOTS True Colors: Clark extracts a rainbow of inks from the stems, leaves and roots of unwanted invasive species. SOOT FROM BURNED WEEDS June 9, 2015 Page 6 of 8
Photographs of fallen tree, as referred to on page 4. Submitted by Lisa Meserole June 9, 2015 Page 7 of 8
June 9, 2015 Page 8 of 8