The Tule River Parkway Association held a garden improvement day on Saturday. On Saturday, six volunteers spent a total of 14 hours demarcating the trail with split rail fence lumber.
These timbers are the old sequoia timber rails that surround Henry Street Park on both sides of the street and border just north of Murray Park. The City of Porterville did not use the timber and allowed the Tule River Parkway Association to use it to improve the Tule River Parkway Demonstration Gardens (west of Jay Street and just south of the Tule River).
Tuul River Parkway is a public park in the city of Porterville. The paved parkway is open to the public for bicycles and pedestrians, and the parkway on the west side of the Jay Street Bridge is clean and inviting.
Mormon missionary volunteers created a two-high zigzag border on either side of the path to the Butterfly Habitat Garden. A new volunteer, his David Vallejo, was walking with his little son on a park trail.
Vallejo said he has been walking the trails frequently and watching the project get better and better. Vallejo reported that he picked up a rock he found out of place and put it back in its correct place.
TRPA President Cathy Capone enlisted Vallejo to help with Oak Restoration Area C, installing split rails around the new tree. Vallejo used reclaimed split rails to create a partial boundary for the restoration area.
There are many other volunteer opportunities both large and small at the Tule River Native Plant Demonstration Gardens. The next scheduled date is Friday, December 23rd. Wednesday, December 28, 9-11am; Wednesday, January 4, 9-11am; Saturday, January 7, 9am-noon. If you are interested in a garden project or would like to adopt trees along Parkway Drive, please contact Capone at tulerivergarden@gmail.com.