April has been a busy month! In this issue, we cover:
The Demonstration Garden is planted! Our small and mighty team of volunteers got all of the plants in place on April 17th. You can find a few more details about the garden and plants we used on our Demonstration Garden page.
And, volunteer Melanie did us proud by painting a birdhouse with a "Flags of the Titanic" theme. The Southwest BID is hanging birdfeeders at the Duck Pond and Lansburgh Park to celebrate Earth Day.
We have meetings scheduled for both Visitor Count Training and for planning the Titanic 110th Anniversary:
Visitor Count Training - Monday, April 26 at 7:00 pm (via Zoom)
You must register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tdO-oqT4uH9AtNTddkffwzsYAEu74sp_2
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Titanic 110th Anniversary Planning - Monday, May 3 at 7:00 pm (via Zoom)
You must register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrc-uqqjMsGdeswObMCGlevo2nRTW5h4mf
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
And don't forget that the City Nature Challenge takes place April 30 - May 3, 2021. Just like last year, the 2021 challenged is designed for individuals and family groups to join in where they feel safe and can maintain social distance. Visit the City Nature Challenge Website for virtual training, guidelines, and tips. You can spend as little as 15 minutes, or literally hours, capturing images of nature in our own back yard.
We've had several questions about issues like broken lights, bench painting, and tiles in the play areas. Here is the current status of Park maintenance: NPS Field staff continues to be severely curtailed due to COVID restrictions. This is why many regular maintenance items are delayed. NPS has hired contractors to service the trash cans and perform landscaping maintenance. We need to be patient just a little longer. The Park Service is hopeful that maintenance will return to a more normal schedule by the Fall of 2021. We are keeping in touch with NPS and will schedule a bench painting volunteer event as soon as we can do so.
The Park Service has continued planning for major renovation work in the Park, and they are working to secure funding for restoration of the concrete sidewalks in about 3 years. While planning is in the early stages and funding is not secured yet, we are very excited that the need is recognized and NPS is working toward a solution.
At this point, full funding for other aspects of needed restoration, such as landscaping and signage, is not identified at this time. So, the Friends Board is working with NPS to estimate the cost of those projects, so that we can begin a fundraising campaign to meet these other needs. Watch this space for more details! If you are interested in helping the Friends with fundraising, contact us at [email protected].
Corinne Irwin, Chair
Friends of Titanic Memorial Park