Petaluma River Tidings – January 2010

Welcome to the first Tidings of the year; a year in which we hope to bring expanded appreciation of the treasures within our Wetlands Empire. To this end Friends will continue to focus on improving and expanding the Petaluma River Heritage Center. In conjunction with those efforts we have several new offerings that are designed to excite interest in our watershed’s resources, our River’s history and Friends endeavors. Visit our new River Heritage Center web site, listen to our new audio recording, and read Friends 2009 annual report. For more news from the sloughs please read on …

Cheers; Capt. Dave Yearsley

River Heritage Center launches new web site:

Thanks to the amazing efforts of Friends office administrator Lucy Kenyon the Petaluma River Heritage Center now has its own web site www.PetalumaRHC.org. Visit it to learn about the Petaluma River and the efforts being made to restore the livery stable in Steamer Landing Park; a place for people of all ages to engage in River related activities, lore, and culture.

An exciting feature on the website is a new audio CD “Stories from the River Heritage Center”. This colorful recording, created by Petaluma media whiz Thom Butler and featuring an introduction by Mayor Pamela Torliatt, highlights many facets of the River’s resources. Friends Director Dave Yearsley tells those stories and local architect Mary Dooley paints a vision of the River Heritage Center’s future role in bringing them to life. Hard copies of the CD are also available from Friends for $5.

“Tribe Torch” work days:

Members of the men’s group Tribe Torch” donated 3 full Saturdays this past December, making major improvements that will help to protect the historic Livery Stable at Steamer Landing Park. They used their construction skills to place plastic sheathing over the porous southern façade. This in turn helps protect the stable’s new floor, which they cleaned, sanded, primed, and painted. Friends orchestrated the projects and the City of Petaluma provided the materials to assist the men of Tribe Torch. Our sincere thanks go out to all of the men who generously donated their time and skill to complete these projects.

RHC planners travel to study program models:

11/4 – River Heritage Center planners Mary Dooley, Bill Wolpert and David Yearsley traveled to the S.F. National Maritime Museum to discuss program ideas and possible collaborations. We learned from the Skippers of the “Alma” what makes their educational programs successful and were offered tentative plans for more Museum related activities in Petaluma in 2010; such as school trips on the Alma and building small boats.

12/1 –Board Members Elizabeth Howland and Elizabeth Mori were flown to Fresno by Friends supporter Sid Hendricks to learn about the San Joaquin River Parkway’s successful conservation and nature education programs. San Joaquin Director Dave Koehler and Bd. members George Folsom and Coke Hallowell met the travelers at the airfield in Fresno and were most generous in giving a tour of the organization’s diverse facilities while illuminating their successful 20 year history. They finished the tour with a gourmet picnic lunch by the River. See more pictures of the trips on Friend’s Flicker site and learn about the San Joaquin River Parkway Trust at: http://www.riverparkway.org/.

Mira Monte Marina being sold to Marin Audubon:

The Mire Monte Marina on San Antonio Creek is in the process of being purchased by Marin Audubon. The Burdell Island site, which spans the Marin County line and boasts the only launch ramp on the western side of the River between Petaluma and Novato has a long and colorful history. Although it has been closed to the public for many years it was once a popular oyster shack and water ski hotspot, while in earlier times it was a reputed prohibition hideout for bootleggers. Let’s hope that this unique location will once again open to the public and provide public access to the heart of the Petaluma Marsh. Read more on this story in the Marin IJ

Friends of the Petaluma River celebrates 4th year:

Friends had a very productive year Celebrating and Conserving the River. You can read more about our many accomplishments in our 2009 Annual Report.

On Dec. 6th Friends of the Petaluma River celebrated the conclusion of their fourth year with food and music at the Livery Stable. The celebration started with a special River Sutra blessing by Vasanti Jayaswal, which also paid special honors to community elders Lucy and Bill Kortum. Guests contributed wonderful holiday treats and free musical performances given by Larry Potts, The June Bugs, and the men’s chorus Sonoma Chansonne.

Box projects benefit the River:

Community volunteers, led by Andy LaCasse and Michael Kraus, worked with Friends to build several Barn Owl boxes, which have now been placed in strategic locations in Oak Hill Park, Ellis Creek, and the RHC, in hopes of attracting Owls to nest and help in controlling unwanted gophers. We also constructed many new doggie bag boxes and placed them along popular River trails to help keep animal feces out of the River. These activities are just some of the regular stewardship activities Friends undertakes to benefit the River.

Tom Sawyer Days coming to River Heritage Center:

On April 10th & 11th Friends of the Petaluma River will host “Tom Sawyer Days” at the River Heritage Center, near downtown Petaluma. The events will encourage children, adolescents and adults to engage in activities that reflect episodes in the book Tom Sawyer and life in a river town in general. Materials will be made available for a variety of book related activities and distributed around the 10 acre park.

Volunteers needed! If you would like help with Tom Sawyer Day activities please call us at 707 763-7756 to get more details or sign up on our contact list e-mail elizabeth [at] friendsofthepetalumariver.org

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest. KRCB Channel 22 and Radio 91 FM is the lead agency for The Big Read, Sonoma County.

Friends merchandise now available online!

Now you can buy beautiful art work, hard to find books and attractive “River Wear” at our online River Emporium. Visit our website to see the exciting selection of merchandise and follow directions to place an order. You can also purchase or pick up your orders at our office 260 H N. Water St. on M.W. & Fri 11 – 5 (or by appt.) Check out our offerings online. Here are some samples:

For more information or to help as a volunteer contact David Yearsley or call 707 763-7756.