AND THE GROUNDHOG SAYS………….AN EARLY SPRING!!
Reminder…..Community Center Survey
It’s not too late! Please take a few minutes and complete the Community Center Questionnaire to provide your ideas about the opportunities and challenges for recreation in the city. The survey is not that long and can be completed online or you can pick up a copy at the Bobby Pearse Center. With talk about consolidation of centers, etc., we want to show the city that we value our community center and the future opportunities it holds. You need only look at the calendar to see what a great job Pam Davis is doing in bringing new programs and activities to the Bobby Pearse Community Center. The only way to show your support is to speak out now!
Stone Avenue Master Plan Clears First Hurdle
At last months’ Planning Commission Meeting, the Stone Avenue Master Plan was approved and now goes to City Council for approval at their February 14 meeting at 5:30 PM at City Hall. While we are still a long way from implementation, the plan has been approved conceptually, i.e. the Planning Commission feels this is the right direction. We’ll keep you posted on developments and future meetings. If you are interested in being a part of “Friends of Stone Avenue”, please contact Mike Mecklenburg at 235-7351. If you have questions about the plan status or what’s to come, feel free to contact Jennifer Rigby at 467-4552.
A Win for Trees in Greenville?
At their January 24 meeting, City Council approved amendments to the Land Management Ordinance to “clarify and further enumerate the landscape standards associated with development”. No doubt, this was likely in part due to public outcry regarding the destruction of trees at the Brookside Development site. According to the summary background provided, “City Council recognized the need to amend the Land Management Ordinance to conform to the purposes and principles of the Comprehensive Plan and recognizes the need to ensure the consistency of land development regulations and to promote the protection and preservation of natural resources via state-of-the-art techniques and regulations. City Council also recognizes the need to reconcile the obligation of new landscaping, buffering and screening regulations with the improvement to the quality of life for all Greenville citizens.” For more details on the ordinance amendments, go to this website.
City Continues Work on Downtown Tree Management Plan
Work was to begin the week of January 24, 2011 (depending on weather) in the 200 block of North Main St., continuing the city’s proactive implementation of the Downtown Tree Management Plan. This year’s work should take approximately 2-3 months to complete. Maps showing the areas the City will be targeting for the tree replacement and rehabilitation program are available online. Click to view the project maps:
Tree Rehab on Beattie-North | Tree Rehab on North-McBee
This year marks the fifth year of the program. The goal is to preserve the aesthetics of the Main Street tree canopy and landscape for many years to come. As in the past, the project will involve the removal of some trees which will be replaced with a more suitable species, utilizing the most current urban tree planting technology available. Other components of the program involve improving the growing conditions for the large oak trees and removing sidewalk trip hazards. While closure of some sections of sidewalks will be necessary, access to downtown businesses will remain open and every effort to minimize the impact of construction on merchants and their customers will be made. A Schneider Tree Care representative will be in communication with affected businesses to keep them informed about all aspects of the project. (email communication, City of Greenville, 1/22/11)
Rescued Ferns Find New Home at Rotary Park
On Saturday, January 22, the Upstate Chapter of the SC Native Plant Society rescued Christmas ferns and Eastern Red Cedars from Twin Chimneys Landfill. Several of our North Main members then met them at the North Main Rotary Park where we planted them into their new home. The ferns will make a great addition to the park and will look especially nice since they keep their green color at Christmas, hence the name. Thanks to Rick Huffman for contacting us about this opportunity and thanks to Rick and his volunteers for digging them. Plant rescue and relocation is one of many activities of the local Native Plant Society. For more information about membership and/or upcoming activities, check out their website.
Weather Tidbits
What a treat (if you didn’t have to travel in it)…snow for Christmas and an even bigger one in January! According to climate data, the average maximum temperature for Greenville in February is 55°F, the average low is 34°F and the average precipitation (rainfall) is 4.24”. The record maximum temperature was 81°F in 1996, and the record minimum was -5°F in 1899. The average snowfall in is 1.6” and the record snowfall was 8.2” on February 18, 1979. We typically have 14 days in February where the low temperature drops to freezing or below. SC Climate Website
How Much Water is in Fresh Snow?
Many of us enjoyed the beauty and fun of our January snowstorm…but one benefit of snow is that it provides a great soaking irrigation for our landscape plants as it slowly melts. So, just how do you measure liquid water when it’s all snow? It depends….. Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) is the amount of water contained within the snowpack, and it’s actually a very important tool in some areas for stream flow forecasting. The standard technique is to use a level surface, stick a ruler in the snow and see how deep it is. But, the total depth of snow added to the ground is rarely as large as the amount of snow that falls. Several things happen. First, as snow first hits the ground, it might melt. Eventually, if it snows hard enough, the snow starts “sticking”. Second, as snow gets added to the snowpack it compresses the snow beneath it, so six inches plus six inches might only equal ten inches. Finally, if some rain is mixed in it might melt some of the snow, which then might re-freeze into a hard crust.
So, how much water is in fresh snow? A good average number is that a foot of snow is equivalent to about one inch of water. But this number is highly variable, and in particular is strongly dependent on temperature. If the temperature is above freezing, an inch of liquid might correspond to six inches of snow. This is called wet snow. If the temperature is around 30 degrees, ten inches of snow might equal an inch of rain. And if the temperature is only 10 degrees Fahrenheit, it might take 18 to 24 inches of snow to equal one inch of liquid water. This is called dry snow, or powder snow. But however you measure it….the plants love it!
Gardening in February?
When it’s cold outside, it’s hard to start thinking in terms of vegetable gardening; however, several early season vegetables can be planted in the Piedmont region of South Carolina in February. These include asparagus, cabbage (from seedlings), mustard, garden peas, radishes, spinach and turnips. Even if not planting in February, it’s a good time to start thinking and preparing garden beds now as many more vegetables can be planted as the weather warms in March, April and May. For information on planning and preparing a vegetable garden, including planting dates for each region, see HGIC 1256, Planning a Garden. Soil sampling and testing information can be found in HGIC 1652, Soil Testing. Even more information on vegetable and other edible crops gardening can be found in the numerous fact sheets in the Vegetable, Fruits & Nuts section of the Home & Garden Information Center web site.
And don’t get too carried away by the warm spells that we’ll start seeing…..winter’s not over yet! While the best time to prune is generally late winter to early spring, before leaves begin emerging, pruning, along with moderating temperatures, does stimulate growth which can be damaged by extremely cold temperatures. Keep in mind this rule of thumb: Summer-Flowering Plants: Prune before spring growth begins (produce flowers on current season’s growth) Spring-Flowering Plants: Prune after flowering (produce flowers on previous season’s growth)
Neighborhood Safety Reminder
Last month we sent an email regarding two individuals in the W. Hillcrest and Buist Ave. areas who were again knocking on doors and asking for work/money. We also sent out a list of organizations that have resources to help these individuals. We were not suggesting you open your door and give them this information. You can never be too careful. We want to emphasize that the best way to deal with this issue is still to NOT answer the door and call the non-emergency police number (271-5333). We provided this list of resources only as a source of information for those who may want it.
Cosmos for Critters 2011Fundraiser
Several non-profit rescue organizations in the Upstate have joined forces to put on a masquerade extravaganza on February 26 from 7 – 11 PM at Zen (an event venue at 924 South Main Street in Greenville). They will have a DJ, catering by Chef360, and a silent auction.
• Carolina Basset Hound Rescue (184 basset hounds pulled from kill shelters and adopted to new forever homes in 2009 alone with over 1,500 since their inception)
• Concerned Citizens for Animals (oldest no-kill shelter in the upstate)
• Grey Muzzle Organization (no dog should die alone just because they are old)
• K9.5 Rescue (dedicated to large breeds and special needs canines)
• Dogs Deserve Better (Education and supply for fencing for dogs that are chained)
The plight of abandoned companion animals is a community problem. Please show your support by participating in this fun event and spreading the word to friends and neighbors! For more information or to purchase tickets go to the Cosmos for Critters Website.
Got Time? Love Animals? Volunteer!
Founded in 1980, Concerned Citizens for Animals (CCA) is a local non-profit 501c (3) animal shelter and rescue group. CCA has active chapters in both Greenville & Pickens counties. They have many opportunities for animal lovers! Just a few of the areas that are available for volunteer opportunities are shelter assistance, animal transport, advertising and communication, and fundraising and special event assistance. If any of these opportunities are of interest, please complete the Volunteer Application Form and send it in! Email the Volunteer Coordinator for more information: volunteer@ccaweb.org or check out their website. You can also download their latest newsletter for more information about activities and adoptable animals!
Interested in volunteering for the Greenville Humane Society? New volunteer orientation is conducted every month. Upcoming orientation dates are February 15 and March 15 at 6 pm in the lobby of adoption center. All volunteers must go through orientation before they can start volunteer work at the Greenville Humane Society. Your volunteer schedule will be based on availability of the time slots you prefer (usually a two-hour time period). For more information, go to their website or call Paula at 242-3626 x222.
Calendar
City Council Formal Meeting and Work Session schedules.
February 15 – 6 PM. Greenville Humane Society Volunteer Orientation.
February 15 – 7 PM. SC Native Plant Society Upstate Meeting. Wildflower Hikes & Hotspots in the North Carolina Mountains. Greenville Tec @ McAlister Square, 225 S Pleasantburg Dr. Greenville. From strenuous high-elevation hikes on grassy balds and mountain peaks to lazy ambles along cascading streams, the North Carolina mountains offer an amazing variety of wildflower-viewing opportunities. With camera in tow, Kevin Adams has been exploring this land for nearly thirty years. In this special program, he will share some of his favorite spots for viewing wildflowers throughout the season from March to October. Kevin is author of North Carolina’s Best Wildflower Hikes and North Carolina Waterfalls a Hiking & Photography Guide.
February 18-21 – Great Backyard Bird Count. Now is the perfect time to brush up on your winter birds, and remind family and friends that the 14th annual GBBC (Great Backyard Bird Count) is just around the corner. Downloadable flyers and web buttons are available on the GBBC website to you help you spread the word. Social networking is the electronic “word-of-mouth” you can use to help spread information about the GBBC far and wide. So go ahead and tweet about what you’re doing to get ready for the GBBC—tag your tweet with #gbbc and it will be drawn into a special widget that will appear on the GBBC home page. You can also be a fan on the GBBC Facebook page and share your images.
February 26 – Cosmos for Critters Masquerade Extravaganza. 7 – 11 PM at Zen (an event venue at 924 South Main Street in Greenville) For more information or tickets go to their website.
February 27 – 3 – 5pm. Friends of Springwood Annual Meeting. Upcountry History Museum.
March 4-6 – Spring Southern Home & Garden Show. Carolina First Center.
March 11 – 4th Annual Sips for Snips. Zen. 924 S. Main St. 6-9 pm. Mark your calendars now for this fundraiser for the Greenville Humane Society. Tickets: $40. Watch for more information on the Humane Society website.
Upcoming Programs (Spring 2011) for the Bobby Pearse Community Center:
The following classes will be held at the Bobby Pearse Community Center, 904 Townes St., on the dates indicated. For additional information or to register for programs call or email Pam Davis at 864-467-4331 or pdavis@greenvillesc.gov .
Program Name: Outdoor Movie @ N. Main Rotary Park
Dates/ Time: Sunday, March 6 @ 7pm
Fee: FREE
Description: Come join us in the outfield of N. Main Rotary Park (the baseball field behind Bobby Pearse Community Center) on Sunday, March 6 at 7pm for the showing of the movie “The Sandlot”! Bring your friends, family, blankets and a picnic! (No alcohol and no pets, please!)
Program Name: Baby & Me
Dates/ Time: Now – May 20; Fridays, 10-11am
Fee: $2 per class
Registration: Participants do need to register in advance for this class but fee may be paid upon arrival.
Description: This class will be geared to parents/ caregivers and their babies (6 months to 24 months old) who would like to engage in social and play opportunities with other caregivers and babies. This class will incorporate music, art, games and other activities geared to this age.
Program Name: Homeschool Fitness
Dates/ Time: Now – May 4; Wednesdays; 9:45am – 10:45am for 6-12 year olds
Fee: 1 Child = $35; 2 Children = $60; 3 Children or more = $75
Registration: Call 467-4331
Description: This program will provide fitness classes for homeschooled children on Wednesday mornings. The classes will incorporate physical fitness and nutrition education as the priority. We will also focus on stretching, running, sports and games that encourage physical activity.
Program Name: Yoga
Dates/ Time: Now – February 28 & ***New Session*** March 7 – April 15; Mondays, 6:30-7:45pm
Fee: $5 per class or $35 for the entire spring 8-week session paid in full
Registration: on-line or if paying per class, fee may be paid upon arrival.
Description: Come join our yoga classes as this session will run on Mondays through February 28. It is $5 per class. We will also be offering a spring yoga session starting March 7. This will also be an 8-week beginner yoga class. The instructor, Brooke Kleinfelter, will teach the class at a beginner level; however, it will tailored to the participants, so all levels are welcome to join.
Program Name: The Greenville Chess Club
Dates/ Time: Every Thursday at 7pm
Description: The Greenville Chess Club meets each Thursday evening at 7pm. Both rated and informal games are played, and everyone is welcome.
Program Name: The Greenville Storytellers GuildDates/ Time: 7-9pm on the 3rd Tuesday of each month
Fee: FREE
Description: Storytellers and listeners are welcome! The stories must be approximately ten minutes in length (or shorter) and appropriate for all audiences. Genres include local folk lore, ghost stories, family narratives and classic tales. The Greenville Storytellers Guild is open for anyone to join.
Program Name: Folk Dancing
Dates/ Time: March 6 – April 10, Sundays, 6:30-8pm
Fee: $30 for 6-week session
Registration: on-line
Description: In this 6-week session, participants will learn social dances that have simple steps and rhythms from countries and cultures all over the world. They may range from slow and meditative to more aerobic and dynamic, and may be done in circles, lines or with partners. Dances from Bulgaria, Israel, Romania, Turkey, England, Scotland, Greece, America, and many other countries will be taught. International folk dancers truly are “Dancers Without Borders.” The classes will provide fun, exercise and a way to meet new people.
Program Name: Tai Chi
Dates/ Time: March 12 – April 16, Saturdays, 8:45-9:45am
Fee: $30 for 6-week session
Registration: on-line
Description: Tai Chi is one of the most effective exercises for mind/body health. It is easy to learn initially – though through continued practice tai chi will continue to offer deeper and more profound benefits over time. The movements are slow and gentle thus making tai chi suitable for people of all levels of ability. The essential principles and benefits include a more holistic mind/body integration, greater fluidity of movement, enhanced balance and coordination, healthier breathing patterns, deeper mental concentration & focus, a more harmonious mental state and deeper levels of relaxation. In this class, we will work with a Tai Chi form developed specifically for people suffering with arthritis – although it is an excellent introductory form for anyone with health concerns or for one wishing to begin the tai chi journey. It is a safe, fun and easy to learn program. Studies confirm that this Tai chi for Arthritis form can help relieve pain, reduce falls and, in general, improve one’s quality of life.
Program Name: Keep It Moving
Dates/ Time: Once a Week: March 12 – April 16, Saturdays, 10-11am
Twice a Week: March 9 – April 16, Wednesdays 6:30-7:30pm & Saturdays, 10-11am
Fee: Once a Week: $12 for six-week session
Twice a Week: $20 for six-week session
Registration: on-line
Description: This class will be geared to children 8-18 years old who are battling obesity. Our instructor, Heather Moore, is a nurse practitioner who works specifically with obese youth. 17% of SC youth are overweight and 14% are considered obese. Prevention is the only way to halt to the obesity epidemic in the United States. This 6-week program is designed specifically for this population to aid in the incorporation of healthy lifestyle changes that will last. Our objective: Get kids moving! We will do this by incorporating activity into a positive, welcoming environment where kids can feel comfortable moving their bodies to overall health. We will determine individual goals and objectives for overall health while taking into consideration strengths and fears in performing activities. Ultimately, we will incorporate didactic into program that includes not only physical health but also nutritional and emotional health.
Program Name: Vision Board Workshops
Dates/ Time: Saturday, March 5 & Saturday, April 2, 1-5pm
Fee: $10
Registration: on-line
Description: One of the best ways to clarify your vision of what you want in your life and accelerate your ability to create that vision in the physical world is through the creation of a Vision Board. Participants will each create their own vision board. They are typically made of poster board on which you paste or collage images that you have cut out from various magazines. It is really easy, fun and inspirational. The concept is to surround yourself with images of who you want to become, what you want to do, what you want to have, where you want to live and/or where you want to vacation and other desires of the heart. No matter where you are on your journey of creating your life, this workshop will help move you to the next level. Materials Required: 1 sheet poster board (in your preferred color and size).
In partnership with the Emrys Foundation, the Bobby Pearse Center will be offering the following writing workshops:
Program Name: Monthly Writing Workshops: Out of your Head and onto the Pages
Dates/ Time: The second Sunday of the month: March 13, April 10 & May 8, 2-4pm
Fee: $5 per class
Registration: Register at the Emrys website or fee may be paid upon arrival to the class.
Description: These writing workshops, led by various members of the Writing Room faculty, are designed to stimulate creativity and generate ideas for fiction and nonfiction. We’ll use a series of short in-class writing exercises to inspire new work and deepen your writing. Come prepared to write in class, to share your exercises without fear or self-judgment, and above all, have some fun. All levels are welcome.
Program Name: Writing about Food Workshop
Dates/ Time: Saturday, March 27, 2-4pm
Fee: $25; $20 for Emrys members
Registration: on-line at the Emrys website
Description: The potential of a good meal to evoke time and place and company is one of the most powerful tools a writer owns. And so writing about food has never been relegated entirely to the cookbook; this rich sensory landscape strengthens novels and memoirs, as well as forms the core of more journalistic culinary articles. Ashley Warlick is the author of three novels: The Distance from the Heart of Things (1996), The Summer After June (2000), and Seek the Living (2005), all published by Houghton Mifflin Company. She is a recipient of a 2006 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She teaches in the MFA program at Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is editor of edible Upcountry magazine.
Program Name: Nature Writing: Capture the Magic of the Outdoors on the Page
Dates/ Time: Saturday, April 9, 2-5pm
Fee: $25; $20 Emrys members
Registration: on-line at the Emrys website
Description: Whether it’s fiction, creative nonfiction or essay, the natural world offers the writer many options for moving plot forward, revealing character and more. In this workshop, we’ll look at some writers who use the natural world well in a variety of ways, spend some time outside together learning to read the natural landscape, and do some writing of our own.
Program Name: Poetry Workshop: Finding Your VoiceA Craft Workshop co-sponsored by the Poetry Society of South Carolina
Dates/ Time: Saturday, March 5, 10am-Noon
Fee: $20 for Emrys and Poetry Society of SC members ; $25 for nonmembers ; $30 after Feb. 28 and at the door
Registration: on-line at the Emrys website
Description: Poets are often exhorted: “Find your voice”—as though it were a rock dropped into a lake and hidden among the reeds. What does voice mean—for the poet and for the poem? Is one’s voice ever lost—or has it become so muted, so timid and tentative, that it cannot be heard clearly by the reader? If so, how does a poet take charge of her words, come into her own power and say what is on her mind in a way that only she can say it? Gibson, author of three prize-winning poetry books, often tries to discover/create voices of historical/ mythical women. She calls it “my most difficult task and the most exciting.” She plans interaction with the audience during the workshop (even some writing).
Don’t forget to renew your NMCA membership. Only $10 annually. You can renew easily via PayPal or download, complete and mail the form found at our website membership page. Membership runs on a calendar year from Jan 1 to Dec 31. If you are not sure if you are current in your dues, please let us check for you. Just email pgilreath@aol.com and we’ll let you know. We need your participation!! Tell your neighbors,too. Thank you!!
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