Civic Improvement

Click HERE for the 2022-2023 Civic Projects Report

Below is a partial list of PGC civic projects and contributions to local projects from 2000-2024

• VA, Firehouse and City Hall landscaping and irrigation 100th Anniversary combining 2020 funding (2024)
• Native Garden refurbished with new plants, sidewalk  improvements & a sign identifying the native plants (2023)
• Community Center front hedge and landscaping native plant area above the path in Linda dog park across from Beach School (2022)
• PGC Photographers Shoot Winning Heritage Trees
• Native plants to surround re-designed park entrance at Highland/Guilford (2021)
• New native plantings at Fire House and Veterans Hall (2020)
• Necklace of lights at Community Hall Plaza (2019)
• Dog/People water fountain at Dracena Park; Hanging baskets workshop (2018)
• Bench and plantings at Hampton Field (2017)
• Under-bench lighting at Tea House deck (2016)
• Bioswale in Dracena Park ; Linda Kingston Triangle (2015)
• New trees to replace those lost in the November windstorm (2014)
• Light the Lantern Project at Lower Grand Avenue (2013)
• Cherry tree planting near Tea House; Ramona Ronada triangle (2012)
• Contribution to PBF in support of a new deck for the Tea House (2011)
• Lighting of Bufano bear sculpture in Crocker Park (2010)
• Hall Fenway Landscape Renovation (2009)
• Exedra Plaza Project Phase III (2008)
• Oakland Avenue bridge lights; Wildwood Edible Garden (2007)
• Centennial Signs for Piedmont Park & Beach School Edibles Garden (2006)
• Drains to the Bay (2005)
• Exedra Park Plaza – staircase lighting  (2004)
• Dracena Park – Children’s Play Structures – fundraising   (2003)
• Lighting of Exedra Park oak tree- funding/planning   (2003)
• Planted Hanging Baskets – Main Park  (2000 – 2003)
• Exedra Park Project- completion in November  (2002)
• Exedra Park Project- funding/planting  (2001)
• Plant material purchased & planted at Tea House  (2000)

Click HERE to view all of PGC’s civic projects and contributions through 1924.

MISSION STATEMENT

In the spirit of fostering collaboration and camaraderie among the six Northern California Garden Club of America clubs, the Bay Visions Committee was formed to help restore and protect the San Francisco bays. Consistent with the purpose of GCA, Bay Visions works with and educates our members and our communities on the bays’ critical importance to the surrounding communities and environment. It supports the diverse, ongoing conservation and improvement efforts on our bays and estuaries.

WHO ARE WE?

The group consists of 15 members (2 from each club) including a Chair, a Vice Chair and a Secretary. Other members included will be: the current P4P Vice Chair, Zone XII Conservation /NAL Rep and Zone XII Horticulture Rep.

The committee will meet as needed and at least 4 times per year to facilitate the process of restoration of the bay. The six clubs, Woodside Atherton Garden Club, Hillsborough Garden Club, Marin Garden Club, Piedmont Garden Club, Orinda Garden Club and Carmel by the Sea Garden Club will come together to learn, share and eventually celebrate our successful restoration efforts.

OUR GOALS

All six clubs will set aside the same day to be educated about SF area bay restoration. The format, content, frequency, timing and location of this gathering will be determined and planned by the committee in conjunction with the six clubs’ Program Chairmen. Each club’s projects to restore the bay will be supported and encouraged by the committee with the view to sharing ideas and strengthening our commitment and effectiveness.

On January 13, 2021 the six Bay Area GCA clubs met virtually for Bay Visions 2021: The Power of Plants Will Protect the Bay. It was an inspiring look at adaptation, regeneration, and the powerful role plants play in mitigating the challenges facing San Francisco Bay.

GCA in the City is coming to San Francisco this fall. Spread the word to young adults you know in the San Francisco Bay Area!

GCA in the City debuts in San Francisco on Wed. September 18, 2024 with a gathering featuring cocktails, social time and a talk by Sonoma State Professor Brent Hughes entitled “Unlikely Heroes: Sea Otters in the Monterey Bay.”

Please support this initiative by asking your members to forward the link below to young professionals so they can sign-up for the invite list. By clicking on Join the GCA in the City/SF Invite List, they will receive details on the event. It promises to be a fun evening, and a great way to meet new friends.

We plan to host 3-4 events each year after the September kickoff. GCA in the City events are open to men and women aged 25-45, no GCA affiliation necessary.

Our mission is to educate and inspire individuals into recreating our lost biodiversity and tackling environmental challenges through dense plantings of native trees and shrubs, aimed at attracting and nurturing wildlife. Click HERE to read more about Micro-Forests.

Click HERE to view the Miyawaki Micro-Forest in Berkeley video.

Oakland’s Morcom Rose Garden is cared for by a slew of community volunteers, including Piedmont Garden Club members who weed there two to three times a year. PGC also supports Morcom financially with annual donations

In 1994, Deni Bates, a Piedmont Garden Club (PGC) member and landscape architect, in collaboration with renowned “native plant pioneer” and landscape architect, Nancy Hardesty, designed and planted a native plant demonstration garden in the Piedmont Park. The garden featured many native plants established in the park at that time.

With assistance from the City of Piedmont, PGC has maintained this garden for the past 30 years.

Today, we know even more about the far-reaching benefits of native plants in our gardens and public spaces. In June 2022, the Garden Club of America (GCA) published a position paper on the topic which can be read here. https://www.gcamerica.org/publications/publicationdetails/pid/959

In collaboration with the city, and with a generous donation from the Bates family, Piedmont Garden Club is in the process of refreshing our garden with new fencing and signage and replenishing plants that are missing or struggling.

Our vision is that the Native Garden will educate and inspire visitors about the importance of native plants. They will observe their beauty in a natural setting and visualize how to incorporate more natives into their own gardens.

Partners for Plants is a joint program of The Garden Club of America’s Conservation and Horticulture Committees to monitor and conserve rare plants, restore native habitats and remove invasive weeds on federal, state and local public lands. Partners for Plants volunteers have partnered with land agencies to conserve a variety of natural open spaces throughout the United States. Since the program’s beginning in 1992, there have been over 470 projects nationwide.   

In 2019 we were approved for an additional P4P project that involves planting native Aristolochia at various places in the East Bay Regional Parks to expand habitat for the local Swallowtail butterfly. Learn more HERE.

In 2021, Piedmont Garden Club began its partnership with the Peralta Hacienda Historical Park (PHHP), a community center serving the ethnically diverse Fruitvale district of Oakland, California. The PHHP provides a gathering space for various cultural communities and serves as a bridge between people and nature, people of different cultures, and people of different generations and abilities. In collaboration with PHHP, PGC created and maintains a native plant garden; assists with the youth environmental education programs; and fosters connections between organizations to help achieve PHHP’s goals. In April of 2022, PGC was awarded one of the first Garden Club of America’s Common Ground Collaborative Grants for $10,000 to help fund this effort.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

~ Margaret Mead

Save the Redwoods League

The Garden Club of America purchased a grove of over 5000 acres in Humboldt State Park with the help of Save the Redwoods League between the 1932 and the 1950s, encompassing almost the entire Canoe Creek watershed.  This was GCA’s first Conservation Project. The special relationship between The Garden Club of  America, and particularly the Piedmont Garden Club, has continued throughout the years of working together to protect the redwood trees in the grove, support the league  and encourage members to visit and learn about  these incredible trees.

Save the San Francisco Bay Foundation

The Piedmont Garden Club works closely with ecologists from Save the Bay on our Partners for Plants Project at Martin Luther King Jr. Shoreline where we are restoring part of the  shoreline by planting natives plants.  We also work with Save the Bay on educational outreach to  our members on the ecology of  the Bay and initiatives like measure A to fund wetlands  restoration. PGC supports Save the Bay with donations and volunteers.

UC Botanical Garden

This garden with a world class plant collection is in our own backyard.  There is a history of Piedmont Garden Club members and their involvement with the UC Botanical Garden as Board Members, Volunteers and Donors.  The Garden is a source of education for PGC members through talks, field trips and workshops.

Student Conservation Association

The Student Conservation Association was started by a Garden Club of America member 50 years ago.  Piedmont Garden Club continues to support this organization and its mission to train the next generation of conservation leaders and help with the stewardship of our public lands.  Recently SCA members have been doing restoration work on the trails of the GCA Redwood Grove.

Garden Club of America Scholarships

The Piedmont Garden Club contributes annually to Garden Club of America Scholarships that  help students learning about conservation and the environment.

In Addition, the Conservation and Horticultural Committees contribute to worthy local and regional organizations

2024 Conservation Donations

• Golden Gate  Audubon Society
• California Native Plants Society, East Bay Chapter
• East Bay Regional Parks Foundation
• Lake Merritt Institute
• Pollinator Posse

2024 Horticulture Donations

• California Native Plant Society 
• Dawn Gardens
• Peralta Hacienda
• Piedmont Native Plant Garden
• Western Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society