History San José’s Family Days Series Celebrates Earth Day with Litter Clean Up and Archaeology Saturday, April 20 at History Park in Kelley Park

San José, CA – April 11, 2013 --- Earth Day has been observed since 1970, and nowadays it always falls on April 22. Arbor Day is April 26. The most common way to celebrate is to plant a tree, or just go outside. This year in a harmonic convergence of nature and to honor both Earth Day and Arbor Day,  History San José is hosting a Kelley Park Litter Cleanup, as well as its exhibit, Shaped by Water: Past, Present and Future.

 

History San José will celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day on Saturday, April 20 by inviting the public to a cleanup of Kelley Park. Partnering with Bright Green San Jose, the public is invited to participate beginning at 9 AM.

 

"The significance of honoring our planet with both trees, nature and water makes History Park a natural venue for a celebration,” said Alida Bray, President and CEO of History San José. "With Earth Day and Arbor Day, it is a wonderful integration with the award-winning exhibit Shaped by Water: Past Present & Future."

 

In keeping with the theme, there will be family activities and crafts for children, including making flower pots, planting ‘birdhouse’ gourd seeds and demonstrations by Our City Forest.

 

A family favorite, Archaeology Dig will be hosted by Stanford Archaeology Department Students.

 

There will be a concert by Linda Tringali at 2 PM on The Plaza. History Park will also have trolley rides available and historic homes available for a visit.

 

Inside the Gallery of the Pacific Hotel is  Shaped by Water: Past, Present and Future, an exhibit depicting how water has literally shaped the history of Santa Clara Valley, and highlights what challenges our community will face in the future. The exhibition demonstrates through photographs, artistic interpretations, stories and interactive activities for kids of all ages, the unique connection between humans and this precious and finite resource.

 

Kelley Park Litter Clean Up will begin at from  9 AM to Noon. The clean-up is for children ages 10 and up, as well as adults.  Park clean-up registration begins at 9 am at the Phelan Avenue entrance to History Park. There is no charge for the creek clean-up, and everyone is invited.

 

Refreshments will be available for purchase from Larry’s Hot Dogs, Mona’s Fruit, Treat Ice Cream in O’Brien’s Ice Cream Parlor and Tony’s Popcorn Cart.

 

Admission is free for HSJ members, or $5 per person, city parking lots are $6. History Park is located at 1650 Senter Road (for GPS puposes, use 635 Phelan Avenue, San Jose, CA).

 

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Upcoming History San José Family Days will include:

Sunday, May 19: Celebrate Sempervirens 150th Anniversary, visit Andrew Hill and John Muir, and Dig San José: Public Archaeology Day for children at History Park. Admission charged.

Sunday, June 16: Celebrate Father’s Day at History Park as we celebrate Historic Transportation Day with toy trains, hand car and trolley rides, sit in the Wells Fargo Stage Coach and listen to stories about early travel.

Admission charged.

Sunday, July 7:  Gold Rush Family Day:  this family-friendly event  at History Park will highlight gold-panning activities for the children, and will celebrate the cultural diversity that the Gold Rush attracted to California and the Valley. Lion dancers will celebrate the contribution of the Chinese people to the Gold Rush. Admission charged.

Sunday, August 25 is the Fandango at the Peralta Adobe Historic Site

Sunday, October 27 is Haunt History Park, celebrating Halloween

Sunday, November 24 is the 236^th Happy Birthday San José! celebration at the Peralta – Fallon Historic Site

Saturday, December 14 is the Children’s Heritage Festival at History Park.

 

For more information call 408 918-1047 or visit www.historysanjose.org

 

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About History San José: 

History San José is a non-profit organization that collects, preserves and celebrates the stories of diversity and innovation in San José and the Santa Clara Valley. HSJ manages one of the largest and most comprehensive regional history collections in the State of California, from 1784 Spanish governmental records to twenty-first century Silicon Valley technology. 

History San José     1650 Senter Road     San José, CA  95112       408.287.2290

 

Website:  historysanjose.org

Blog: historysanjose.org/blog

Facebook: /historysanjose

Twitter: @historysanjose

San Jose Earth Day Events Next Week

Friday, April 29, 2011
11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
San José City Hall Plaza – 200 E. Santa Clara Street, San José, CA

Bright Green Day is a one-day event held on April 29. The Showcase will feature an Efficiency and Solar Energy Fair on Saturday, April 30 for additional self-guided tours.

• Tours & Workshops
• Activities
• Music & Special Guests
• Local Food
• Receive a Free Reusable Bag
• Transportation
• Zero Waste Event
• Safety
• ADA Amenities
• Sponsors

This free event is a partnership between the City of San José and Department of Energy's Solar America Communities program.

For more info, click here!

Earth Day Idea: Bike Sharing

A few days ago I stumbled upon an article talking about a bike sharing program in Denver. Starting today, Denver residents will be able to rent a bike Zipcar-syle for $5 a day, $20 a week, $30 a month, or $65 a year. This is the part that's really cool... if a bicyclist can pick up and return a bike within 30min, it's free. Over 400 bikes will be available across multiple stations throughout, giving Denver the largest bike-share program in the US. There's a little Silicon Valley in there too... bikers each get a personal account page which tracks how many miles you've traveled, carbon offset, calories burned, money saved, etc.

Why am I telling you all this about Denver? I think this is simply a phenomenal concept. I wish we thought of it first! We have an amazing bicycling community here and you need to look no further than San Jose Bike Party as a shining example of this. Biking is a great way to reduce traffic and pollution, live healthier, and build a unique culture. They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, so I say we compliment Denver by shamelessly taking their concept and implementing it here as well. Perhaps we can even do a little to make it our own (electric-assisted hybrid bikes like the ones we may see at the San Pedro Square Market)?

As ground zero for green-tech innovation, we should be on top of this stuff. I would love to one day be able to walk around downtown and hop on a bike for a quick ride with friends, or spontaneously join a bike party. With billions going to BART and HSR, hopefully the city can one day also spare a million or two on a high-impact bike sharing program like our friends in Denver.

Great Earth Day Idea from San Mateo

Those that work in San Mateo and pledge to take public transportation during "Earth Day week" (April 19th-23rd) will be eligible to get a free $10 TransLink card. This card is essentially a unified transit ticket that works on Caltrain, BART, Muni, AC Transit, Golden Gate Transit / Ferry, and eventually buses. Hopefully VTA will take note and join the club--especially with Grand Central Station San Jose coming soon to Diridon Station (VTA Lightrail, VTA Buses, BART, Caltrain, ACE, Amtrack, and Hight Speed Rail all in a single location). 

As population and commute times continue to rise, we really need to encourage better usage of public transit. This initiative from San Mateo is exactly what we should do here to continue to get better utilization and grow our transit system. Many people don't realize that our Light Rail system is actually pretty nice. It's far from perfect, but definitely usable... especially if someone is giving you free money to ride it. For more information on what our neighbor up north is doing, click here. Also if you happen to work in San Mateo, you might as well go for your free TransLink card as well!