As the fog slowly burned off on a recent weekday afternoon, a dozen employees from the Temescal Whole Foods gathered with Friends of the Rockridge Greenbelt (FROG) to spruce up Little Frog Park.
Located at the corner of Clarke and Redondo, and built atop Temescal Creek, the park offers a reminder of Oakland’s natural landscape: while most of the creek now runs unseen beneath the neighborhood, an exposed section runs through the greenbelt, fed by water pumped from the culvert below.
The Temescal Creek runs right through Little Frog Park, requiring care to be sure the stream remains clear of debris. Photos Anna L Marks.
The volunteer day was part of Whole Foods’ “Community Connections” program, which allows each store to organize events with local nonprofits as a way to connect and give back.
“The Team Members who volunteered to participate are paid by Whole Foods,” says Clarke Pomeroy, the team leader for the Temescal store. “It seemed like a great idea because many of our team members use the park and love it.”
Equipped with rakes, shovels, brooms, and plenty of energy, volunteers cleared paths, removed debris from the creek, fluffed up the fibar© under the play equipment to make it softer for young children, sifted the sand in the sandbox, trimmed the ivy around the redwoods, and cleaned up the graffiti. FROG co-founder and organizer, Theresa Nelson, was on hand directing and coordinating the progress.
“We were thrilled when the team leader from Whole Foods at 51st and Telegraph contacted us about volunteering to help clean up Little Frog. The volunteers did an incredible amount of work in three hours.”
Volunteers spent several hours sweeping, raking, and beautifying Little Frog Park. Photos: Theresa Nelson
Little Frog Park is part of the larger Rockridge–Temescal Greenbelt that connects the two neighborhoods. The volunteer work exemplifies and carries on the community spirit that shaped the park’s founding when more than 1,300 residents came together for ten days to build the park in 2001.
Pomeroy appreciates the importance of accessible open space. “We all need contact with nature, and for kids, it is especially critical. We are blessed that Oakland has so many trees, and these green spaces, like Frog Park, improve everybody’s quality of life. It’s a pleasure to support that in some small way.”
To learn more about Frog Park, visit them at: www.frogpark.org.
