2021 Su

September 2021mm

Tsuru Soars

er C

Thank you City of Gresham for giving us thefunds, to share to others Japanese culture
through performances and demonstrationsof talented musicians and artists.

Friends of the Gresham Japanese Garden Newsletter

Bonsai Teacher, Mark VossbrinkIkekana Teacher, Nana BellerudSeri

And thank you to this great community
for joining us and embracing the summer
events we were able to offer to you!

ultural

THANK YOU!

es

Origami Teacher, Eileen
Holzman and Garden
Volunteer, Ron Ture

W

Musicians from Oregon Koto-Kai

Musician, Yumi Torimaru

Performance Artist, Sora Shoda

Musicians from Takohachi, Inc.

Volunteer Newsletter Editors: Sue Hughes, Mary Taylor, and Mike Peterson. Photos credit, Bill Peterson, Mary Furness.

Our Turtle Has a Name

PHOTOGRAPHER’S VIEW
e had 13 thought-provoking
5. Ka Mae. Kame with a twist
names submitted for the Tsuru 6. Kenoshita. Gresham berry farming
長月の空色袷きたりけり
Island turtle. Here’s a short defamily.
naga tsuki no sora iro awase kitari keri
scription of the ‘why’ that accompanied
7. Johnson. Tying in support and water Ninth Month the sky wears a colorful kimono
each name.
through Native Americans, Johnson— Kobayashi Issa 1806
1. Kamekichi. ‘Kame’ means ‘turtle’ andCreek, and Reverend Jonas Johnson,— Bill Peterson‘kichi’ means ‘luck.’ So, its name could
a leader in the Gresham community.
mean that it’s a lucky turtle, or that
8. Midori Mosu. Represents the green
12. Kameko. Female name for turtle
back, and moss. Means love andthe turtle brings luck.
13. Marimo. Marimo moss balls grow in
2. Pacer. A slow, steady pace for succharity in a Japanese garden.
Japan and are very cute!
cessful living and longevity.
9. Gamme. Ranald MacDonald wrote
3. Reiki Takara. Reiki means ‘spirit turGamme in his glossary, instead of
The Turtle Naming Committee had muchtle’, and Takara is the Japanese word
Kame.
to discuss. The winner is:for ‘Treasure’.
10. Heiwa. Translates to peace.
Kamekichi
4. Kame. Means turtle in Japanese
11. Iroh. Wise, calm, patient characterHelp Maintain the Garden with the Gift of TimeG

Adopt a Spot is a service opportunity
designed for gardeners to volunteer on
their own time and pace. Dependent on
your skill set and the number of hours
you would like to commit to in a month,
you can decide to adopt a pine tree
to candle in the fall, and prune in thespring, adopt all the pine trees to maintain, or, you may want to adopt an entire• Re-potting of plants in our shadehouse• Bridge re-construction: There is twogroups that would gladly accept
more help.
• Hard scape maintenance: We havesome broken fences that need fixing.
• Woodworking projects: We need akimono stand built.

GARDENER’S TIP
Early fall is a good time to sow covercrops, such as annual rye grass, crimson
clover, and Austrian peas. They add tilthand nutrition to the soil.
Keep dead heading penstemon, roses,
zinnias, etc., to encourage more flowering
into the fall.
When the soil starts to soften with theonset of rain, is the best time to divide
perennials like peonies, and to plant fruitor shade trees.
— Jim Buck, Garden Volunteer
and Organic Gardener

The Benefit of these Programs• Choose your own hours.
• Work at your own pace.
• Receive one-on-one guidance andtraining from Garden Curator, Jim
Card.

Please fill out this volunteer questionnaire and we’ll find a good fit
for you and the Garden.

New Addition

Ask Jim!
Plant Care Videos

The Friends of Gresham Japanese Garden
are looking out for our bicycle enthusiasts.
Many, many cyclists park in the upper lot toaccess Springwater Trail, and then return toenjoy Ebetsu Plaza and Ambleside Annex.
The city answered our request and isinstalling a bike rack. Thank you, City ofGresham Parks Department.

by Sue HughesIardening and service is a sharedpassion with our volunteers. For
the past 10 years, volunteers
have come together every Saturday
from 9 to noon to prune, rake, plant,
build, and share. We call this time together, ‘Garden Saturdays.’
If Garden Saturdays are not a conducive
time for your schedule, but you would
like to volunteer with us, we’ve got two
space that offers a variety of different
new volunteering programs to fit yourschedule. Adopt a Spot and Adopt a Proj- plant species to maintain and prune.
ect: Both programs are non-financial. The Adopt a Project is for gardeners, buildgift of time and hands-on help is our ask. ers, and fixers. Projects that need adopting now are:

Adopt a Spot and Adopt
a Project: Both programs are
non-financial. The gift of timeand hands-on help is our ask.

Beavers are Amazing Creatures

Ask Jim! is a plant care video series
featured on our Facebook page,@greshamjapanesegarden.
Submit your Ask Jim! question tohttps://www.greshamjapanesegarden.
org/ask-jim/.
If your question gets picked for ourvideo series, we’ll send you a pack of our
exclusive Garden note cards!

f you stroll down the south bank of
Tsuru Island you will notice the beaver dam. If you’re like me, I wanted
to know more about it on this stretchof Johnson Creek. For information, I
reached out to Daniel Newberry, Executive Director of Johnson Creek Watershed Council (JCWC). Here’s what I
learned. Note, some of this information is extracted from Johnson
Creek Watershed Council’s informative website.
Beavers are native to much of
cannot get in. Over water, floods, and then the beaver dams
North America. The North American
get washed out.
the 6 years JCWC
beaver, Castor canadensis, is one of
For more great information about beavers,
has conducted surtwo beaver species in the world—theand in-stream habitat projects to restore
veys, beavers have made a dam at thisother is the Eurasian beaver, Castor fiber. location for 5 of them.
Johnson Creek, go to JCWC.org.
Beavers can live for 12-20 years. Beavers So, why do beavers choose this stretchmate for life. A pair of beavers will have of Johnson Creek? First, beavers look
2-6 kits, in a single litter, each spring. Kits for a spot with the least resistance to
can swim within 24 hours of being born. build, a ‘pinch point’—a narrowing in the
They usually live with their parents for
stream that sits a little higher. Beavers
the first 2 years of life, helping to build
also like the sound of running water, anddams, gather food, and raise younger
last, they look at their surroundings forkits before leaving the colony to find aan abundance of material. They will haulmate.
material up to 100 ft, if they have to.
Beavers are herbivores, eating the inner Historically, it was thought that beaver
bark of woody plants such as willow
dams cause flooding, and as we know
and alder. When they cut down a tree
on Tsuru Island, destroy trees and causeor shrub, it is sometimes for eating and erosion. But, data shows that beavers are
sometimes for building.
amazing and important creatures to our
Beavers do not live in their dams. They ecosystem, and can be our new partner
build their dam to create a pond, so they in habitat restoration. Beaver dams concan build a lodge upstream to live in.
tribute to reducing the effects of soil eroThe pond also provides protection from sion, pollution, and water temperature.
predators. Beaver lodges are uncommon Most beaver dams are porous, meaning
in Johnson Creek. Katie Holzer, Waterwater flows through the dam and brings
shed Scientist with the city of Gresham, the water temperature down. The city ofsaid the beavers in our area usually build Gresham has measured the water above‘bank dens’. She said the den whereand below ‘our’ dam and the water bethe beavers at Tsuru Island live is likely
low the dam is 3-4° cooler.
somewhere upstream near where theAnd last, I was curious why we don’t
Springwater Corridor Trail bridge goessee beaver dams in Johnson Creek in theover the creek. She called ‘our’ dam, awinter time. Newberry explained that‘primary’ dam, meaning it is mainly used Johnson Creek is considered a ‘flashy
to make sure that the entrance to their stream’. In the winter, it rapidly collects
den is well underwater so predators

Help Maintain the Garden with the Gift of TimeG

Adopt a Spot is a service opportunity
designed for gardeners to volunteer on
their own time and pace. Dependent on
your skill set and the number of hours
you would like to commit to in a month,
you can decide to adopt a pine tree
to candle in the fall, and prune in thespring, adopt all the pine trees to maintain, or, you may want to adopt an entire• Re-potting of plants in our shadehouse• Bridge re-construction: There is twogroups that would gladly accept
more help.
• Hard scape maintenance: We havesome broken fences that need fixing.
• Woodworking projects: We need akimono stand built.

GARDENER’S TIP
Early fall is a good time to sow covercrops, such as annual rye grass, crimson
clover, and Austrian peas. They add tilthand nutrition to the soil.
Keep dead heading penstemon, roses,
zinnias, etc., to encourage more flowering
into the fall.
When the soil starts to soften with theonset of rain, is the best time to divide
perennials like peonies, and to plant fruitor shade trees.
— Jim Buck, Garden Volunteer
and Organic Gardener

The Benefit of these Programs• Choose your own hours.
• Work at your own pace.
• Receive one-on-one guidance andtraining from Garden Curator, Jim
Card.

Please fill out this volunteer questionnaire and we’ll find a good fit
for you and the Garden.

New Addition

Ask Jim!
Plant Care Videos

The Friends of Gresham Japanese Garden
are looking out for our bicycle enthusiasts.
Many, many cyclists park in the upper lot toaccess Springwater Trail, and then return toenjoy Ebetsu Plaza and Ambleside Annex.
The city answered our request and isinstalling a bike rack. Thank you, City ofGresham Parks Department.

by Sue HughesIardening and service is a sharedpassion with our volunteers. For
the past 10 years, volunteers
have come together every Saturday
from 9 to noon to prune, rake, plant,
build, and share. We call this time together, ‘Garden Saturdays.’
If Garden Saturdays are not a conducive
time for your schedule, but you would
like to volunteer with us, we’ve got two
space that offers a variety of different
new volunteering programs to fit yourschedule. Adopt a Spot and Adopt a Proj- plant species to maintain and prune.
ect: Both programs are non-financial. The Adopt a Project is for gardeners, buildgift of time and hands-on help is our ask. ers, and fixers. Projects that need adopting now are:

Adopt a Spot and Adopt
a Project: Both programs are
non-financial. The gift of timeand hands-on help is our ask.

Beavers are Amazing Creatures

Ask Jim! is a plant care video series
featured on our Facebook page,@greshamjapanesegarden.
Submit your Ask Jim! question tohttps://www.greshamjapanesegarden.
org/ask-jim/.
If your question gets picked for ourvideo series, we’ll send you a pack of our
exclusive Garden note cards!

f you stroll down the south bank of
Tsuru Island you will notice the beaver dam. If you’re like me, I wanted
to know more about it on this stretchof Johnson Creek. For information, I
reached out to Daniel Newberry, Executive Director of Johnson Creek Watershed Council (JCWC). Here’s what I
learned. Note, some of this information is extracted from Johnson
Creek Watershed Council’s informative website.
Beavers are native to much of
cannot get in. Over water, floods, and then the beaver dams
North America. The North American
get washed out.
the 6 years JCWC
beaver, Castor canadensis, is one of
For more great information about beavers,
has conducted surtwo beaver species in the world—theand in-stream habitat projects to restore
veys, beavers have made a dam at thisother is the Eurasian beaver, Castor fiber. location for 5 of them.
Johnson Creek, go to JCWC.org.
Beavers can live for 12-20 years. Beavers So, why do beavers choose this stretchmate for life. A pair of beavers will have of Johnson Creek? First, beavers look
2-6 kits, in a single litter, each spring. Kits for a spot with the least resistance to
can swim within 24 hours of being born. build, a ‘pinch point’—a narrowing in the
They usually live with their parents for
stream that sits a little higher. Beavers
the first 2 years of life, helping to build
also like the sound of running water, anddams, gather food, and raise younger
last, they look at their surroundings forkits before leaving the colony to find aan abundance of material. They will haulmate.
material up to 100 ft, if they have to.
Beavers are herbivores, eating the inner Historically, it was thought that beaver
bark of woody plants such as willow
dams cause flooding, and as we know
and alder. When they cut down a tree
on Tsuru Island, destroy trees and causeor shrub, it is sometimes for eating and erosion. But, data shows that beavers are
sometimes for building.
amazing and important creatures to our
Beavers do not live in their dams. They ecosystem, and can be our new partner
build their dam to create a pond, so they in habitat restoration. Beaver dams concan build a lodge upstream to live in.
tribute to reducing the effects of soil eroThe pond also provides protection from sion, pollution, and water temperature.
predators. Beaver lodges are uncommon Most beaver dams are porous, meaning
in Johnson Creek. Katie Holzer, Waterwater flows through the dam and brings
shed Scientist with the city of Gresham, the water temperature down. The city ofsaid the beavers in our area usually build Gresham has measured the water above‘bank dens’. She said the den whereand below ‘our’ dam and the water bethe beavers at Tsuru Island live is likely
low the dam is 3-4° cooler.
somewhere upstream near where theAnd last, I was curious why we don’t
Springwater Corridor Trail bridge goessee beaver dams in Johnson Creek in theover the creek. She called ‘our’ dam, awinter time. Newberry explained that‘primary’ dam, meaning it is mainly used Johnson Creek is considered a ‘flashy
to make sure that the entrance to their stream’. In the winter, it rapidly collects
den is well underwater so predators

2021 Su

September 2021mm

Tsuru Soars

er C

Thank you City of Gresham for giving us thefunds, to share to others Japanese culture
through performances and demonstrationsof talented musicians and artists.

Friends of the Gresham Japanese Garden Newsletter

Bonsai Teacher, Mark VossbrinkIkekana Teacher, Nana BellerudSeri

And thank you to this great community
for joining us and embracing the summer
events we were able to offer to you!

ultural

THANK YOU!

es

Origami Teacher, Eileen
Holzman and Garden
Volunteer, Ron Ture

W

Musicians from Oregon Koto-Kai

Musician, Yumi Torimaru

Performance Artist, Sora Shoda

Musicians from Takohachi, Inc.

Volunteer Newsletter Editors: Sue Hughes, Mary Taylor, and Mike Peterson. Photos credit, Bill Peterson, Mary Furness.

Our Turtle Has a Name

PHOTOGRAPHER’S VIEW
e had 13 thought-provoking
5. Ka Mae. Kame with a twist
names submitted for the Tsuru 6. Kenoshita. Gresham berry farming
長月の空色袷きたりけり
Island turtle. Here’s a short defamily.
naga tsuki no sora iro awase kitari keri
scription of the ‘why’ that accompanied
7. Johnson. Tying in support and water Ninth Month the sky wears a colorful kimono
each name.
through Native Americans, Johnson— Kobayashi Issa 1806
1. Kamekichi. ‘Kame’ means ‘turtle’ andCreek, and Reverend Jonas Johnson,— Bill Peterson‘kichi’ means ‘luck.’ So, its name could
a leader in the Gresham community.
mean that it’s a lucky turtle, or that
8. Midori Mosu. Represents the green
12. Kameko. Female name for turtle
back, and moss. Means love andthe turtle brings luck.
13. Marimo. Marimo moss balls grow in
2. Pacer. A slow, steady pace for succharity in a Japanese garden.
Japan and are very cute!
cessful living and longevity.
9. Gamme. Ranald MacDonald wrote
3. Reiki Takara. Reiki means ‘spirit turGamme in his glossary, instead of
The Turtle Naming Committee had muchtle’, and Takara is the Japanese word
Kame.
to discuss. The winner is:for ‘Treasure’.
10. Heiwa. Translates to peace.
Kamekichi
4. Kame. Means turtle in Japanese
11. Iroh. Wise, calm, patient character