RebirthJanuary 2017 Issue

Our New Look
Yes it's 2017 and we're moving away from our 8.5 x 11 newsletter and into the digital world. As
our new website gets built, this eNewsletter will many times reference to the website for more
information, but for now — it's all here! We hope you like.

Behind the Scenes

This is "Behind the Scenes" , we intend to do this focus each month telling about a person or organizations thatwork with "Friends of Tsuru Island" to make the garden, its programs and the information possible. Most
projects have individuals that work behind the scenes providing a service, a product or volunteer time to makeall that is accomplished possible and we want our readers to know who they are. Not only do we what to tell
you who they are but also how we might have become acquainted with them and how they have helped build,
grow and offer.
No one person can do what we do, it takes a network and we hope you enjoy seeing and understanding what it
takes "Behind the Scenes" to make it happen.

We started the "Behind The Scenes" a year ago and I enjoyed every minute of writing about
those that provide, and yes that is present tense, they are all still in place and still are providing
to the garden and its programs. In the beginning I made a short list of those who I would likeothers to know about and began contacting them to ask about some detail that they might liketo share for the piece.

I started the program off by telling readers about Jenny Halley at Gresham High School andthe "special needs program". What a pleasure to communicate with and learn from Jenny.
Staff and associates say the she is the most patient and organized person they have ever met
and I get the sense of that every time that I want to set a schedule, get a follow up message orsee her in action with the students. I can only see the Kaz Kids program getting better as timegoes on.

Later I told you about Doug Mullins, who owns "Quality Woodworking" here in Gresham andas you will remember, he allowed us to come into his shop to mill and machine the larger
purple heart lumber being used to construct the bridge. To be this generous with his time andequipment and to accommodate our needs for timing and space is a true blessing. As I havementioned before, our project would not have been possible without him on board. Cabinets
and kitchens are his main business; you can always tell a true craftsman when they go througha process and the final product resembles perfection, that is what I see coming from Doug.

Since I have mentioned the purple heart lumber it might be appropriate to make mention ofMoxon Hardwoods and the wonderful people that provided us the lumber for the bridge. Philand his family have been around for a several years and handle just about any kind of woodthat you can imagine, and with pleasure. Want to get a glimpse of what they are all about, juststop by and see the hundreds of board feet of exotic lumber that they sell, they will havematerials that you never imagined existed and from all over the world. Going there one canfind rough cut boards, snags, slabs and dimensional materials for floors. Without theassistance from Moxon for the materials and the three times free delivery, the cost for our nonprofit project would have been a third more than it was.

Later in the year we talked about tea and what goes into the presentation and ceremonysurrounding tea. We have been witness to several tea ceremonies at our garden programs
since 2011 and we look forward to more of them. As time goes on we hope to accommodate
Grace Ishikawa with a more comfortable and organized area for those presentations now that
the Azumaya is complete and we see how she would use the structure and surrounding area
for tea presentation and preparation. If you noticed and I think we mentioned in our original

article, I have not told much about tea and/ or the ceremony. This is because everything
related to this subject like many Japanese cultural areas, really needs to be told by experts
and it will require some time to take it all in.

Experiencing what went on with the Sycamore maple was pretty usual for me, I always seem tobe in the middle of an opportunity for something that eventually takes months and does not go
as I thought it might...but turns out better than expected. The maple was as tree that is on asection of land that is located near the intersection of Kane and Division where a Dutch Bros.
Coffee is being built and may be open by now. A massive tree needed to be removed and it
was offered to the Gresham Japanese Garden as the results of efforts Tina Osterink (COG)
and our own Jim Buck. It cost us no money to end up with what we did which was several
slabs of maple cut 2-inches thick and the width of the tree and up to 8 feet long. Without doing
anything to them the value is around $1000.00 each and will eventually make some wonderfultables or vertical signs.

I say that it did not cost any money but it did take time; we had 22 emails, 34 phone calls and11 sight trips and a whole bunch of people to help unload our gold. Somewhere in there wewrote about Ty Card (yes my son). I certainly have major appreciation for Ty and what heprovides to the garden, not only in terms of craftsmanship but also equipment use anddonated plant materials, he has provided dozens of plants ranging from simple ground covers
to mature specimens. Certainly I speak with pride when I say that my son Ty, has offeredsome excellent suggestions in regards to the garden and the Resource Center and I canalways depend on the fact that he will always take the most basic element and add something
special to make it special for Garden or his customer.

Bonsai has become a very enjoyable hobby for me, I now have several outside and of course I
have a couple in the kitchen by the window. Thanks to Mark Vossbrink, I got a great little
moss ball from Mark that is a Ginkgo when he made a presentation at the volunteer
appreciation day. We will see more of Mark when we begin some of the programs at theGarden and Resource Center later in 2017. Mark can also be available when you see him at
the Saturday Markets that he usually has booths at and he also does classes in the Portland
Parks and Recreation programs.

Just after our summer "Volunteer Appreciation Day" the newsletter included information about
Mitsuki Dazai, some of her history and education and how she currently has applies hertalents to support Oregon Koto Kia. If you were not present while she was performing at the"Volunteer Appreciation Day", you can check our newsletters for her upcoming performanceswith OKK. For me sitting down in-front of a bonsai with my pruning tools, a glass of wine andkoto coming through the blue tooth is as relaxing as it can get. We will see more of Mitsuki at
the garden this coming summer during out weekend Garden presentations.

Having creative talent and using it to provide a major impact is what Sue Hughes withResolutions does when it comes to graphic design; brochures, newsletters and websites iswhat it is all about. The best example that I can provide is the "GESCA" website and our new"Gresham Japanese Garden" website which is coming soon and check out the new brochurefor the Gresham Visitors Center. Sue is a pleasure to work with and her communication andproduction methods are similar to how I would address a customer when discussing a newlandscape installation. We also need to understand that Sue is about more than her work, she
is also about the TOPSoccer program for special needs players through "Gresham's EastsideTimbers".

And then there is Katey Card who is the focus for the last newsletter in December 2016,
getting ready for that trip we talked about and putting together not one but two newsletters forJanuary and February 2017 since she is going to be gone. Not only is she busy doing all ofthat but she also heads up the "Sunshine Fund Program" for the Family Birth Center at Legacy
Mount hood which is currently planning some retirement activities for a retiring co-worker, I juststay out of her way.

Last but not least we wrote about some of our volunteers who work behind the scenes on
projects beyond the usual Saturday at the Garden. As time goes on we will eventually have athird sheet of pictures and then a fourth...we are looking back to see how far we have comeand we look back acknowledging that none of this would be happening is it were not for those"Behind The Scenes" and OUR VOLUNTEERS that make it happen.

Main City Saturdays
Main City Saturdays is a program between the community, us, and the City of Gresham tokeep the curb appeal at Main City Park at its best.
Groups are invited to offer time and energy to help maintain those areas. You can find more
information on the City of Gresham website. The 1st group worked January 21st and many
more are already signed up!
The volunteers of the Japanese garden are so appreciative of the local groups that want tocontribute to Gresham Main City Park.

Kaz Kids Pruning
Having just started the new school year and getting settled in with some routines for theTuesday and Thursday work days with the Kaz Kids, decisions had to be made on specificprojects. Jim noticed one of the students looking closely at the juniper by the "ocean scene".
He commented that there was a lot of little growth that needed to be removed. Each of thestudents have a desire to do things in the garden.
The tools came out, some safety and training checks explained to each student, instructionsof where to put the trimmings (in the bucket, not ground) they jumped in with both feet.
The changing effects that the garden can have on a person has been so true with thesestudents. The pruning allows the use of the hands and an opportunity to concentrate on what
is in front of them. Following instructions and feeling good about what was accomplished is agreat learning experience.
The junipers and other small items like boxwood and nandina will be the focus for awhile.
If you come to the garden and see a bucket sitting around it is because there was too muchtime enjoying the pruning instead of cleaning up. At the same time if you see some plants are
not getting trimmed; guess who is going to tackle those on their next visit.

Aesthetic Pruning
Most of our volunteers come to the garden
because they like to work with the generalmaintenance of the garden. One of those
aspects is pruning the plants. Having a plan iswhat Maryann Lewis emphasized during her
presentation for Aesthetic Pruners
Association (APA). Maryann is the pastpresident of the non-profit organization
located in Oakland, CA.
"Sometimes that plan is part of a much bigger
purpose for the forest rather than just it being
about the tree", says Maryann.
No matter how much knowledge a person
has it is always possible to learn bydiscussions in a group setting.
The first discussion took place on January
29th, in the Resource Center at Main City
Park. This is a gathering to talk about plants
and pruning among other subjects. Hosts
include Maryann Lewis, Tom and Laura
Dufala and Jim Card. Specialists in all areasof agriculture, amateurs, and volunteers wereinvited. More to come next month.

A Student Tour
Students involved in the Gresham Ebetsu Sister City Association Student Exchange Programvisited Tsuru Island December 2nd. There were three boys and three girls accompanied byRobert Higgins, our liaison in Ebetsu, Japan and a chaperone. Robert was also our interpreter.
The students were very respectful, attentive and had very good questions.
They also visited the Resource Center to view ongoing projects and pictures of past projects.
One item in the Center is a section of tree that was carved down by a beaver. There is anarticle showing pictures and talking about the beaver and the habitat that they live in. This is ofinterest to the students since they do not have beavers in Japan.
We would like to invited any of our readers to donate books, pictures, posters or general
information on beavers that can be added to the Center. Jim has a short video on beavers thatcan be present as an audio / video for guests.

Plant Search#16This has been in the garden
forever and everyone says thatthey have never seen one
pruned like this one.

#17
Very valuable for its wood inJapan. It take dozens of years todevelop to a good size. Iseli
Nursery has done wonders withthe propagation of these.

#18
This never seemed to stop
blooming, well into the season
into December. The third pruning
for growth took place inSeptember.

Volunteer Hours
The Friends of Tsuru Island
keeps track of hours for a varietyof reasons including future "inkind" grant applications.
2016 was a wonderful year for
the Garden, even with a few ups
and downs. Wendy
reported 4800 hours for 2016
divided by 180 volunteers to theCity of Gresham Neighborhoods
Department.

A BIG THANK YOU GOES OUTTO ALL THE WONDERFULVOLUNTEERS!

Calendar
OKK Concert - Feb 19th
Aesthetic Pruning - Feb 25th
Aesthetic Pruning - March 4th
KAZ Kids - April 21st
KAZ Kids - May 19th

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Gres ham Japanes e Garden
Main Street
Gres ham OR, 97030 - US