BellaVistaParkUpdate

Biography of a park: (Bella Vista Park, Oakland, CA) December 7, 2025 Sunday So far as I know I am the only remaining member of the Friends of Bella Vista Park that was created to shepherd the park creation process. The money for the conversion (from the Bella Vista Playground: www.bellavistapark.blogspot.com) came from the Trust For Public Land. The design was developed by a group of Bella Vista neighborhood residents, primarily Jennifer Lowe (now a landscape architect in the Los Angeles Area) & Dawn Hawk (now living in Berkeley). I never actually asked Jennifer or Dawn what the guiding principles were for the park but the design reflects certain priorities: Use natives where appropriate Provide a home for butterflies and other critters Use colorful and useful plants in designated areas Honor requests from the community Over the past twenty-five years I have (sporadically, I admit) tried to preserve the park as a neighborhood asset. The principle threats to that status have ...