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On Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, the Pittsburgh Sakura Project held the Autumn Planting Day, in North Park. It was unseasonably warm, under sunny skies, with more participants than expected. They made quick work of planting 5 Accolade cherries, 2 Yoshino cherries, and 15 Bald Cypress, courtesy of Allegheny County's Tree Vitalize program. We thank everyone who came out and helped that day. The next planting is planned for April, 2010. For photos of the Autumn Planting Day, click here. T-shirt kanji competition results The winner of the competition for the kanji design to be printed on the back of the new black t-shirts is Ms. Kohama, who will receive a $100 Chaya gift certificate. Submissions by three other people were awarded honorable mentions. The new t-shirts will be on sale this fall. from Allegheny County Council Pittsburgh Sakura Project was honored at the May 20th Regular Meeting of the Allegheny County Council by the recommendation of Council Members Futules and Rea. First, Councilman Futules read the proclamation. Then the director of the Parks Department, Mr. Andrew Baechle, talked about the planting party on April 25th and explained about the 20 trees from the Tree Vitalize Program and the 20 trees from the Sakrura Project. Reiko Nakajima, Sally Schurko, Satoshi Goto from Japanese High School and Yoko Motoyama attended the proclamation. At the Dragon Boat Festival on May 16, the Sakura Project exhibited photos of our Inaugural Planting Day, along with the Post-Gazette article, in conjunction with the Ikebana International exhibit. We wrote children's names in calligraphy, and sold some t-shirts. Karen Yee, the Chinese Committee Chair, made an announcement about us from the stage, which helped attract people to our booth. The Sakura Project continues to grow. We are grateful to the Chinese Community for their support! On Saturday, April 25, 2009, with summer-like weather, the Pittsburgh Sakura Project held the First Annual Tree Planting, Inaugural Ceremony and Work Party in North Park, in the vicinity of Shelter #91, Pearce. Mr. Andrew Beachle, Director of the Allegheny County Department of Parks, and Professor Asatoshi Maeshiro, of the University of Pittsburgh, welcomed the over 300 people who came to participate. On this warm 80-degree day, 40 trees were planted according to the plans of landscape designers Mr. Rick Mercer and Mrs. Kary Arimoto Mercer, who donated their services. With the cooperation of the county parks department, thirty large, young trees were planted by professionals and 10 smaller young trees were planted by volunteers. Besides the work of planting, participants heard musical performances, headlined by world champion taiko drummers, Takumi Kato and Ryo Shiobara. The purchase and planting of these trees was made possible by donations of both labor and money, given by many Japanese people as well as local friends of Japan. We offer our heartfelt gratitude to the many organizations and to the individual volunteers who contributed their time, sweat, and money. Now, we are looking forward to next year’s Tree Planting and Work Party. To that end, we are soliciting donations to fund the purchase of trees, planting, and maintenance. Our non-profit status will receive final approval shortly, so your contributions will become tax-deductible. To view photos of the event click here. To view video highlights of the day, (.wmv) click here. To view the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article, click here. |