With the recent conclusion of 2011, I’m reflecting on everything Theatre [502] did during our inaugural season.  One of the biggest risks we took was helping to create and christen the new Parkside Studio space at Iroquois Amphitheater.  Was it a good idea to try something so huge in our first season?  Would our audience drive all the way out Third Street to see us?  Would we be able to reach out to the people in the Iroquois neighborhood to come see our crazy show about heavy metal?  And most importantly, would we be able to convince people that it really wasn’t outside?

The answer to all of those questions is emphatically, YES.  We had a wonderful experience with all of the staff at Iroquois, who worked with our designers and technicians to create a fantastic little theatre space.  People are still talking to me about how cool it was to enter the theatre through the backstage dressing room hallway.  Our regular audience managed to find the new space just fine, and no one complained about venturing so far away from the Highlands.  And, on the last weekend of performances, we saw more and more zip codes from south Louisville, which hardly ever happens when we perform downtown.

Theatre [502] is proud to be a part of opening this great new space to our sister theatre companies all over the city!

www.theatre502.org

Ah, the urban forest. It may sound like an oxymoron, but its greenery brightens and breathes life into the Louisville tapestry that otherwise would be smothered by dulling metal and concrete.  There are few people who understand the benefits of the urban forest more than Metro Parks’ own, Dr. Mesude Duyar-Ozyurekoglu.

Mesude is the Metro Parks Forestry and Landscape Manager. She is responsible for the care and attention of over 15,000 individual trees in the Metro Parks System.  Mesude developed her knowledge and appreciation for forestry in Turkey at the University of Istanbul.  After she received her bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Mesude worked for the Turkish government for ten years and eventually earned her PhD in Forestry in 2005.

Mesude’s education and experience alone are enough to make her standout, but it’s her foresight and understanding of people in relation to nature that make her truly remarkable.  She is even trusted with the daunting task of picking out the city’s Christmas tree for the annual Light Up Louisville event.  This may seem like a simple enough task, but not even Santa’s Sleigh could haul all of the emotions attached to those twinkling lights. This tree is important to folks.  The sanctity of the holiday spirit may not depend solely on the perfection of the city’s Christmas tree, but one could certainly find a correlation.  Thankfully, every year our city tree is beautiful with gorgeous lights woven midst lush green branches. Mesude and her work are both something the city can be proud of all year-long. 

Too often extraordinary people doing amazing things go unnoticed.  On behalf of the Metro Parks team I would like to publicly thank Dr. Mesude Duyar-Ozyurekoglu for all she does.  Because the truth is without the passion from people like Mesude, Louisville would just be another city lost amongst the map dots.

Urban Forest Facts:

Trees Improve Quality of Life – Trees create relaxing, beautiful, healthy spaces, absorb traffic noise and increase privacy.

Trees Strengthen Communities – The involvement of people in the planting and care of local trees can help build a stronger sense of neighborhood and civic pride.

Trees Increase Property Values - A row of mature street trees has been shown to increases property values between 5- 18%.

Trees Save Energy - A recent study at the Center for Urban Forest Research found that strategically planting shade trees could reduce the need for power plants in the long-term.

Trees Clean the Air – According to the U.S. Forest Service research, through photosynthesis the average tree in a residential neighborhood will annually clean about 330 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air as well as provide enough oxygen for a family of four.

Trees Help Reduce Global Warming – Trees reduce the emission of carbon dioxide (by decreasing energy needs) and then absorbing the carbon dioxide released from our cars, homes, and power plants. Too much carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is the primary cause of global climate change.

Trees Decrease Flooding – Trees reduce flooding by helping to reduce runoff. A typical community forest of 10,000 trees will retain approximately 10 million gallons of rainwater per year (United States Forest Service Research).

Trees Reduce Stress – Urban residents and workers suffering from stress have been found to experience less anger, sadness and insecurity when viewing well-treed surroundings.

Trees Help Kids Learn – Studies have shown that students’ attention spans are increased when they have a view that includes tress.

Trees Grow Business – Research from the University of Washington indicates that “…healthy and well-maintained trees send positive messages about the appeal of a [business] district, the quality of products and what customer service a shopper can expect.”

Source: Friends of the Urban Forest

Oh, October. You are the heart of the fall season and the beacon that beckons all things spooky to crawl from the shadows. As the leaves diminish to their graves beneath the tree tops, an eerie feeling resonates and not even Metro Parks can escape October’s ghostly grasp.  

The "haunted" Metro Parks administration building at Joe Creason Park

If you’ve ever been to Joe Creason Park, you probably noticed the red bricked mansion that sits adjacent to the children’s playground.  And you might know that the building currently houses the Metro Parks administration team. Less likely is that you know the history behind the house, the hauntings that folks have witnessed there and the close proximity of a graveyard where the original landowner’s (Robert Daniel, 1789) daughter rests… perhaps not so peacefully.

Many Metro Parks employees that have worked in the mansion will tell you it is haunted.  They swear by their unnerving tales of being alone in the building hearing voices, doors creaking, lights flickering, empty elevators rising and of course, the occasional cold chill. 

Maybe it’s the bombardment of haunted house advertisements and reruns of poorly acted horror films that have made me a bit skeptical, but these stories just sound like paranoia to me.  Sure, the house is old and October can be creepy. But ghosts in an old mansion are a bit cliché, even for me. 

Now, I won’t dive too deep into the building’s history here (links below), but the current version was built in 1944 on the foundation of a previous 154-year old home that had burned down.  A gentleman named Ben Collings, who owned the land at the time, wanted to make sure his house never burned down again, so Collings rebuilt the building with eight-inch-thick reinforced concrete walls faced with brick, concrete floors and a copper-and-slate roof.  

Admittedly, the mansion sounds like a building that the protagonist of a Stephen King thriller would unfortunately have to survive the night in.  With a good thunder storm to set the mood, the mansion could easily transform into a horrifying abode, housing all things that go bump-in-the-night. 

So, is Mr. Collings trying to spook us out of his fire-proof house by flipping light switches and pressing elevator buttons? Is the deceased daughter of Robert Daniel wondering the halls providing cold chills as she looks for company?  I doubt we will ever know the answers, but it is a bit creepy to think about as I sit in the mansion writing this…

Link to Joe Creason Park history: http://www.louisvilleky.gov/MetroParks/parks/creason/creason_history.htm

Well, today is my final day at Metro Parks, as I’ve accepted another position with an organization in the Louisville area. I hope those of you who have been following “Common Ground” will continue to read it and send in your column ideas and story suggestions.

I come from a newspaper background, and my goal when I started this blog a few years ago was to bring you the stories about the people and places of Metro Parks that weren’t available in the local newspapers, on television, or found anywhere else. To that end, I’ll leave others to judge how successful it’s been. I do hope “Common Ground” continues to grow and whomever is charged with taking care of it after I’m gone will use it as another venue to get the news out about Louisville’s wonderful (and world-class) parks system.

I’d like to use this space to thank the Community Relations staff at Metro Parks, particularly Jason Cissell, Erika Nelson and Margaret Brosko, who have all served as my supervisors and have been good enough (I guess, and brave enough) to put their trust in me and give me the space to be creative, even if sometimes a few ideas I’ve had might have seemed a little bit kooky. I will miss you guys.

Thanks for reading!

Jon

By WALTER MUNDAY

An event Saturday affords Metro Parks an opportunity to update and connect you to one of the most innovative parks initiatives in the country.

Thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Louisville continues the fight to reduce childhood obesity, increase citizens’ access to healthier foods and get citizens active.  Louisville will focus on seven initiatives.  Metro Parks is heavily involved in two of those: 

• Increase access to Louisville Metro Parks and Louisville Loop using public transit
• Enhance infrastructure to support bicycling and walking

On Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., we’re hosting Discover the Loop:  a health-conscious parks event focused on introducing some and reuniting others with the new Louisville Loop.  

The event will take place at Lannan Park (in the Portland Neighborhood) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is the first of several public events in which we’ll highlight the Loop and the opportunities it offers for promoting a healthy and active lifestyle. 

To make this event a success, we need your help.  We recognize the importance of Neighborhood Associations and other neighborhood-based organizations, and hope that you will join us through your participation and promotion of this and other loop-related events. 

The event will take place on the east end of Lannan Park. Mayor Greg Fischer, Metro Parks Director Mike Heitz, TARC Executive Director Barry Barker and Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness Director Dr. Matt Zahn will be in attendance and will speak at a press conference at 11 a.m.

TARC has become a great partner in promoting the Louisville Loop, and they will be showing off a couple of buses specifically dedicated to connecting people to it.

The event also gives us a chance to unveil the new Louisville Loop website, which includes video, a blog, a Louisville Loop store and lots of fun stuff.

Come and join us Saturday, starting at 10 a.m.!

By MIKE SLATON
Iroquois Amphitheater Manager
Contact Mike

We are all really excited about the upcoming season out here at the Iroquois Amphitheater! When I took over as the manager in October, I set a goal of bringing back live theater and delivering a variety of high-quality, low cost events that included concerts, theater, movies and festivals. After a really outstanding year in 2010, we’ll be building on our success in 2011, and I think from here on, each year will be better than the last!

First off, the concert front. The Louisville Youth Orchestra returns on May 1 for their annual performance. In addition, we’ve been lucky to work once more with one of Louisville’s best promoters, Production Simple. These are the folks that brought in The Black Keys and Corey Smith last summer. They’re lining up a series of shows for 2011 that kicks off April 26 with The Decemberists and will just get better from there. After that, we’ve got Bright Eyes on June 7 and Umphrey’s McGee on June 24. There’s a few more shows that we aren’t ready to announce yet, and by the time the season ends, I think the Iroquois Amphitheater will be firmly established as one of the coolest stops on the outdoor circuit.

We’ve also got several festivals lined up for 2011. First off is KlezmerFest, being produced May 15 by TempleShalom and featuring the Klezmer Mountain Boys. As the name suggests, this band is famous for fusing klezmer music with mountain music.  After that, we have a Hispanic Festival sponsored by Long Run Baptist on June 11. Kentucky Music Weekend returns July 29-31. We’ll have more details up about all of these events as we get closer.

If you came out for movie nights last summer, you’re in the club that knows about the coolest place in Louisville to watch a movie. The popcorn popper and projector will be back up and running this year, on the second Sunday of the month and on most Monday nights.

Now for the really exciting news, August 2011 will see the return of live theater to the Iroquois Amphitheater. Metro Parks and Indiana University Southeast are teaming up to present the musical “Once Upon A Mattress” from August 5-13. I hope you’ll join us for this family-friendly hit and celebrate the return of live musical theater under the stars at the Iroquois Amphitheater!

I am also pleased top announce that we are working with Louisville favorites The Monarchs to do a concert this fall.

It’s a busy season, but we’re still finding time to serve the community by hosting graduations and events for Iroquois, Olmsted South, De Sales, St. Nicholas, and Fairdale. We certainly hope we’ll see you and your family out here a few times this summer!

For more events at the Iroquois Amphitheater, visit http://www.louisvilleky.gov/metroparks/IroquoisAmphitheater

An unsung hero keeps watch over a Metro Parks outdoor pool.

By KEITH SMITH
Recreation Supervisor
E-mail Keith

What is an unsung hero? It is a person who makes a substantive yet unrecognized contribution; it is a person whose bravery is unknown or unacknowledged.

The other evening (around 7) I was taking a walk through Cherokee Park and decided to cut through the wooded path that goes along Big Rock. To my surprise, I noticed a large bird with a blueish-gray hue. At first I thought this was some sort of mutant pigeon, but a closer look revealed the unmistakable silhouette of a chicken.

Sheridan's Zapruder-like capture of the Cherokee Blue Chicken.

My natural inclination was to get my phone out and capture a shot of the displaced (and seemingly exotic) fowl. In all my many walks through Cherokee, I have never encountered a hen (or rooster) – much less a grayish-blue one. Apparently though, chickens are scared of iPhones and she took off running.

I hastily followed the chicken along the ledge near Beargrass Creek, but even my agility was no match for the cunning of this bird. It was not my intention to frighten the creature; however, I was bent on documenting my encounter.  I chased the chicken through the park for several minutes. My gray (and slightly blueish) friend was very fast, but I managed to get to a point where I was at an elevated level and the chicken was a few feet below. I hid behind a tree and attempted to peak around to one side (in a non-threatening manner) in order to quickly snap the desired photo.

Unfortunately, its reflexes bested my own and she knew to flee just as I emerged. I rushed for the other side of the tree just in time to inspire a 180-degree turn from the hen, and we played this game of back and forth for a few minutes.

Eventually, I came to the realization that the chicken would not stand still long enough for me to take a proper picture. As a last-ditch effort, I once again appeared from behind the tree and the chicken took off running. I did what I could, but the blurry photo I was able to take, as you’ll see, recalls the vagueness of a Sasquatch or UFO encounter – but just look, you can see by its feet that it was both a chicken and a very fast one)

The poor bird could still be in that park. Chickens are social creatures and do not like being alone. Folks should be on the lookout for the hen as I’m sure she would appreciate being rescued.

You can follow Dennis on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/dennis_sheridan

Little ones can climb on tree stumps, build with tree “cookies,”  hide in the Sassafras Tree House, create with seeds, leaves, rocks and other natural materials and listen to a story under the trees.  With the help of volunteers and staff, we created an area where kids and their families can play outdoors and reconnect to nature.  Please join us for the grand opening on April 2^.

On that day, the center will be open from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Please call 502/368-5404 for more information.

Federal Hogs compete with native wildlife for food and disrupt the local balance.

Jason Nally, Private Lands Biologist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources gives us a synopsis of the problem:  “Feral hogs, also known as wild boars, originate from either escaped domestic pigs or transplanted European boars,” Nally said.  “The problems caused by these hybridized hogs are well known in many areas of the United States, but have only recently started to cause problems in Kentucky. “

Feral pigs can cause extensive damage to forestland, crops and pastures. They will eat just about anything and can readily out-compete native wildlife for food. In addition to eliminating food sources for deer, turkey and small game populations (acorns), feral pigs can decimate frog and snake populations, will devour the nests of ground nesting bird species, and have been documented to eat deer fawns. 

Feral pigs carry a host of diseases, such as swine brucellosis and pseudo rabies that can affect pets, livestock, wildlife and humans. Sows can produce two litters a year with up to 13 piglets in a litter, a characteristic that is economically beneficial when pigs are raised as livestock.  However, this reproductive productivity can cause local feral pig populations to quadruple in a year’s time if they are not actively managed.  Pigs are omnivores and the rich woodlands of the Jefferson Memorial Forest offer a smorgasbord for these free roaming nuisances.”

Feral hogs have long been a problem in other parks and forests throughout the region.  Bernheim Forest has been working to manage the problem for several years now, and the Smokey Mountains National Park has been working to manage the problem for a very long time.  Indications from KDFWR are that it is unlikely that we will be able to completely eliminate every wild hog in Jefferson Forest. 

Currently we are trying to manage the problem through a program of trapping along two of the locations where they were seen last year.  If you see feral hogs in the area, please report them to Jason Nally at (270) 805-1080.