The shoreline of Lake Merritt, a tidal lagoon in the center of Oakland, Calif., has been a focal point for the diverse city’s residents for generations. “It’s a signature park,” says Jennie Gerard ’66. “It’s where people from all over Oakland gather.”
In 2002, Oakland passed a bond measure to improve the lake’s landscape. But plant maintenance hasn’t been adequately funded. So, on the last Saturday of each month, Jennie joins the Lake Merritt Weed Warriors, an all-volunteer band of gardeners she co-founded, to supplement public works staff by tackling much-needed weeding, planting, and mulching in the urban oasis.
Gardening has been a passion of Jennie’s since her childhood in Louisville, Ky. “In the second grade, we had a book fair, and the book that I bought was Beginning Gardening,” she says, laughing. She spent much of her career with the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit that supports communities where parks and public lands are needed most.
Weed Warriors has connected Jennie with Wellesley classmate Kathy Williams ’66. “She showed up seven or eight years ago,” Jennie says. “She and I didn’t know each other in college and didn’t recognize each other, but that’s been a great find.”
For years, Jennie was the group’s key organizer, turning up month after month. “It’s a lot of physical labor,” she says. “The alarm would go off on Saturday morning, and I’d think, ‘Am I going to be doing this for the rest of my life?’ But I would get myself together and get there.” At the lake, she’d see people sculling, strolling, or running on the path. “They’re thanking us, and we’re waving, and we’re chatting, and I think, ‘What was it I didn’t like about this? This is so wonderful.’”
Then there’s the camaraderie and the coffee break. “The person who brought the food this week always makes a wonderful artichoke focaccia,” Jennie says.
She hopes her efforts to maintain the lakefront will last. “One of my recent endeavors is working to put together a Lake Merritt conservancy to enhance the experience of everybody who wants to visit,” she says.
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