Category Archives: Volunteer Work

Club Projects, Volunteer Work

Then and now

While working on the website, I stumbled upon a photo (above) from an open house the club hosted back in August 2017. I was instantly blown away by how much progress the club has made since then in the area visible in the photo. For comparison, here’s a similar image (below) taken in March 2025, almost eight years later.

Looking at the old and new photos, I couldn’t help but think about how much volunteer work and club projects have changed our facilities. It’s impressive how much the green and supporting elements have progressed. In the 2017 photo, I can spot eight places where improvements have been made – some small and some substantial:

Read on for a quick enumeration of progress recently achieved just in the area shown in the photo.

Continue reading Then and now →
Club Members, Volunteer Work

Well Tended

 Thursday morning bowling and gardening group is hard at work whipping the garden surrounding the lawn bowling green into shape.

Leslie and Sarah vs. the weeds

The Gardening Committee meets on Thursday morning at 10:00 am for bowling and then gardening.  Our fearless leader and chair, Leslie Engler directs our weekly projects.  Last week Leslie and Sarah Allday worked on oxalis removal in one of our flower beds to allow breathing and growing room for the plants.  It is, it seems, a never-ending fight with the oxalis. Meanwhile, Donna Otten and Susan Jamart worked on deadheading the daises.  Charlie McFarran mowed the grass surrounding the green.  Ben Steinberg weed-whacked the edge of the sidewalk while his father-in-law, John enjoyed the sunshine and watching the lawn bowling game.  Patricia Erwin, one of our awesome greenkeepers, and Phil Watson worked on getting ready for our semiannual workday by prefilling buckets with sand.  Claudia Benton worked on cleaning the ditch surround the green getting ready for the Two Bowl Single tournament on March 8.  

It is a lovely time of year to garden. Spring is fast approaching and the oxalis is in full bloom. The roses have been pruned and waiting for new buds.  Flowers and shrubs need deadheading and are beginning to sprout new growth. The English ivy vigorously grows year-round on the fences surrounding the lawn bowling club and is frequently in need of pruning. The grass surrounding the bowling green is green and growing with our warm sunny days and rain.

There is a long list of gardening projects for the gardening group to attack.  The Gardening Committee welcomes anyone and everyone on Thursday mornings at 10am for a fun morning of bowling and gardening.  Hope to see you there.

Deep in the weeds, our Acton Street sidewalk c. 2018

As a quick reminder of how valuable this landscape gardening group is, take a look at our Acton Street sidewalk back in the days when jungle conditions prevailed. (2018).

Club Members, Special Events, Volunteer Work

Green Maintenance soon

We approach the Ides of March and that means it is time to lavish even more attention on our lovely green.

Work day on Sunday, 23 March, 2025

The Greenskeepers need your help with tining, plug removal and sand application/removal, among other tasks. There are also some light duty tasks in addition to those that are outlined below.  For newer members, this is a great opportunity to learn more about how our green is maintained and to meet other members you may not know.

We will be providing pizza and light snacks for those who volunteer, please let us know if you will join for that.  

Below is an outline of main tasks and timing.  We hope to be done by early afternoon and can use your help even if for a short period of time.

Starting around 8:30 we need 6 volunteers to shovel the plugs from Jose’s tining into wheelbarrows.

View of tining plugs, numbering over 200,000, being swept up for removal.

Starting around 10:00 we need 4-8 volunteers to shovel sand into wheelbarrows and then use buckets to dump the sand into the mechanical spreader. The larger number of volunteers would allow for breaks. 

Starting around 10:30 we need 2-4 volunteers to sweep sand into the plug holes along edges and corners only. Jose will use the tractor with a broom/mat to sweep the sand from most of the green.

The club has most of the equipment, but we could use snow-type shovels and sturdy dollies. Please bring them along if you have those.

Spreading sand to fill the holes created by tining.

We do have some work/gardening gloves, but please bring your own if you have those. 

Please reply to this email by Sunday March 9 to let us know that you can join and what time slot, or to let us know any questions.

Following the workday the green will be closed for approximately one month for continued maintenance.

Club Projects, Volunteer Work

To Top It Off

After approximately 65 years of continued service, the equipment shed roof was starting to show its age.  The shed was also being pushed forward by a growing redwood tree, which was probably a cheerful neighbor in its youth. The City of Berkeley maintenance department helped us by grinding off the sapling mound that was growing against the shed, relieving the pressure on the back wall of the shed. 

The equipment shed is visible in the background of this 1964 Opening Day photo.

The roof covering was leaking and causing structural damage to the roof, causing it to partially collapse.  To restore the roof and extend the shed’s service life, we chose to reframe the roof with larger rafters and install a membrane roof with a 40-year service life.  Hopefully, this improvement will let the next generation of bowlers enjoy the shed without maintenance worries.

Mat shed roof under construction.

The mat shed is split into two parts. On the left hand side is an area for our Greenskeepers to keep specialized equipment for maintenance of the green. The right hand side is accessible by club members and houses the accoutrements required to set up the green for play. Here you can find the mats, jacks, green sheets, rink markers,, scoreboards, rakes, and more required for our games. It also provides storage for the tools used by our Thursday gardening group.

The new roof – ready and able for another 65 years of service.

And finally, here’s a big shout out to Judy Hillyer who stepped up to complete a very tidy paint job for the new roof. Judy has been a great asset to the club, quietly taking on a series of painting jobs and carrying them out with care and precision. Yet another reason we’re fortunate to have her among us.

Club Members, Volunteer Work

Successful Greens Maintenance Workday, 3/28/2024

Ethan Bortman, Greens Committee Chairman, to BLBC Members on 3/29/2024:

Hi All – Yesterday’s drill and fill workday on the green was a huge success.  The turnout of 18 volunteers was especially impressive, given such short notice, and greatly appreciated.  It was hard work but the weather cooperated, the refreshments and lunch were yummy, and all the volunteers seemed to be enjoying themselves despite the heavy lifting.  

Here’s the proof.  Check out these photos from the Benton video team … Cris with the aerial shots and Claudia from the ground:

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBjdeU

The Greens Committee gives a hearty shout out to the volunteers:

Phil Watson, Phil Grattan, Cindy Moss, Glenn Nunez, Steve Harris, Tom Birt, Donna Otten, Cris and Claudia Benton, Sal Garcia-Lemus, Ashok Verma, Susan Jamart, Cathy Dinnean, Leslie Engler and an extra special hooray to the Greenskeepers…Janie Hillyer, Judy Hillyer, and Patricia Erwin…who organized and managed the effort.  (Apologies if we omitted or mispelled any names.)  Many thanks also to members who volunteered for the originally-scheduled Workday on Saturday but couldn’t make it for the reschedule!

If and when it ever stops raining, there is a bit more work to be done so stay tuned for further volunteering opportunities.

Cheers

Club Members, Community, featured, Frontpage, Special Events, Volunteer Work

Green Closed for Maintenance. See you Feb. 14!

A note from our Greens-keeper: The BLBC greens are closed for maintenance. As the picture shows, when we mean maintenance, we mean it! We expect the work to be completed by February 14. Thanks to our Greens-keeper and the volunteer labor of our members, we will have the green in good shape for bowling when the weather turns nicer. See you then!