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June Yard of the Month! Meet Dana Gill of 2808 East Lane, our proud recipient of June’s Yard of the Month! When Dana moved to Ridglea North eight years ago, it was the spacious backyard that captured her heart, a perfect place to play for her beloved furry companions, Force & Envy. The front yard, however, was a blank canvas in need of some care and attention – see inset photo. After an initial landscaping attempt fell short, Dana took matters into her own hands. She researched the best plants for her east-facing flower beds and began transforming her yard. A true plant rescuer, Dana often finds her plantings on the “death row” shelves at Lowe’s, nurturing them back to life. Not only is this budget-friendly, but it also brings her joy to watch these plants flourish under her care. Her garden is a stunning tapestry of colors and textures, featuring a variety of brilliant perennials like Dwarf Crepe Myrtle, Texas Sage & Lantana, mingled with stunning annuals such as Vinca, Geranium & Angelonia. A vibrant Vitex planting proudly anchors the corner of her landscape. This beautiful blend of plants creates a magnificent and ever-evolving garden. Though Dana handles most of the gardening herself, she partners with Jesus of J&S Landscaping & Construction for larger projects like the driveway and sidewalk renovation. Congratulations, Dana – your garden is a true testament of your dedication and green thumb.
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RNNA July 4th Celebration Thursday, July 4 Parade & Party in the Park - 9am
Our big July 4th bash is back! Gather in Berney Park to watch the parade and enjoy food, music, games, kids' activities and more. Bring your blankets and chairs to enjoy the morning! Agape Pops and R Taco will bless us with refreshments!
Parade map to come! Be on the lookout!
Gear up now for our Patriotic Decor Contest Let’s make our neighborhood SHINE with patriotic pride this
Independence Day! The Yard of the Month (YOTM) committee
invites everyone to join in the spirit of July 4th by decorating
your yards with red, white & blue.
Whether with flags, banners, lights or any festive decorations, let’s
create a spectacular display to celebrate our nation’s birthday. Show your creativity and enthusiasm for this special
day. ONE winner will be chosen as the
Most Patriotic in addition to our July YOTM winner. In order to be able to announce our winner in
the July newsletter, please have your “swag” out by June 29. Happy decorating and Happy 4th of July!
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A Neighborhood Partnership! The Ridglea Hills Neighborhood Association has big plans for Fourth of July! On Saturday, June 29th, they are hosting their famous neighborhood gathering with a concert by Poo Live Crew followed by the Luther Lake fireworks show. Normally the concert event would be exclusive to Ridglea Hills residents, but this year they have generously offered the Ridglea North Neighborhood Association members the chance to purchase wristbands and attend! For $10 you can purchase a wristband and join in the fun. Many thanks to our Ridglea Hills neighbors! Please contact Audrey at rnna1930@gmail.com for more information on how to purchase a wristband.
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Berney Park Update By Christopher Griffin Director of Large Park & Green Spaces |
It has been a busy spring, with a lot of behind-the-scenes communication with multiple city departments regarding 2024 park improvements. Read on for a summary of key updates and activities we’ve been working on to improve the quality and character of this great neighborhood park.
Playground renovation: As part of a process that began several years ago, we finally received confirmation that on May 14th the city council approved the plan for improvements to playgrounds in eight city parks, including Berney Park. All the current playground equipment will be replaced, upgraded, and expanded, while preserving all our beautiful mature oak trees. The most recent update from our city contact has construction beginning in July, with an expected completion date, with all eight parks “ready for use,” by spring 2025.
Irrigation: Earlier this spring, we had the park irrigation evaluated. We found that the rain shut-off system had malfunctioned, resulting in overwatering during winter (if you saw puddles on the west end frequently, this is why). In addition, drip lines were routinely being broken by children playing in crepe myrtle beds, squirrels creating breaks in lines to access water, and general use, resulting in annual repairs. For 2024, we decided to upgrade the system from drip lines to retractable sprayers, which are less likely to break, are easier to repair/replace, and can withstand heavier use by park visitors and maintenance crews. We have irrigation to three locations: the crepe myrtle beds on the east “tip” of the park, the crepe myrtle beds on the northwest corner and on either side of the Berney Park sign on the west side, and we also have bubblers on every tree around the perimeter of the park. We upgraded the system to include an auto shutoff for rain days and freezes. Hopefully this system will minimize annual repairs and will last for a long time.
Crepe Myrtle rescue work & trimming (NOT “topping,” which is an incorrect method of trimming crepe myrtles): Under the direct guidance of Fort Worth’s City Forester Craig Fox, we have commenced a much-delayed trimming and clearing of dead or “damaged beyond recovery” crepe myrtles in the beds throughout the park. Crepe myrtles need a lot of ventilation, and ours had significant overgrowth of shoots/suckers at their bases, creating unhealthy conditions and opening them to both white crepe myrtle scale (pest) and bark scale (one of the secondary effects of white scale insects), both of which are currently present on some trees. Trimming in the beds on the east and northwest corners was completed this week, with hand-selected shoots or “suckers” left in place to become new trunks in the future. The “shrubby” crepe myrtles on the west side of the park on either side of the Berney Park sign will be the next & last section of crepe myrtles to clean up. Note: the crepe myrtles on either side of the playground did not have any irrigation and were dead or damaged beyond recovery due to the last year’s freezes and heat waves. Per city forester guidance, these were cut down and will not be replaced, although mulch will be placed over the bed on the north side of the playground area to cover the stumps left after the city removed the trees (the city policy is not to remove root balls, but to cut at ground level, which is why the stumps are still visible. Mulch should cover these).
Perimeter Trees: Most of our perimeter trees are in good health, but two of the smallest ones died over the past winter during the freeze. These were removed last week, and we will be requesting two replacement trees from the city. We already have irrigation at both sites, so these new trees will be receiving irrigation on a regular basis once planted.
Mature Trees: City Forester Craig Fox has scheduled his team to come and professionally trim the mature trees in the park. This is a service they perform city-wide, as they aim to keep the canopy high enough for safety near intersections, as well as to keep limbs out of the reach of kids who often to break the limbs while playing with them, opening the trees to infection. This trimming should take place in June, depending on their schedule.
Mulch: We have coordinated with the city’s Parks Operations team to have brown mulch delivered in early June. This will go into the crepe myrtle beds, which you may have noticed have not had any mulch to protect the tree bases for quite a while. We also plan to cover the bed on the north side of the playground where a stand of dead crepe myrtles was removed a few weeks ago.
Mowing: The city mows Berney Park every two weeks until the summer, then mows every three weeks. Given the heavy rains this year, the grass gets higher than most of us would like during that second week before mowing. If we get more people to renew and/or join the RNNA, we might have the resources to hire a private service to mow the park on the weeks when the city does not mow. We have noticed that some parents have started privately mowing smaller areas for sports practice, but we should note that these services need to be approved by the RNNA Board and are subject to our Fort Worth Adopt-A-Park Agreement. In the meantime, contact me if you’d like to volunteer to mow the entire park on intervening weeks.
Signs: Heavy and persistent rains have made all the signage around the park easy to knock out of plumb, so we have periodically started straightening these signs as we come across them. Most were leaning, but we’ll get them straightened out!
Thanks to the RNNA Board, and especially to the regular members of the RNNA, whose dues allow us to invest in this amazing little park!
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Ridglea North wants to hear from you!
RNNA has a dedicated and enthusiastic new board ready to help address the major issues, concerns, and comments you have about Berney Park! Your opinion matters! As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance our community, we're conducting a survey to gather feedback on our beloved neighborhood park. Your input will help us understand what aspects of the park are working well and where improvements can be made. Please take a few moments to share your thoughts and ideas with us. Thank you for being an essential part of our neighborhood association!
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For a while now, RNNA has only had a Facebook page. A Facebook Page works as a public profile for businesses, celebrities, brands, organizations, and other entities to share their updates and engage with their audience. A “Like/Follow” is simply a subscription to information, such as broadcasts, updates, events, or promotions. It essentially works as the teacher at the chalkboard lecturing. We wanted to create a space where everyone can collaborate together. Ridglea North wanted to do something that fostered a greater sense of belonging and community so we created a Facebook Group. This is a space for like-minded people to come together around a common interest, like Ridglea North’s neighborhood! Unlike our Page, the Group requires membership approval, but members can post, comment, and interact with each other! Only active members to Ridglea North’s Neighborhood Association will be allowed to join. So this space is intended for our members to facilitate discussions, share resources, and collaborate with each other. You can communicate directly with our Board members, ask questions, seek information, provide suggestions, and send us photos to be included in the monthly newsletter! As a member, you can also adjust notification settings to receive updates about the group’s activity. This is the space where we will be sharing our monthly newsletter from henceforth. Once the month is up, we’ll make the newsletter available on our website. We want to make it a place to facilitate meaningful interactions among RNNA members! To find the group, search for Ridglea North's Neighborhood Group on Facebook!
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A big thank you to the Glaser family for bringing treats to the MedStar first responders last month!
Usually once a month, a volunteer drops off treats to the firehouse, police station, or MedStar's offices. If you would like to get involved, please email Suzie Jary for more information on where to drop off treats, when, and how many!
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Your Membership Summary
Member name: {Contact_FullName}
Membership renewal due: {Member_Upcoming_Renewal_Date}
Address: {ContactField_Address}
Primary email: {Contact_Email}
Secondary email: {MemberField_Additional_email_recipient}
Committees/volunteer interests: {MemberField_Volunteer_with_RNNA}
Moms Group email (if subscribed): {MemberField_Ridglea_North_Moms_Group_sign-up}
To update your profile or pay your dues at any time, log in using your primary email address. You will receive email reminders as your membership renewal deadline approaches. Please follow the instructions in the emails to renew. If you prefer to pay with a check, please use our membership form. |
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