Golden Gardens Park, located in West Eugene, is a beautiful natural area offering much in the way of recreation, education, and exploration. The park provides essential habitat for wildlife while also presenting an immersive experience in nature right in the city. Featuring a looped path for walking, ponds for fishing, ample birding, and much more, there is something for everyone to enjoy! The ponds at this site are restored gravel pits that have undergone enhancement over the years to create improved habitat for wildlife and safer conditions for those recreating around them. One of the species that have benefitted the most from such projects are the Western Pond Turtle. This native turtle requires specific aquatic and terrestrial conditions to complete stages of its life cycle which the ponds now provide. Stop by the park on a sunny day for a chance to spot them!
Over the last 3 years, WREN has engaged 469 community members through 12 events at Golden Gardens Park. This is a special place where we have loved to learn and explore with you and look forward to many more opportunities to do so! We are grateful for those community members who are so passionate about stewarding this wonderful gem. To learn more about the formation of this ‘Friends of’ group, please visit their website.
Why does Golden Gardens need a “Friends of” group? Read the passage below from co-leaders Dawn Scott and Karen Hall:
“Golden Gardens Park, like all public parks, requires maintenance, stewardship and love from residents and frequent users of the landscape. City budgets (in Golden Gardens case) are frequently not large enough to handle all of the things needed to keep the habitats functioning for things like air quality improvement, water storage, cleansing and movement, reducing the heat island effect in otherwise paved environments – and these are primarily the human concerns. Natural environments like Golden Gardens provide space for life of all other forms – butterflies, dragonflies, plants, birds, other animals. Keeping the habitat as native as possible benefits all these groups because it builds on the relationships between them that have developed from time immemorial.”