by Tracy Gardner

On a Saturday in late September, Friends of Pastorius Park executed a project we had planned for two years.

It almost didn’t happen, as FoPP had too few volunteers to carry the extremely heavy – and potentially fragile – turtle perch into the pond to be connected to its concrete piers. But a couple of last-minute park goer volunteers (Juda, who was playing Frisbee; Mike, who was walking his two dogs) didn’t hesitate, and pitched in to get this done.

First, FoPP board member John Ambrose took charge of the concrete piers by dolly, rolling them down a steep bank, then easing them into their pond positions without damaging anything. After this auspicious beginning, we ran into a snag with too few guys to help carry the perch into the water. Fortunately, Juda and Mike stepped up. Seven men and a boy (TJ and Lisa Lyon’s son, Connor) carefully carried the perch into the water, then gently seated it on the bolts embedded in the two piers.

Denise Twelkmeyer, wife and pond works partner of FoPP’s pond specialist Hermann Twelkmeyer, designed the turtle perch. Denise’s beautiful and practical design is composed of 2-foot wide/3-inch thick cross sections from a downed oak trunk that was already in the park. Erik Werner, of Hedgerows Tree Service, (and FoPP’s go-to arborist) provided one of his workers to cut the cross sections we needed for the perch.

Earlier in September, Hermann and his helper, Bert, worked steadily in rotten weather, heat and constant rain, to build the perch and its piers. Their efforts are much appreciated, especially by Pastorius’ turtles, who were climbing on the perch within twenty minutes of its installation.

Two years ago, FoPP came up with the idea to provide a turtle perch for Pastorius pond to give the turtles a safer place to sun themselves, away from kids and dogs. The perch seems to be a hit with Pastorius Park goers, who frequently take photos of it resplendent with happy turtles basking in the sun.

FoPP is grateful and thanks all the people involved in making this project a success. Our organization would also like to remind parents and other park goers to be alert to children throwing sticks and stones at the turtles, and/or the aeration fountains in the pond. Unfortunately, FoPP was contacted with photos showing just this kind of behavior recently at the park. This is unacceptable and should be stopped.

Everyone in our community has a stake in the health and care of the park. If you see any destructive activity at Pastorius, please speak up.

Tracy Gardner is president of Friends of Pastorius Park.