Tree Work Completed at Castle Rock State Park
On Saturday, volunteers of the global nonprofit Dr. Shri. Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari Pratishthan completed a conservation drive at Castle Rock State Park, which is located along Skyline Boulevard.
Volunteer efforts included removing Douglas fir saplings that officials said could promote the spread of flames during a wildfire.
“This whole event was coordinated with California State Parks,” said coordinator Ajinkya Takawale. “We had a ranger with us.”
The volunteers arrived from places like Sunnyvale, San Jose and the East Bay city of Dublin around 10:30am and worked until 1:30pm.
“We are a spiritual organization not based on any religion,” Takawale explained. “This is just one event, but the impact that we are causing is rippling throughout the US.”
The group recently took on two other tree conservation and weeding programs in the Bay Area. More than 30 volunteers collected 930 pounds of garbage, weeds and trash and removed invasive species, including iceplant, a shrub native to South Africa.
Takawale said while the organization has been doing volunteer work overseas for decades, as members immigrate to places like Canada, Australia and Silicon Valley, the number of service projects they’ve taken on around the globe has increased.
Varsha Kavade, a volunteer media representative with the organization, recently had the chance to participate in a “mega cleanliness and tree conservation drive” held on April 27 at 21 locations in New York and New Jersey.
“It’s just an honor to be a part of any event, to be honest,” she said. “To get a chance to work toward a cleaner and greener environment is what everyone wants.”
To learn more about the group’s initiatives, visit dsndp.com.
Series features MJF Regional Band & Vocal Ensemble
On July 17, Los Gatos Music and Arts will present MJF Regional Band & Vocal Ensemble as part of the Jazz on the Plazz concert series.
The event will take place from 6:30 to 8:30pm at Town Plaza Park. The festival features a new concert every Wednesday evening through Aug. 21.
Monterey Jazz Festival officials say they’re thrilled MJF Regional All-Star Band and Vocal Ensemble—along with the Regional All-Star Middle School Combo—will return to Los Gatos, in support of music education in schools.
In the 2023-24 school year, students collaborated with top jazz educators from the county. Those meeting MJF Education Department’s requirements will earn a Certificate of Excellence in Professional Musicianship.
Rehearsing twice monthly, these all-star ensembles from across Monterey County focus on ensemble skills like phrasing, blending, improvisation and rhythmic feel. Past venues for these ensembles include San Jose Jazz Fest, Jazz on the Plazz and the Monterey Jazz Festival itself.
(Photo courtesy of MJF Regional Band & Vocal Ensemble)
Nielsen Completes Residency
Gregory Nielsen has completed his four-year residency in psychiatry at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Mich. Greg graduated from Los Gatos High School in 2001; then he graduated from Willamette College, majoring in biology.
After working at UCSF, he graduated from Yale University with a master’s in public health, specializing in epidemiology. Then Nielsen earned his medical degree from Michigan State. He is married with two children and will practice in Colorado.
Lions Club Awards 10 Scholarships
The Los Gatos Lions Club awarded a total of 10 scholarships totaling $11,000 to graduating Los Gatos High seniors. The club hosted the recipients at their regular luncheon meeting on June 12. The most prestigious of the scholarships granted by the Lions is in the name of longtime LGHS principal Ted Simonson.
Two of the scholarships are awarded in the name of former LGHS football coach Charlie Wedemeyer and another scholarship is awarded in the name of Chris Destro, which goes to an outstanding student headed toward a career in medicine or nursing. Additionally, five General Scholarships are awarded. The Lions Club, whose motto is “We serve,” places an emphasis on community service in choosing its recipients. Fittingly, two of the graduates not pictured had already left for large homebuilding service projects.
Honorees: Vanessa Fiske, Career Center Coordinator at LGHS; Liam Amburgey, General Scholarship winner; Amanda Kapok, Destro Scholarship winner; Lucy Wedemeyer, widow of Charlie Wedemeyer; Adam Minyard, Male Wedemeyer winner; Natalie Lane, General Scholarship winner; Lucia Greenland, Simonson Scholarship winner; Rachel Steohens, General Scholarship winner; Dana Hathaway, General Scholarship winner; Michael Destro, Lions Club Scholarship chairman; and Jim Barth, Los Gatos Lions Club President.
Not pictured are Claire Galbo, Female Wedemeyer winner; Sarah Drabkin, General Scholarship winner; and Ruah Flynn, General Scholarship winner.
Local Company Expands into Napa
Christie’s International Real Estate Sereno, Northern California’s largest locally owned and operated independent real estate brokerage, is expanding with the opening of a new Napa County office in St. Helena.
The move is supported by Wine Country Consultants, a Napa Valley real estate team focused on legacy vineyards and wineries.
Brian Baumann graduates from RIT
Brian Baumann of Los Gatos graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a BS in software engineering.
RIT’s academic convocation celebration was held in May and featured remarks by Patricia “Pattie” Moore, a distinguished designer and trailblazing alumna of the class of 1974.
