Hippie haven

City parks often come from land nobody wants. Tugman park, in south Eugene, used to be a dump and a major flood zone.

The park was born in 1958 with actual structures going up in 1965. It was a sweet little community park but in the late 60’s some worried about the people who gathered there. It was feared to be a “hippie haven.”

English ivy was planted on purpose back then. We’ve been pulling it up ever since.

On the north end, there are redwoods— technically giant sequoias— gathered. In recent years, this area attracted human visitors who lingered a little too long in the shadows of trees and brush and vegetation screens. This created discomfort and fears about safety for those walking through so the city had to trim up the area to let more light in. There has to be a balance between wild, domestic, light, dark, exposed and hidden.

Tugman creek flows into amazon creek. It is maintained and monitored to flow exactly right. The park is a big drain basin. There is an actual drain you can see if you know where to look. The edges along the flow are pruned like a tunnel. The water needs to move but not too fast. Slower is better than faster. Eventually the water here goes to the Long Tom, the Willamette, the Colombia, the Pacific ocean.

This is a good time to remind: all storm drains go directly to our waterways. Be mindful and aware of what you send downstream.

The grassy hill was the dump. Because it was a dump, they don’t plant trees on it as they don’t want the trees to pierce into the waste from the past.

Above the park, across from the old dump site, is an area called Fawn Lily rise. It is a cluster of oaks and is said to have the most diverse native plant combinations in our city.

On the rainy walk today, we tromped through camas, weeds, buttercup, mud, and deer poop. A Cooper’s hawk flew over us as we walked by a bat house.

Be sure and catch a walk on the First Saturday Park Walks in Eugene!