Woodside-Atherton Garden Club plant sale

After a six-year hiatus, the Woodside-Atherton Garden Club is resuming its popular plant sale on Saturday, May 14.

There will be hundreds of California native and drought-tolerant plants such as such as yarrow, salvias, succulents and hellebores as well as gardening essentials and planted containers. Flowering plants, vegetables, gardening gear, fertilizer and avocado honey will also be on sale. Barron's Mobile Sharpening Service will be there to sharpen knives and tools.

Students from Woodside schools will be on hand to help buyers transport their purchases to their vehicles. Proceeds from the sale go to maintaining the Woodside Library Native Plant Garden and other civic projects the club supports.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Woodside Library Native Plant Garden, 3140 Woodside Road, in Woodside. Admission is free.

Go here for more information.

Author talk in Woodside on Sunday

Author Janelle Brown, a Woodside native, will be reading from her latest book, I'll Be You, answering questions and staying after for a signing at Woodside Library, 3140 Woodside Road, on Sunday, May 1, at 1 p.m.

The event will also be streamed live on Facebook.

Register here.

Portola Valley neighborhood clean up Saturday

Portola Valley will host a neighborhood clean-up day on April 30, from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Town Center, 765 Portola Road. With some exceptions, the program accepts furniture, appliances, construction debris, green waste and electronic equipment that is no longer working.

The exceptions include liquids, tires, oil- or gas-fueled space heaters, fuel cans and engine parts, hazardous wastes, green waste that includes poison oak or poison ivy, and large amounts of rock, dirt asphalt or concrete.

The event is free but participants will need to bring a copy of their GreenWaste garbage bill or the mailer insert as proof of residency.

The town notes that the lines were a lot shorter after 10 a.m. at previous events.

Go here for more information.

Animal and pet education event in Atherton

The Atherton Police Department, the Peninsula Humane Society, and the San Mateo County Office of Animal Control will host an educational event on animal safety on Saturday, April 30, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Holbrook-Palmer Park, 150 Watkins Ave. in Atherton.

The groups will be providing information on animal control services and programs, volunteer opportunities, animal rescue and control, pet licensing, and veterinarian information.

Mental health scholar to speak at Sacred Heart Schools

Stanford University visiting professor Michael Lindsey, an expert in child and adolescent mental health, will discuss the rise of suicide attempts among Black youth on May 4 at Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton (SHS), according to a school press release.

The presentation aims to raise awareness about mental health struggles in young people and provide access to the community on better comprehending what it means to acknowledge and protect young Black lives.

"During the course of my work I have found that mental health struggles aren't always recognized as such in our young people," Lindsey said in a statement. "I hope to illuminate ways for students and their families to understand each other better and have the tools to support each other in having difficult conversations about mental health."

James Everitt, Sacred Heart's chief mission, culture and strategy officer, said the discussion will provide a safe space for SHS community members and the greater community to engage with an expert on the topic of adolescent suicide prevention.

A key focus of the presentation will be on "helping teens and families speak candidly on what it means to navigate depression together."

Lindsey holds a doctorate and master's degrees in social work and public health from New York University.

The lecture is open to the public and takes place in person at 6:30 p.m. in Harman Auditorium in the Homer Science Center at SHS, 150 Valparaiso Ave., in Atherton. It will also be streamed online. Register at tinyurl.com/michaellindseylecture.

Any person who is feeling depressed, troubled or suicidal can call 1-800-784-2433 to speak with a crisis counselor. People in Santa Clara County can call 855-278-4204. Spanish speakers can call 1-888-628-9454.

People can reach trained counselors at Crisis Text Line by texting 741741.

Additional resources can be found here.

Vaccine clinic on May 22 in Menlo Park

The Menlo Park City School District will partner with Safeway Pharmacy to host a vaccine clinic at Hillview Middle School, 1100 Elder Ave. in Menlo Park, on Sunday, May 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There will be COVID-19 vaccine shots available. The clinic will also offer school-required shots and additional vaccines for: HPV; MMR; meningococcal; Hepatitis B; Tetanus/Diphtheria; pneumonia, polio, shingles and varicella.

Oak Knoll class is a runner up in Cal Water's H20 Challenge

A class at Oak Knoll Elementary in Menlo Park took the runner-up spot in the eighth annual Cal Water H20 Challenge classroom competition, according to a press release.

The project-based competition invites fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade classrooms in Cal Water service areas to develop and implement solutions to local water issues.

Kim Nero's fifth-grade class at Oak Knoll won the fourth-place prize, which includes a $1,000 classroom grant and student prizes, for its project "Watershed Warriors!"

The class learned about their local watersheds and donated supplies to a local nonprofit organization for creek restoration work, according to the release. The students also removed invasive species, planted new trees and shrubs, and educated the community about the need to keep their local water supplies clean.