I am not gifted with remembering details from books or quotes, yet Mary's quavering "Might I have a bit of earth?" rings in my head decades after reading The Secret Garden. As a child I was enchanted by the notion that getting outdoors and following the path of a bird could lead to the discovery of an untended, magical place.
To achieve our goal of increasing biodiversity, our organization depends on the model of neighbors adopting bits of earth. In a place like Dimond Canyon, two decades of adopting have created a serene escape from the surrounding urbanity. There are enough other "bits" covered with ivy and other invasive plants to keep thousands of volunteers busy on just a first round of removal. Then the native plants need us to revisit those weeded spots to help secure their foothold.
Read on for ways to take on your own bit of earth, or help others at theirs, in this new year. Serenity and self-satisfaction are the rewards for creek freaks.
--Kimra McAfee, Executive Director
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FOSC is a volunteer-based, community organization. Your donations go directly to support our projects and programs in the Sausal Creek Watershed. Check out the multiple ways to support FOSC, including contributions to our For the Future endowment fund!
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State of the Watershed 2018
As we look ahead to 2018, we reflect on the obstacles and triumphs from our past and hopefully learn a few lessons to guide us in the future. What better way to review and strategize than by sharing our experiences at this year's State of the Watershed meeting? Fifteen site leaders will show us the range of work volunteers do throughout the watershed, presenting their sites and insights and discussing their goals for the year. Come to get a great overview of our restoration work, to learn more about FOSC's volunteer opportunities, or to connect with a neighbor to adopt a spot of your own. Or just come for the snacks, but don't miss the State of the Watershed!
State of the Watershed 2018
Dimond Library, 3565 Fruitvale Ave.
Wednesday, January 17, 7-9 p.m.
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Celebrate MLK Day with Service
Join FOSC and Jingletown Arts & Business Community for a workday to clean up the shoreline and tend to the Jingletown Native Plant Garden. Don't miss this chance to check out the block of murals while planting in the garden or before heading to the waterfront to pick up trash. Please wear sturdy shoes, long pants, and warm clothes. For more details or to RSVP, please contact Erin at [email protected] or (510) 325-9006.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at Jingletown Garden and Shoreline
Meet at Jingletown Native Plant Garden Art Wall
Peterson St. & Ford St., Oakland
Monday, January 15, 9 a.m.-noon
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Friends of the Month: Cynthia Elliott and
Jill McLennan
This dream team reminds us of just how much a community can accomplish when people connect. In 2010 Jill and Cynthia led the charge to beautify the strip along Peterson Street in Jingletown with murals and mosaics. Jingletown is a former Oakland industrial district near the waterfront that is now home to a growing number of artists, studios, and galleries. In 2011 Jill reached out to FOSC to help achieve their goal of planting a native plant garden alongside the murals. Earth Day workdays in Jingletown are huge neighborhood events, but the community also comes together for Creek to Bay Day and, more recently, MLK Day, to tend the garden and clean up the shoreline. We are grateful to have this green space not only for the pollinator habitat but also as a special, art-filled place where kids can get their hands dirty on FOSC field trips. Thank you Cynthia and Jill for your vision and your long-time leadership!
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Our 2018 Board of Directors
All 14 FOSC board members have elected to continue to serve for 2018, and we warmly welcome Beth Keer as our newest board member. A former lab director and teacher, Beth has been very active in the watershed and with native plants elsewhere for many years. Read about Beth's varied experience, both professional and volunteer, as well as bios of each of our fabulous board members, here.
As you know, all FOSC board positions are volunteer positions. We are grateful to Richard Kauffman for donning the mantle of president this year, veteran Eleanor Dunn for lending her experience as VP, and Jeff Stephens for assuming the role of treasurer. A round of applause to Ricky Jacobs for continuing to serve as secretary.
The next FOSC board meeting is February 7 and, as always, is open to the public. The board meets every other month. See the Event Calendar for details.
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Scientific name:
Bubo virginianus
Common name: Great horned owl
The Tiger of the Night has been heard in Dimond Canyon. But relax, it's only the hooting of the great horned owls that have frequented our watershed and breed under the Leimert Bridge. Winter is the breeding season of these fierce predators, and their duet hooting was reported on the FOSC listserv recently. They are indeed fearless and kill other owls, cats, skunks, and rats, so please keep your cat indoors and don't use rat poison, and relax to the nocturne love song of the nature in our backyards.
--Mark Rauzon
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Thank you to Eagle Scout candidate Cooper Ford and his wonderful crew for constructing a much
needed fence at the bottom of the Bridgeview Trail switchbacks in Dimond Canyon. This addition was designed to reduce erosion and improve creek health by keeping hikers and dogs on the trails and out of sensitive habitat.
Cooper wrote the following "thank you note to the FOSC community," which will undoubtedly warm your heart
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I had a great time working on the trail for so many reasons. For starters, I enjoyed it because I was giving back to the environmental community by protecting an essential creek that flows through most of Oakland.
Secondly, I felt so much pride and gratification from accomplishing this construction and it helped so much to hear cheerful and thankful voices through out the day while working on the project. Trail users gave kind and inspiring gratitude while they walked or biked by and I was so happy to hear support which just pushed me farther to work longer days.
I am so proud and thankful for the FOSC community for helping out all that they can, not just for Boy Scouts looking for projects, but also for maintaining the balance of our environmental impact. FOSC, and many other organizations, keep the earth clean and it is inspiring to see so many people taking time out of their busy lives to help lend a hand to local gardens or environmental organizations.
So thank you, regardless of whether you are a volunteer that helped me on the trail or even just part of this community and are reading this note, your contribution is stellar and I'm happy to be a part of it.
--Cooper Ford
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Event Calendar
RESTORATION WORKDAYS
Beaconsfield Canyon
(last Saturdays)
Sat., Jan. 27, 9 a.m.-noon
Bienati Creek Overlook
Sat., Jan. 20, 9 a.m.-noon
Bridgeview Trail
(2nd Sundays)
Sun., Jan. 14, 9-11 a.m.
Bridgeview Trailhead Pollinator Garden
(1st & 3rd Sundays)
Sun., Jan. 21 & Feb. 4, 9-11 a.m.
Dimond Park and Canyon
(3rd Saturdays)
Sat., Jan. 20, 9 a.m.-noon
Dimond Park Native Plant Demonstration Garden
(1st Saturdays)
Sat., Feb. 3, 10 a.m.-noon
Jingletown Garden & Shoreline
Mon., Jan. 15, 9 a.m.-noon
Marj Saunders Park
(1st Mondays)
Mon., Feb. 5, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Montclair Railroad Trail
(3rd Saturdays)
Sat., Jan. 20, 9-11 a.m.
Woodbine Corner
Sat., Jan. 27, 9-11 a.m.
Wood Park
(3rd Saturdays)
Sat., Jan. 20, 10 a.m.-noon
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TRAIL CREW
Joaquin Miller Court
(last Sundays)
Sun., Jan. 28, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
NURSERY WORKDAYS
FOSC Native Plant Nursery
Joaquin Miller Park
(2nd and 4th Saturdays)
Sat., Jan. 13 & 27, 1:30-4:30 p.m.
COLLECTION HIKES
Locations TBD
Thu., Jan. 25, 10 a.m.-noon
Fri., Feb. 9, 10 a.m.-noon
MEMBER MEETING
Dimond Library
Wed., Jan. 17, 7-9 p.m.
State of the Watershed Meeting
BOARD MEETING
Park Blvd. Presbyterian Church
Wed., Feb. 7, 7-9 p.m.
FOSC Seed Hikers with a harvest of cuttings!
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Get Involved
Our mission is to restore, maintain, and protect the Sausal Creek Watershed. We educate future generations, involve the community in local environmental stewardship, and collaborate with agencies and other nonprofits to have a positive impact on the local ecosystem.
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FOSC needs your support --
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Contact:
Jill Miller
Restoration & Education Manager
510-853-3533
Freddy Gutierrez
Fruitvale Outreach Coordinator
Kimra McAfee
Executive Director
510-501-3672
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Photo Credits: Chris Ford, Cooper Ford, Jill Miller, Joseph Morris, Mark Rauzon, Erin Todd
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