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A bee and a California bee plant (
Scrophularia californica) in the Bridgeview Pollinator Garden. Photo by May Chen.
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| Help us reach our goal of $20,000 by June 21 to fund five critical restoration and education activities: native rainbow trout preservation, bird monitoring, pallid manzanita protection, education interns, and the FOSC Native Plant Nursery. |
Sausal Creek Restoration Wins Landscape Design Award
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Before
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It's almost three years since project completion in Dimond Park. At that time, the newly restored creek banks looked, well, new and somewhat raw. A lot has changed since then.
The City of Oakland, the Alameda County Flood Control & Water Conservation District and FOSC collaborated in restoring the 800-foot stretch of Sausal Creek just south of Wellington Street to create better wildlife habitat and keep the creek from undermining some of the foundations of neighboring homes. The old culvert was removed to daylight one portion of the creek and allow native rainbow trout to reach the restored section downstream. And the creek channel was completely redesigned with curves and meanders to improve the flood capacity, create a more stable and diverse corridor, giving the creek visibility and an aesthetic appeal it didn't have before.
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In just three years, the difference is stunning. The new plants are 10 feet tall or higher, providing the necessary shade for trout habitat, and the banks are lush and dense. Three weeks ago, the project received a Merit Award from the Northern California Chapter of the American Society of Lanscape Architects to acknowledge its success.
In late April, a handful of FOSC staff and board members revisited the site along with Kristin Hathaway and Ben Livesy from the City of Oakland's Creeks, Watershed and Stormwater Division. They were joined by Michael Thilgen of Four Dimensions Landscape Company who designed the planting plan.
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"This is what a natural creek bank looks like in its early stage of growth," Thilgen says. "
As the trees mature, the lower branches will be shaded out and create more open space and visibility." The mix of willows, alders, maples, oaks, buckeyes, and many other species are establishing well and growing vigorously. But he added that invasive nonnatives are already moving in, so the site will need ongoing maintenance.
The project is an example of how differently open creeks are valued now versus the past. Forty years ago, authorities would have taken a more expedient approach, like lining the channel with concrete instead of opening and restoring the creek. The Creeks, Watershed and Stormwater Division fought for the redesign and won, despite the fact that several redwood trees had to be removed from the site to allow for the new channel.
FOSC supplied over 2,500 plants for the site and helped with outreach and project coordination. Like other reaches of the creek FOSC has worked on and restored, the project offers a case study in the opportunities and challenges of creek restoration.
--Richard Kauffman, FOSC Board Member
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Speaking of Restoration in Dimond...
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Completed USRP Site 1
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Join FOSC, the City of Oakland, and project funder the Department of Water Resources to celebrate the completion of our Upper Sausal Creek Erosion Control Restoration Project in Dimond Canyon! City of Oakland employees and FOSC staff and volunteers will discuss the history and development of the project and benefits to local wildlife.
We will meet at Project Site 3 (walk upstream on the Dimond Canyon Trail from El Cenro Trailhead) at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 11 and visit the project sites. If you would like to help prepare for the celebration and with ongoing maintenance, join us for a restoration workday on Friday, May 10 from 2-5 p.m.
Please direct questions to Jay Cassianni at nursery@sausalcreek.org.
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Calling New Pallids Crew Members
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FOSC Restoration and Nursery Manager, Jay Cassiani, measuring pallid manzanita seedlings |
We are starting our fifth year of restoration work at the Chabot Space and Science Center to help save the endangered pallid manzanita (Arctostaphylos pallida) from becoming extinct.
In 1995 there were 21 pallid manzanitas at this site, and today only one of the original pallid manzanitas is still alive. But thanks to initial site management actions and all of the hard work put in by volunteers, to date there are currently over 100 seedlings on site. Ensuring their long-term survival will require our ongoing effort. Friends of Sausal Creek needs your help to maintain this fragile site through monitoring and invasive plant removal.
Monthly workdays are typically from 9 a.m. to noon on the second Saturday of the month. The season will begin with a monitoring workshop on Friday, May 24 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m, followed by the first workday on Saturday, May 25 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.. The monitoring workshop
includes topics such as the pallid manzanita life cycle, the conditions where it grows, and threats to its survival. We will also cover habitat restoration techniques, monitoring protocols, and germination experiment design. Finally, y
ou will learn about the native plant community at the site and how to identify invasive and native plants, including pallid manzanita
seedlings.
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| A flowering palllid manzanita |
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Due
to
the sensitive nature of the site, w
e are asking volunteers to commit to six workdays over the next year, if possible. Drop ins are also welcome, and a brief site and method overview will be given at the start of each workday.
This project is not possible without the help of volunteers! Please email Jay Cassianni at
nursery@sausalcreek.org or call (510) 325-9006 f
or more information or to join the email list.
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Explore the Watershed
Western Pond Turtle (
Actinemys marmorata)
Issac Aguilar, UC Berkeley
After a solid rainy season, the warming weather is shaping a thriving aquatic ecosystem in Sausal Creek. Blooming flowers, buzzing pollinators, and singing birds punctuate the dynamic cycle of spring. A heartwarming sight, often unnoticed, is the Western Pond Turtle-a shy creature that enjoys basking in the sun alongside Oakland's ponds and creeks.
The Western pond turtle is a small brown or blackish turtle with a low shell. Hatching at about one inch in length, they can grow up to eight and a half inches long. Their limbs will have prominent scales and spots, or there might be connecting black and brown streaks on their heads. The female turtle has distinguishable dark markings on her light neck and a rounder shell.
The turtles are found throughout California, and were originally common in our watershed. While there are a couple of historical, anecdotal sightings of Western pond turtles in the Sausal Creek Watershed, their current status in Sausal Creek is uncertain. Typically they prefer aquatic habitats with two key components: good basking sites and large areas for cover. Lots of logs, algae, and foliage are important for the turtle to take shelter, especially when laying eggs during the spring and summer months. During the day, the turtles bask in the sunlight on partially submerged rocks, logs, or floating vegetation. As a reptile, the Western pond turtle uses basking for thermoregulation-regulating its body temperature. If feeling threatened, the turtles will crawl off into the water; if you are lucky enough to see one of these turtles, try not to get too close.
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FOSC Friends of the Month: Earth Day Volunteers
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| Earth Day volunteers in Dimond Park |
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Thanks to more than 200 volunteers, we cleaned up and weeded the watershed from Beasconfield to the Fruitvale Bridge on April 21 for Earth Day. We are grateful to La Farine-Dimond, Noah's Bagels-Montclair, and Peet's Coffee & Tea-Dimond for generously donating breakfast items. A special thanks to
Brothers on the Rise, District 4 Councilmember
Sheng Thao, the
Painters Union, and Laney College students for their support.
See you next year for Earth Day's 50th anniversary!
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Event Calendar
RESTORATION WORKDAYS
Beaconsfield Canyon
(
l
ast Saturdays)
Sat., May 25, 9 a.m.-noon
Bridgeview Trail Restoration
(2nd Sundays)
Sun., May 12, 9-11 a.m.
Bridgeview Trailhead Pollinator Garden
(1st and 3rd Sundays)
Sun., May 5 & 19, 9-11 a.m.
Dimond Park Native Plant Demonstration Garden
Sat., June 1, 10 a.m.-noon
Mon., May 20, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Montclair Railroad Trail
(
3rd Saturdays)
Sat., May 18, 9 -11 a.m.
Wood Park
(3rd Saturdays)
Sat., May 18, 10 a.m.-noon
(
Typically last Sundays)
*Note: May's workday has been cancelled
Sun., June 30, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
RSVP
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FOSC Native Plant Nursery
Sat., May 11 & 25, 1:30-4:30 p.m.
WORKDAY IN DIMOND CANYON
El Centro Trailhead
Dimond Canyon
Fri., May 10, 2-5 p.m.
EROSION CONTROL PROJECT CELEBRATION
Dimond Canyon, Project Site 3
Sat., May 11, 9:30-10:30 a.m.
PALLID MANZANITA MONITORING WORKSHOP
Chabot Space and Science Center
Fri., May 24, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
PALLIDS CREW
Chabot Space and Science Center
Sat., May 25, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
FRUITVALE LISTENING SESSION
Cesar Chavez Library
Sat., May 11, 4-5:15 p.m.
Program in Spanish
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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:
Nicki Alexander
Education and Outreach Coordinator
510-853-3533
Anna Marie Schmidt
Executive Director
510-501-3672
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Photo Credits: May Chen, Kimra McAfee, Nicki Alexander, Lech Naumovich, Michelle Krieg, Wild Heritage Foundation, Jeff Stephens
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