PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: Friends of Sausal Creek
The Friends of Sausal Creek (FOSC) was formed in 1996 as a volunteer-based organization dedicated to promoting awareness, appreciation, and stewardship of Oakland’s Sausal Creek Watershed, which drains directly to the San Francisco Bay. FOSC has been leading diverse programs aimed to enhance the natural ecosystem, including year-round restoration projects; trail stewardship; Sausal Creek monitoring for water quality, birds, and rainbow trout; native plant nursery propagation; and environmental education programming for K-12th grade classes, in classrooms and in the field.
Last year, more than 6,700 students and volunteers participated in FOSC restoration and education programs in the watershed. The native plant nursery in Joaquin Miller Park is propagating more than 240 species of plants native to the watershed from seeds and cutting collecting from local po
pulations. FOSC leads hundreds of restoration workdays annually that focus on nonnative invasive plant removals as a major part of the restoration efforts. Species they focus on include
poison hemlock
,
French broom
,
veldt grass
, and
English ivy
.
Through thousands of volunteer hours annually, and a small staff of three individuals, FOSC is successfully maintaining populations of native plants and supporting volunteer-directed sites across 20 habitat restoration sites. Weekday and weekend volunteer opportunities are available in the native plant nursery, on restoration project sites, and along trails in the watershed. FOSC also hosts bimonthly educational workshops and watershed monitoring activities that are free and open to the public.
