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FOSC Education & Outreach Coordinator Nicki Alexander discusses pine cones with Aspire Triumph kindergarteners.
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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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Yes, Every Day is Earth Day, but....
let's give the Earth some extra love during Oakland's 25th annual Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 20! FOSC has opportunities for you to get your hands dirty from the hills to the estuary. Find a workday near you on the
FOSC event calendar
or on the city's
Earth Day web page
. If you are unsure of which site to go to, meet us at the Dimond Park Scout Hut at 8:45 a.m. on April 20 and we will direct you to a site. Please bring a reuseable water bottle and coffee mug to help us reduce waste.
If you want to bring out a group to volunteer on a FOSC workday, please contact the site leader referenced on the
online calendar.
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Explore the Watershed
A Creeper in the Shadows
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| Photo by Margarita Montenegro. |
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Spring is here, and with it a slew of flora and fauna are starting to reappear in our watershed. Plants, like flowering blood currant, Douglas iris, and sticky monkey flower, are beginning to bloom, attracting a host of birds and insects. Pollinators such as Allen's hummingbirds, mourning cloak butterflies, and Western honeybees are also becoming more and more common as spring begins to unfold. With the arrival of the new season come the wonderful melodies and choruses of songbirds. Species from song sparrows and Bewick's wrens to American robins and European starlings are filling our Oakland parks with music. But there's one song that might get easily lost in the commotion--the soft, high-pitched tune of the brown creeper.
Brown creepers are tiny, inconspicuous birds that can be identified by their unusual movement up a tree, a white stripe over their eye, and decurved bill. Brown creepers camouflage well with their environment owing to their brown plumage and white spotting, making it difficult for people and predators to see. This little tree climber enjoys quickly creeping up tall trees in deciduous and conifer forests in search of insects to prey on. Its song is short and repetitive. The mnemonic for the brown creeper's call is: "Trees, trees! Beautiful trees!" (Dunn & Alderfer).
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FOSC Friend of the Month: Susie Hufstader
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Photo by
Ginger Jui.
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Susie is an enthusiastic runner and has been running the trails in Dimond Canyon for years. After admiring FOSC's restoration and trail maintenance projects while training, she decided to roll up her sleeves and join in for a planting day.
Because she doesn't have a garden at home, Susie volunteers with FOSC for the opportunity to get muddy while helping the Dimond Canyon restoration effort. She is a big fan of FOSC because of our dedication to the urban ecosystem, close connections with the local community, and commitment to environmental justice in action.
When not running or planting things, Susie works as advocacy manager with Bike East Bay, another local non-profit.
Thank you, Susie, for your dedication to FOSC and your help with our USRP Erosion Control Project in Dimond Park.
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Are you right for the FOSC Board?
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| Board Treasurer Beth Keer poses at the 2018 plant sale. |
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Serving on the FOSC board is a great way to contribute to the watershed and the community. Do you have experience in finance, human resources, fundraising, or education? We're looking for board members with those backgrounds in particular. Do you live or work in Fruitvale? Another plus as we move forward with projects from the Walkable Watershed Concept Plan. But don't rule yourself out if you don't fit these descriptions. Our board of directors is a dynamic, committed, fun community of people from a variety of backgrounds helping to steer our model watershed group into the future.
If you'd like to be considered, please contact Board Secretary Richelle Jacobs at richelle.jacobs@gmail.com or (510) 531-1411 for more information on what board involvement entails.
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Event Calendar
RESTORATION WORKDAYS
Beaconsfield Canyon
(
typically
last Saturdays)
Sat., April 20 (Earth Day), 9 a.m.-noon
Bridgeview Trail Restoration
(2nd Sundays)
Sun., Apr. 14, 9-11 a.m.
Bridgeview Trailhead Pollinator Garden
(1st and 3rd Sundays)
Sun., Apr. 7 & 21, 9-11 a.m.
Dimond Park Native Plant Demonstration Garden
Sat., Apr. 6, 10 a.m.-noon
Mon., May 6, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Montclair Railroad Trail
(
3rd Saturdays)
Sat., Apr. 20 (Earth Day), 9 -11 a.m.
Wood Park
(3rd Saturdays)
Sat., Apr. 20 (Earth Day), 10 a.m.-noon
TRAIL CREW
Scout Hut, Dimond Park
(Last Sundays)
Sun., Apr. 28, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
PLANTING IN DIMOND CANYON
El Centro Trailhead
Sat., Apr. 13, 9 a.m.-noon
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Various Sites
Sat., Apr. 20, 8:45 a.m.-noon
Save the Date
EROSION CONTROL PROJECT CELEBRATION
Dimond Canyon, Project Site 3
Sat., May 11, 9:30-11 a.m.
Save the Date
PALLID MANZANITA MONITORING WORKSHOP
Chabot Space and Science Center
Fri., May 24, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
EVENTS OF OTHERS
Earth Day at the Oakland Zoo
Oakland Zoo
Sun., Apr. 14, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Bay Currents: Insects and the Apocalypse
St. Alban's Parish, Albany
Tues., Apr. 9, 7-9 p.m.
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| FOSC intern Moises Alvarez finds a banana slug while planting in Dimond Canyon. |
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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: Morgan Perry, Lech Naumovich, Jeff Stephens, Nicki Alexander, Margarita Montenegro
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