J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0
FOSC closed out 2019 with a community winter solstice planting in Dimond Canyon, Wood Park and Barry Place.
FOSC is a volunteer-based, community organization. We need donors like you to support another great year of FOSC education and restoration programs in the Sausal Creek Watershed. 
Check out  the multiple ways to support FOSC, including contributions to our  For the Future  endowment fund.
State of the Watershed
Who Else is Working in the Watershed?
Please join FOSC as we convene city, county, and volunteer organizations working within the Sausal Creek Watershed to hear about what they are doing, challenges they encounter, and what they hope to accomplish. Representatives from the following departments will provide information and respond to questions:

  • City of Oakland Human Services (homeless services)
  • Councilmembers from District 4 and District 5
  • City of Oakland Stormwater and Watershed Management Division
  • Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation Division
  • Leimert Seismic Retrofit Project
  • Oakland Fire Department

Presentations  begin at 7:00 p.m.,  however we encourage community members to come early for the  6:30 p.m. poster session . The poster session will feature Adopt-a-Spot leaders, community nonprofits, and local recreation centers in the watershed. Visit the tables and get updates on the activities of local restoration sites, organizations, and volunteer opportunities. 

State of the Watershed
Wednesday, January 22
6:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Dimond Library Branch

King Tides Walk
Start 2020 off with a walking tour that highlights the fascinating history and science of the Oakland estuary. Local historian Dennis Evanosky will share the history of the waterway and shoreline where Sausal Creek now flows into the estuary via a culvert. FOSC Education and Outreach Coordinator Becca Sanchez will discuss how sea level rise is expected to impact our city. 
 
This event takes place during one of the King Tides of 2020. Participants are encouraged to bring their cameras to help document the event and then submit photos of what our daily tides may look like in the future as a result of rising water levels.
King Tides Waterfront Walk
Saturday, January 11
10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
Fruitvale Bridge Park

MLK Jr. Day of Service
Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by working on our restoration areas at Fern Ravine. Crews will work to remove non-native plants and reduce the fire fuel load along Skyline Blvd. and in the Fern Ravine area.

Similar projects will take place at various other sites in the watershed such as Jingletown Native Plant Garden, Beaconsfield Canyon and Dimond Park. Please check the event calendar for more details.

Please wear long sleeves, long pants, gloves, and sturdy shoes. Bring a water bottle and sunscreen protection. Minors need signed waivers to participate (available here) . Feel free to just show up for this event. 

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service
Monday, January 20
9 a.m. -12:00 p.m.
Locations on Event Calendar

For more information, contact Jay Cassianni at nursery@sausalcreek.org .
Explore the Watershed
Look up! New Bird Pays a Visit
Say's Phoebe is the latest visitor (#129) to our watershed to be recorded on our monitoring walks. On October 12, 2019 one landed briefly atop a dead pine on the ridge in Fern Ravine in Joaquin Miller Park. The Say's Phoebe ( Sayornis saya ) is medium-sized with cinnamon-washed underparts and duff gray upper parts. It is an open-country tyrant flycatcher that sallies out to catch insects on the wing. These birds nest from as far north as Alaska and in the winter travel as far south as southern Mexico. Since we don't have much in the way of dry grasslands in our watershed, we have not seen one before.

--Mark Rauzon
Photo credit: Brian Sullivan
December Trout Kill
FOSC Responds to Trout Kill Following Water Main Break Near Dimond
On Tuesday, December 17, Sausal Creek neighbor and ecology professor Dr. Matt Cover observed large amounts of water traveling down Wellington Avenue to Sausal Creek in Dimond Park. The incident was reported, and Matt later spoke with an EBMUD staff person who was on site investigating a possible water line break at Everett and Wellington. Matt later walked the length of the creek from Wellington down to the bottom of Dimond Park, noting the creek was clouded with suspended sediment. 
 
Unfortunately, he observed two dead trout with another that appeared impaired.

Happy New Year from FOSC
FOSC Staff Relaxed and Rejuvenated for 2020 Programs!
Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and productive new year as we begin 2020. This year will be one of key moments within our local community and on a national scale. Take a look at how our staff took some time to rest and prepare for the exciting year ahead!

Executive Director Anna Marie Schmidt spent her holiday break with great views and family in Pasadena.
Restoration and Nursery Manager Jay Cassianni celebrated the holiday season with his family in Fontana.


Education and Outreach Coordinator, Becca Sanchez, spent the week enjoying the company of her siblings, niece, and nephew up in Chico.
Kudos Korner
FOSC Community -- Thank You for Your Support!
FOSC wants to thank all those in our generous FOSC community who were able to make a donation this holiday season.

We rely on individual donors to sustain all of our work--our citizen science and restoration projects and our outdoor environmental education programs. Thank you for thinking of our watershed during the giving season. We look forward to continuing to restore, protect, and raise awareness about the Sausal Creek Watershed with you all in 2020!
FOSC Friend of the Month
Lin Barron -- Friends of the Montclair Railroad
Lin Barron is a founding member of the Friends of Montclair RR Trail (FOMRRT) and a 30-year resident of Montclair. The Montclair RR Trail is in Shepherd Canyon and was once the railbed for the Northern Sacramento Railway. It became a City of Oakland park in 2009.
 
Lin discovered the FOSC Native Plant Nursery at one of its first plant sales in early 2000. Her desire to learn more about native plants led her back to the nursery in 2010 to volunteer alongside Karen Paulsell. Karen piqued Lin’s interest in the trail, its native plant populations and ephemeral streams.  With guidance from Karen, FOMRRT created a plan and started their first restoration project during the winter of 2010.  Since then, Lin’s understanding of the Sausal Creek Watershed has grown through her friendships with FOSC members and FOSC meetings.
Over the years FOMRRT and FOSC nursery and restoration mangers have collaborated on several restoration plans.  One of FOMRRT’s ongoing project sites is a swale at the base of Cortereal Avenue near Montclair Village that helps drain surface water into the creek.

Lin has also been an indefatigable advocate for fire prevention throughout the Oakland hills, serving on the former Wildfire Prevention Association District oversight committee and continuing to lobby for science-based best practices and methodologies for wildfire prevention.

Thank you Lin and FOMRRT for all your hard work!
If you would like to nominate a Friend of the Month, contact Becca Sanchez at education@sausalcreek.org.
Event Calendar
RESTORATION WORKDAYS
Beaconsfield Canyon  
(Last Saturdays)
Sat., Jan. 25, 9 a.m.-noon

Bridgeview Trail Restoration
(2nd Sundays)
Sun., Jan. 12, 9-11 a.m.

Bridgeview Trailhead Pollinator Garden
(1st and 3rd Sundays)
Sun., Jan. 5 & 19, 9-11 a.m.
 
Dimond Park Native Plant Demonstration Garden
(1st Saturdays)
Sat., Jan. 4 & Feb. 1, 10 a.m.-noon
 
Marj Saunders Park
(1st Mondays)
Mon., Jan. 6 & Feb. 3, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Montclair Railroad Trail 
(3rd Saturdays)
Sat., Jan. 18, 9 a.m.- 12 p.m.

Wood Park 
(3rd Saturdays)
Sat., Jan. 18, 10 a.m.-noon

Fern Ravine Work Day
Fern Ravine Trailhead
(2nd Saturdays)
Sat., Jan. 11, 9 a.m.-noon

SAVE THE DATE

KING TIDES WATERFRONT WALK
Fruitvale Bridge Park
Sat., Jan. 11,10:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.

MLK JR DAY OF SERVICE
Multiple Site Locations
Mon., Jan. 20, 9:00 a.m.-noon

STATE OF THE WATERSHED
Dimond Library Branch
Wed., Jan. 22, 6:30-9 p.m.

F5C BAY CURRENTS TALK
St.Alban's Parish Hall, Albany
Tue., Jan. 14, 7:30-9 p.m.
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. 
FOSC needs your support --  
 
Amazon Smile purchases donate 0.5% to FOSC --
 
Connect with us:
Contact:
Becca Sanchez
Education and Outreach Coordinator
510-853-3533

Jay Cassianni
Restoration and Nursery Manager
510-325-9006
 
Anna Marie Schmidt
Executive Director
510-501-3672 
Photo Credits : Becca Sanchez, Nicki Alexander, Jeff Stephens, Anna Marie Schmidt, Jay Cassianni, Brain Sullivan, Matt Cover, Lin Barron