Friends of Sausal Creek's September 2020 Newsletter

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FOSC staff Jackie Van Der Hout teaches a lesson on Sausal Creek's resident rainbow trout to Team Oakland members. Photo by Nicki Alexander

FOSC is a volunteer-based, community organization. Especially during these uncertain times, we need donors like you to support FOSC education, monitoring, and restoration programs in the Sausal Creek Watershed.

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Save the Date!

The 15th Annual FOSC Native Plant Sale

It's almost that time of the year! The 15th Annual FOSC Native Plant Sale is coming this October! The online native plant website will start a week before curbside pick-up dates: October 17-18. Stay tuned for details!

While we know this year's format will be different than in years past, we are busy planning a safe way for you to purchase and pick-up thriving native plants for your garden. Stay tuned for details!

Illustrations by Mia Trachtenberg

FOSC Staff and Board of Directors Update

Welcome Maribel and John!

Maribel Garcia - Education and Outreach Coordinator

Maribel is the new education and outreach coordinator for the Friends of Sausal Creek. Her first environmental educators were her parents who taught her to care for the land and community in their hometown in the San Fernando Valley. She has since been drawn to doing work that uplifts her community, as an educator, organizer, and restorative justice facilitator. Before joining FOSC, Maribel was on the education team at the Presidio Trust where she led experiential lessons with youth on the archaeological, cultural, and ecological history of the Presidio. She also worked with buildOn in the Fruitvale district, leading Fremont High School students on service projects, including a service trip in Guatemala. She is excited to join the FOSC team and bring her expertise and background to connect more of the community to their local watershed, especially those who have been historically underserved. Maribel holds a B.A. in anthropology from U.C. Santa Cruz with a minor in film and digital media. Her interests include traveling the world, learning new recipes, playing the guitar, and all things outdoors!

John Cadiz - Student Board Member

John Cadiz is a rising senior at U.C. Berkeley studying civil & environmental engineering. John’s main goal in pursuing his degree is to give communities and businesses a voice in and an outlet for actively shaping their own future. Achieving that goal, John believes, requires effective communication that transcends socioeconomic status and language barriers. He has done research on water management, arsenic filtration, and sustainable development, which piqued his interest in sustainability awareness and education. Besides academics and civil engineering, he loves to play piano, to take care of plants, and to visit national parks. John’s passions have naturally led him beyond the classroom to pursuing community interests-- like becoming a member of the FOSC Board of Directors.

Community Opportunities

September is Creek to Bay Month

September 2020 marks the 25th anniversary of Oakland Creek to Bay Day, held in conjunction with California and International Coastal Cleanup Day. It is typically the largest organized volunteer day in the world. Usually this event is held on the third Saturday in September, when thousands of volunteers remove litter from waterways and shorelines, as well as upstream areas across California, the nation, and in about 100 participating countries.

Although COVID-19 prevents us from gathering in groups this year, individuals and households can celebrate and participate in this 25th anniversary event during the entire month of September with individual clean-up projects, as well as pledging and committing to a variety of actions to protect watersheds.

Join the City of Oakland and Friends of Sausal Creek for a Creek to Bay Month of watershed cleanup, education, and commitment to keep our city and water clean, from creek to bay-- every day in September and beyond!

Want to volunteer with FOSC for Creek to Bay Month? Get in touch and explore what tasks you might take on in the watershed. We have volunteer opportunities for all levels of experience.

Volunteer tasks include (but are not limited to):

Trail map restocking
Garbage removal
Ivy removal
Plant watering
Nursery volunteering
And more!

We still have slots available, please contact Jackie to get involved.

Explore the Watershed

Walking Watersheds: The Mouth of Sausal Creek

Join Friends of Sausal Creek, Greenbelt Alliance, and Wholly H2O as we delve deep into the human and natural history of the Sausal Creek Watershed by exploring its trails, people, and tributaries with local experts -- all from the comfort of your own home.

WhollyH2O and their partners have previously explored the Temescal Watershed and Point Molate and are now ready to explore the Sausal Creek Watershed. During this first live-streaming tour of the mouth of Sausal Creek near Fruitvale Bridge Park and in Jingletown, we will learn about the estuary's history, how the culverted creek got here, what artists do to protect the creek, falcon reproduction, and the current homeless crisis.

Thursday, September 17 at 2:00 p.m.

Kudos Corner

Nursery Watering Team

Huge kudos go out to Chris Lutz, Alan Tong, Beth Keer, and Nancy Jones, for tending to the FOSC nursery throughout August's many challenges.

Through the power outages, water outages, heatwaves, fires, and a global pandemic, this amazing group of volunteers made sure that the plants at the nursery stayed watered and healthy as they filled in for vacationing Nursery Manager, Jay Cassianni.

We can't thank you enough Chris, Alan, Beth and Nancy!

FOSC Friend of the Month

AiLi Pigott

AiLi Pigott was first introduced to FOSC on a high school field trip during which her class captured and identified insects in the watershed. AiLi is a junior at Colorado College and spent some time this summer back in the Bay Area volunteering in the watershed.

When asked why she had chosen to volunteer with FOSC, AiLi said she was looking for an organization whose mission was aligned with her academic and personal interest in environmental science and thought it would be a fun way to spend the summer. AiLi worked on propagation and weeding in the nursery and also helped clean up and remove invasive plants at the Jingletown native plant garden.

AiLi hopes volunteer with FOSC again in the future, and we look forward to having her back. Thank you so much AiLi, for your work in the nursery and the watershed!

If you would like to nominate a Friend of the Month, contact education@sausalcreek.org.

Event Calendar

View our events calendar on the FOSC Website

Online Events of Interest from Other Organizations:

Creek to Bay Month

Presented by the City of Oakland

All of September

A location near you!

Flyover of California’s Birds and Biodiversity

Presented by California Audubon Society

September 8 at 10:00 a.m.

Online event

Conserving California’s Native Bees and Butterflies

Presented by Xeres Society

September 9 and 10 at 3:00 p.m.

Online events

Walking Waterhoods: Mouth of Sausal Creek

Presented by Wholly H2O, Greenbelt Alliance and Friends of Sausal Creek

Thursday, September 17 at 2:00 p.m.

Online event

What Makes Native Gardening Special?

September 19 at 12:00 p.m.

Presented by Chrissy Freeman, and the California Native Plants Society of Redbud

Online event

California’s Climate Refugia: Mapping the Stable Places

Presented by the CNPS Yerba Buena Speaker Program and Jim Thorne

October 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Online event

All FOSC public events and group workdays continue to be cancelled, in accordance with the county shelter-in-place order.

Please continue to practice safety by maintaining social distance, taking care of yourself, and staying healthy.

We will continue to update our event calendar as we monitor guidance for COVID-19.

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.