Coast live oak,
Quercus agrifolia
along the sunset trail in Joaquin Miller Park.
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Become a sponsor of the Friends of Sausal Creek 14th annual Native Plant Sale. Click below to learn more!
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FOSC is a volunteer-based, community organization. Your donation will go directly to support for our projects and programs in the Sausal Creek Watershed.
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We all know that rocks have histories. As do streams and the landscapes that they create. Oakland sits in a dynamic geological setting, and our streams have had to be nimble to deal with its tectonic changes. This talk will take a look at Sausal Creek from head to mouth, focusing in some of its peculiarities that offer clues to its deep history, in the Pleistocene epoch and beyond.
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Suppport the Watershed on Creek to Bay Day 2019
Multiple restoration sites
8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Saturday, September 21
Join Friends of Sausal Creek for Creek to Bay Day in Oakland. We'll be restoring Sausal Creek and nearby sites by clearing invasive species and picking up trash. Please wear closed-toe, sturdy shoes and long pants.
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In early August, as a result of Oakland Park Services errors, the mature native plant demonstration garden outside the FOSC Native Plant Nursery in Joaquin Miller Park was thoroughly weed-whacked. Since the incident, FOSC Executive Director Anna Marie Schmidt, along with lead Betsy Moses and other dedicated volunteers, have met with Park Services employees in order to understand what happened, identify ways to improve communication between FOSC and Park Services, and identify the steps in restoring the garden.
Oakland Park Services has acknowledged the grave mistake and is working in partnership with FOSC to replace plants and repair the irrigation system. The demonstration garden was created with funding from an EBMUD grant over 10 years ago and had developed into a diverse display of watershed native plants, identified and described by signage. It serves to engage and educate the curious public about planting natives in their own gardens. To the group of volunteers that has dedicated countless hours, sweat and more recently, tears to garden cultivation, we are grateful. Even as we grieve the garden's destruction, volunteers are planning future replanting and eager to see what comes back. Keep an eye out and please be patient as the garden recovers.
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Explore the Watershed
California Huckleberry: An evergreen summer favorite
By Becca Sanchez
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Around the Sausal Creek Watershed you’ve probably noticed a few different berry-producing shrubs.
Vaccinium ovatum
, or California huckleberry produces small berries attached to an evergreen shrub and is one of the most common shrubs along the Pacific coast. These plants are often found in old growth forests due to their ability to survive in minimal sunlight as well as full sun. As a dominant redwoods understory plant, it is no surprise that California huckleberry responds positively to fire disruption. It owes its ability for rapid recovery to its underground rhizome structures as well as its basal sprout regeneration capability.
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If you have gone for a hike in the watershed recently, chances are you have seen the new map boxes donated by Eagle Scout Ian Black. Ian and his team crafted and installed five new trailhead map boxes for the
Trails and Tributaries of the Sausal Creek Watershed
map. Developed by FOSC veteran Karen Paulsell, the upper watershed trail map has been one of FOSC’s “greatest hits” for years. The new boxes filled with maps will help encourage community members to “get out there” and explore the watershed trails.
"My favorite part of Eagle Scouts has always been experiencing nature,” Ian says. “Whether it be the thrill of climbing a mountain, the awe at seeing a beautiful sight or even the peacefulness of a walk in your neighborhood park. That's why I was so happy to help make the trails in the Sausal Creek Watershed easier to navigate and enjoy. I hope that by installing and replacing boxes for trail maps, people will be able to fully experience everything the amazing trails have to offer."
Thank you, Ian, for your great work!
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F
OSC Friends of the Month: Skyline Gem Restoration Team
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We want to recognize the Skyline Gem team for their work on the new restoration site at 9519 Skyline Boulevard at Castle Drive. Skyline Gem site leaders, Syvlia Sykora and Doug Mosher sent us the following update on the site's progress.
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The parcel adjoins two different Montclair Organized Neighborhood groups, and we drew on support from both to have our first work day this March. We made great headway removing invasive Vinca major (moving in from an adjacent residence) as well as thistle, and we installed new plants from the FOSC nursery, watering and caring for them through this, their first summer. Most important, we keep the entire lot firesafe throughout the year with a regular maintenance program of cutting and removing of dried grasses and weeds.
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Our plans for the site are to make it suitable for fire resistant natives, adding a few new species each winter to see which are successful. The site has aging Monterey pines and cypress, a few sprouting native oak and bay stumps, several new redwoods, and a single madrone -- all that remain of what had been a thriving plant community stressed by poor vegetation management over many years. We want to work with the site’s strengths to encourage existing natives and new plantings so this large and very visible spot becomes an asset to our neighborhood and an example of what can be done when you plant in concert with nature."
Thank you Skyline Gem team for the many hours of work you have put into this site!
If you would like to nominate a friend of the month, please send your nomination to Becca Sanchez at
education@sausalcreek.org
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RESTORATION WORKDAYS
Beaconsfield Canyon
(Last Saturdays)
changed for CTBD
Sat., Sept. 21, 9 a.m.-noon
Bridgeview Trail Restoration
(2nd Sundays)
Sun., Sept. 8, 9-11 a.m.
Bridgeview Trailhead Pollinator Garden
(1st and 3rd Sundays)
Sun., Sept. 15 & Oct. 6, 9-11 a.m.
Dimond Park Native Plant Demonstration Garden
(1st Saturdays)
Sat., Sept 7. & Oct 5., 10 a.m.-noon
Marj Saunders Park
(1st Mondays)
Mon., Oct. 7, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Montclair Railroad Trail
(3rd Saturdays)
Sat., Sept. 21, 9 a.m.- 12 p.m.
Wood Park
(3rd Saturdays)
Sat., Sept. 21, 10 a.m.-noon
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PALLIDS CREW
Chabot Space and Science Center
(2nd Saturdays)
Sat., Sept. 14, 9 a.m.-noon
Save the Date
COMMUNITY TALK: ANDREW ALDEN
Oakland Public Library Dimond Branch
Wed., Sept 18, 7 - 9 p.m.
CREEK TO BAY DAY
Multiple Site Locations
Sat., Sept. 21, 8:45 a.m.-12 p.m.
FOSC NATIVE PLANT SALE AND OPEN HOUSE
FOSC Native Plant Nursery
Joaquin Miller Park
Sunday, October 20, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
BAY CURRENTS TALK: JOSIE ISELIN
The Curious World of Seaweed
St.Alban's Parish Hall, 1501 Washington
Tuesday Sept. 10, 7 p.m.
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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 --
Amazon Smile purchases donate 0.5% to FOSC
--
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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
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Photo Credits: Becca Sanchez, Shay Nolan, Steve Matson, Sylvia Sykora, Josie Iselin, Andrew Alden
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