Mark Rauzon leading a community walk and talk in Joaquin Miller Park.
Photo by Elizabeth Boegel.
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Friends of Sausal Creek is a volunteer-based, community organization. We appreciate your support of our education, monitoring, and restoration programs in the Sausal Creek Watershed. |
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Support Friends of Sausal Creek
Building Resilience in 2022
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Students from Urban Promise Academy working to remove invasive plants in Jingletown |
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During this pandemic, many of us drove less and explored places closer to home. We gathered outdoors with friends and family; we walked quietly alone to reflect on what’s truly important. We learned to appreciate those invaluable areas in our neighborhood like Sausal Creek. Together, we can address the threats confronting these special places: threats such as overuse, under enforcement, and diminishing budgets. On top of these urban pressures, climate change is creating uncertainty with our weather patterns. We have all noticed the longer fire seasons, the smoky air, the red flag warnings, and the dying trees in our hills.
Friends of Sausal Creek promotes local solutions to the problems that confront our beloved areas. While there’s no easy fix for what troubles our planet, advocacy, diligence, and hard work are noteworthy traits that propel us forward. With your help, we demonstrate that local areas are worth restoring and protecting. They serve our community as refuges. They engage future generations to explore important environmental topics and to experience the power of stewardship.
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Explore the Watershed
Bats in Sausal Creek? Only in Summer!
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Perhaps you have noticed, on a summer stroll at dusk near Sausal Creek, a dark shape gliding above the water, and have wondered if bats inhabit our watershed. Indeed they do! California is home to 27 species of bats, and 16 species live in the Bay Area. There are three common species that are seen most often in Oakland - the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis), and various mouse-eared bats (Myotis).
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Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from under
the Yolo causeway
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FOSC t-shirts AVAILABLE NOW! |
In celebration of our 25th anniversary, FOSC is excited to announce that our new line of t-shirts, featuring a design by graphic artist and FOSC volunteer May Woo, are now in stock!
These shirts are all 100% soft black cotton and are available in various sizes and two different styles. What better gift for the solstice holidays? Visit our web store now to order!
Questions? Leave a message on our t-shirt hotline: 510-845-5178 ext. 4.
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Kudos Corner
Joaquin Miller Fencing Project
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Kudos to the volunteers working on fencing and foot bridge projects in Joaquin Miller Park. These projects are essential for protecting top-soil, native plants, and water quality in some of the most important and sensitive habitats in the Sausal Creek Watershed.
To date, 450 feet of fencing has been installed using both conventional, cedar posts and rails, and sustainably salvaged lumber that is being custom -milled for the conservation effort.
We are especially excited to see Eagle Scouts completing projects. Congratulations Will and Rowan! Special thanks goes to Dale Risden from Friends of Joaquin Miller Park for his unwavering support and his coordination with Eagle Scout candidate, Will, for fencing at Outlook Point; Dylan Nixon-Helms for his project management of Fern Ravine fencing and coordination with Nicholas Harvey at Bay Area Redwood; Henry Mitchell for his technical coordination and carpentry skills; Rob Leidy for his coordination with Eagle Scout candidate, Rowan on the fencing project; the Bicycle Trails Council of the East Bay for their skilled labor; and Tim Vendlinski for writing the work plan for the overall conservation project.
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Friend of the Month
Martin Matarrese
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On this 25th--year anniversary of Friends of Sausal Creek, we want to spotlight the stories of some of the founding members and their vision for the future of the watershed.
Martin Matarrese worked in the Parks Department for the City of Oakland when Friends of Sausal Creek was founded and
was kind enough to share his recollections of the early days of our organization.
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Friends of Sausal Creek (FOSC): What were you doing in your life when you first became involved with Friends of Sausal Creek, and what inspired you to be a part of this organization?
Martin Matarrese (MM): When I first heard of Friends of Sausal Creek around 1995, I had been working in Oakland parks for 15 years and had been married for four years. My wife and I were very busy raising two young sons. I was involved with FOSC because my duties as a supervisor included not only supervising paid city staff but also court-assigned labor and volunteers. Unlike my other supervision tasks, being involved with FOSC volunteers was not a burden because each project was well organized with knowledgeable team leaders and highly motivated citizens. FOSC also provided their own tools! My role was in logistical support, such as providing wood chips, hauling non-native vegetation, or felling trees (usually acacia).
FOSC: What projects or events in FOSC's history have been important or memorable for you?
MM: I rank the FOSC Native Plant Nursery as the project that is the most important and memorable to me, for two reasons: One, because of its connection to the redwood tree planting project earlier in my career, and two, because of its success which was due to the dedicated volunteers and nursery managers.
In the 1980's, park staff built a temporary nursery next to Woodminster Theater to grow larger coast redwood seedlings to replace eucalyptus along Skyline Boulevard and Castle Drive. This was funded by the Save the Redwoods League. After the Oakland Hills Firestorm, we were unable to continue the project due to increasing fire prevention duties. The redwood nursery was abandoned until FOSC came to the city to build the native plant nursery on the same site. My role was to assist in the administrative approval process and provide building materials and power equipment assistance with which to build the initial greenhouses.
FOSC: Do you have a favorite place to visit in the Sausal Creek Watershed? If so, what makes it special for you?
MM: I actually have many favorite places in the Sausal Creek Watershed because I grew up and went to school in the Fruitvale area. I met my wife when we were teenagers and we enjoyed good times together sailing in the Oakland Estuary near its confluence with Sausal Creek near the Fruitvale Bridge. We hung out in Sanborn Park (now Josie de la Cruz Park) and hopped together, from rock to rock, across the creek in Dimond Canyon. I lived in a trailer at Sequoia Arena for years, too, so that’s a special place we’ve returned to with our sons many times.
FOSC: What are your hopes for FOSC and/or the watershed looking forward for the next 25 years? What challenges and opportunities do you see on the horizon?
MM: I hope Friends of Sausal Creek can continue the wide spectrum of activities conducted throughout the watershed, especially bringing students into the process. By testing the water, clearing invasives, tending the nursery, and planting restoration areas, FOSC cultivates a new generation of park stewards who can carry on the vision which was set by its founders. As long as this happens, the health of the watershed will keep improving, as has been shown by the increased diversity in the annual bird counts!
FOSC: What are you up to these days?
MM: Since retiring from the City of Oakland in 2013, I have been working for Ecosystem Concepts, Inc. We provide goat grazing services throughout the greater Bay Area and Sacramento Valley. At home we have many small projects and try to get together as a family, celebrating holidays and honing our cooking skills.
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Image credit: Indian Country Today |
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The Annual Solstice Planting is back! |
Join us as we plant native species in Fern Ravine, Dimond Park and Dimond Canyon on Saturday, December 18, from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. For questions or to RSVP, please contact Nursery Manager Jay Cassianni. |
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Upcoming Event
King Tides
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Start the new year off with an invigorating walking tour of the history and science
of the Oakland estuary. Local historian Dennis Evanosky will share the fascinating history of the waterway along the shoreline, where Sausal Creek now flows into the estuary via a culvert.
Friends of Sausal Creek will highlight how sea level rise is expected to impact our city. This event takes place during one of the King Tides of 2022, and participants are encouraged to bring their camera to help document what our daily tides may look like in the future as a result of a rising sea. For more information photo sharing.
Date and Time: Sunday, January 2, 10:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Fruitvale Bridge Park (the intersection of Alameda and
Fruitvale Ave.)
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To keep our community safe, please come prepared to wear a mask and social distance.
Native Plant Nursery Volunteer Drop-In Hours
Wednesdays in December 1:30-4:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 11, 1:30-4:30 p.m.
Friends of Sausal Creek Native Plant Nursery
Restoration Workday in Dimond Canyon
Saturday, December 4, 9 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Meet at the Scout Hut in Dimond Park
Trail Stewardship Crew
Sunday, December 5 and 19, 10 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Meet at Scout Hut in Dimond Park
Pollinator Garden Workday
Sunday, December 5 and 19, at 9 a.m.
Bridgeview Trailhead
Marj Saunders Park Monthly Cleanup
Monday, December 6, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Marjorie Saunders Park, Oakland
Board of Directors Meeting
Wednesday, December 8, 7 - 8 p.m.
Zoom or Park Blvd. Presbyterian Church, 4101 Park Blvd.
Restoration Workday in Joaquin Miller Park
Saturday, December 11, 9 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Location TBD
Oak Tree Rescue
Sunday, December 12 and 26, at 9 a.m.
Bridgeview Pollinator Garden
Solstice Planting at Dimond Canyon
Saturday, December 18, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
Meet at the Scout Hut in Dimond Park
Solstice Planting at Fern Ravine
Saturday, December 18, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Meet at the Fern Ravine Trailhead
We need volunteers in the watershed now more than ever! Join us for one of our many workdays this December.
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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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Amazon Smile purchases donate 0.5% to FOSC --
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Contact:
Anna Marie Schmidt
Executive Director
510-501-3672
Jay Cassianni
Restoration and Nursery Manager
510-325-9006
Satoko Mills
Watershed Restoration Technician
Elizabeth Boegel
Communications and Community Education Intern
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Photo Credits: Elizabeth Boegel, Mark Rauzon, Rob Leidy, Martin Matarrese, Anna Marie Schmidt
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