FEBRUARY  |  MARCH 2012  

 


In This Issue (Links)
Thank You, Volunteers!
State of the Creek
SOD Blitz 2012
Bioassessment Update
Oakland Rain Barrel Program
Adopt a Drain

 

MEMBER MEETING: PEREGRINE FALCONS 

Dimond Library

Wed., Mar. 21 

7-9 p.m.

 

 

FIELD EVENTS 

  

Aquatic Insect Monitoring in Dimond Park

Sun., Mar. 4    

9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
 
Bird Monitoring (start at Sequoia Arena) 

Sat., Apr. 14  

8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

 

Collection Hike  (location TBD, check calendar) 

Fri., Feb. 24 

10 a.m.-noon

 

 

 NURSERY 

WORKDAYS

Sat., Feb. 25,   

Mar. 10 & 31 

1:30-4:30 p.m.

 

Thurs., Mar. 15  

Wed., Mar. 21 

1:30-4:30 p.m. 

 

 

RESTORATION WORKDAYS 

  

Beaconsfield Canyon

Sat., Feb. 25 &

Mar. 31 

9 a.m.-noon

 

Bridgeview Trailhead

Sun., Mar. 11 

10 a.m.-noon

 

Dimond Canyon 

Sat., Mar. 3  

9 a.m.-noon

 

Marj Saunders Park

Mon., Mar. 5  

10 a.m.-noon

 

Shepherd Canyon

Sat., Mar. 3  

9-11 a.m.  

 

Wood Park

Sat., Feb. 18 &

Mar. 17 

9 a.m.-noon

 

 

   

   

 

For more information:

 FOSC Calendar 

 

 Megan Hess 

Restoration & Nursery

Manager

510-325-9006

 

 Kimra McAfee 

Executive Director

510-501-3672

 

 





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Have you considered a monthly gift? Regularly scheduled donations help us to do better planning, to continue to pay our hardworking staff, to organize more workdays, and to lead more students on environmental education field trips.
You can set up recurring gifts online on a monthly or quarterly basis.













Photo Credits:
Jill McLennan
Mark Rauzon
Glenn R. Stewart


Editors:
Richard Kauffman
Kimra McAfee
FOSC logo

In some ways, February and March feel like the lull before the storm--and we do hope for more storms soon! Earth Day workday preparations begin anon (mark your calendar for the morning of Saturday, April 21), and Megan's spring calendar is filling up with field trips. Collection hikes have resumed, which means more seeds and cuttings for nursery propagators--the restoration sites and fall plant sale shoppers are counting on us!
 
As our January State of the Creek meeting conveyed, restoration is breakin' out all over. Volunteer "cells" that have sprung up, taking on the revolutionary work of recreating habitat, sent our board and staff into our annual retreat inspired. We discussed how better committee management and more staffing can help make 2012 another landmark year for FOSC. Thank you to all who responded to our end-of-year appeal, enabling us to continue supporting community restoration efforts watershed-wide. 

 

Be part of the watershed community--come to a workday, hike a trail, and don't miss our next member meeting: 


Peregrine Falcons

Wednesday, March 21,

7 p.m. at Dimond Library

Come learn about peregrine falcon recovery efforts from conservation biologist Glenn R. Stewart, director of the University of California Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group. Glenn will describe the techniques used by the Predatory Bird Research Group to achieve the peregrine falcon population recovery, discuss current studies of the recovered population that foster conservation education, and make specific comments about the Sausal Creek Watershed peregrine falcons that nest at the Fruitvale Bridge. He will be accompanied by a live peregrine falcon. Download a flyer.

 

--Kimra McAfee, Executive Director  

Shout Out to Scouts and Neighborhood Volunteers


Dimond Park Trail Improvements

If it wasn't for Eagle Scout Michael Ritchie,Troop 203, Dimond Park would still be a rough trail for strollers. The scouts rebuilt a section of trail connecting Dimond Park to the El Centro trailhead in December. They also refurbished the stone circle by the creek, stabilizing an old short cut, to prevent erosion and make the circle more visible and safer.

 

Winter Solstice Planting Day in Dimond Park also saw volunteer teams working on clearing the other stone circle by El Centro and cleaning up the demonstration garden. Neighbor and volunteer extraordinaire Hayward Blake has also been active in sprucing up other areas of Dimond Park--just another example of community-driven restoration in public parklands.

 

--Mark Rauzon  

The State of the Creek--An Impressive Show
 
Jingletown Art Wall and Garden Project
Jingletown Art Wall and Garden Project on Peterson Street
FOSC's State of the Creek meeting on January 18 brought over a dozen restoration groups out of the woodwork, forests, and neighborhoods to Dimond Library to show slides and talk about their work. It was difficult to go away unimpressed. The presentations covered almost all of the 20 active restoration sites throughout the watershed.

"It was tremendously energizing to see how much work is going on and how FOSC's influence has spread throughout the watershed," said EPA environmental engineer and board member Helen McKinley. "The passion for the work really stood out--so many people who feel so strongly about protecting the watershed and are out there actively working to conserve and restore it."

Read more....

 
View a map (6MB) of the watershed with the locations of all the current restoration sites.

View slide shows from State of the Creek meeting.

--Richard Kauffman
Sudden Oak Death (SOD) Blitz 2012 

Did our fall community and field meetings inspire you to take part in the 2012 Sudden Oak Death (SOD) Blitz? Mark your calendar for the weekend of April 28-29 if you want to help with this citizen science project in the East Bay. See www.matteolab.org for more details. 

J A N U A R Y   A N D   F E B R U A R Y   I N S E C T   M O N I T O R I N G
Bioassessment of Sausal Creek Continues
  

The bioassessment team has been busy in the New Year. We are monitoring the health of the creek by sampling for benthic macroinvertebrates--insects and other organisms without backbones that live in the creek. We've done repeat sampling at sites in Dimond Park, and we've started monitoring a "reference site" in Joaquin Miller Park. The results show some interesting trends.

 

Read the full report on our website. Contact Kathleen Harris or Megan Hess if you are interested in helping with aquatic insect monitoring.

Oakland Rain Barrel Program

Rain barrel installation is good for your garden and good for your watershed, and the City of Oakland Rain Barrel Program (ORBP) can help you get a great deal when purchasing this high quality equipment. The program uses federal grant dollars to offer rain barrels at deeply discounted prices to Oakland residents living in areas in danger of erosion. Preventing erosion is essential because it protects your property and helps keep creeks, streams, and the Bay free of waste and debris. Rain barrels have the added benefit of keeping water away from your foundation and helping you conserve by allowing you to use collected rain water to keep your garden green.

Getting a rain barrel for your home is as easy as 1, 2, 3! Simply buy it, pick it up, and install it. For more information on how you can save up to 75% on the purchase of a rain barrel, visit www.oaklandpw.com/rainbarrel.
Adopt a Storm Drain Today

The Neighborhood Coalition for Positive Change (NCPC) Oakland Beat 22X Beautification Committee, in partnership with the Oakland Public Works Department, is organizing neighborhood volunteers in the Dimond, Oakmore, Montera, Lincoln Heights, and Woodminster neighborhoods to adopt storm drains in their areas. The volunteers will keep the storm drains free of debris to allow free runoff of water during storms. If interested, please contact Marion Mills.

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