|
|
RESTORATION WORKDAYS
Barry Place
Sat., April 20
9 a.m.-noon
Beaconsfield Canyon
Sat., March 30, April 20
9 a.m.-noon
Bridgeview Trailhead
Sun., March 24, April 14
10 a.m.-noon
Sat., April 20
9 a.m.-noon
Dimond Park
Sat., April 20
8:30 a.m.-noon
Marj Saunders Park
Mon., April 1
11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Sat., April 20
9 a.m.-noon
Monterey Redwoods
Sat., March 9
9:30 a.m.-noon
Montclair Park
Sun., April 7
9 a.m.-noon
Sat., April 20
9 a.m.-noon
Palo Seco Creek at Joaquin Miller Court
Sat., April 20
9 a.m.-noon
Shepherd Canyon
Sat., April 20
9 a.m.-noon
Wood Park
Sat., March 9 & 16, April 20
9 a.m.-noon
MONITORING
Aquatic Insect Monitoring in Dimond Park
Sun., April. 7
9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Bird Monitoring (start at Sequoia Arena)
Sat., April 13
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
NURSERY
WORKDAYS
Thur., March 14
1:30-4:30 p.m.
Sat., March 9 & 23
April 6 & 13
1:30-4:30 p.m.
Sat., April 20
9 a.m.-noon
GET THE TRASH OUT
Walk in Sausal Creek
Meet at El Centro Trailhead
Sun., March 17
10 a.m.-noon
Gardening for Native Bees Celeste Ets-Hokin Wed., March 20 7-9 p.m. Dimond Library Forming Flowers: How Beauty and Function Evolve Dr. Chelsea Specht Wed., May 15 7-9 p.m. Dimond Library BOARD MEETING Wed., April 10 7-9 p.m. Park Blvd. Presbyterian Church SUDDEN OAK DEATH (SOD) BLITZ 2013 - East Bay
Sat.-Sun., April 27-28 www.matteolab.org For more information: FOSC Calendar Megan Hess Restoration & Nursery Manager 510-325-9006 Kimra McAfee Executive Director 510-501-3672 |
We need more plant tables at the nursery. Your $100 donation covers the materials needed to build one sturdy, long-lasting table. Thank you!
|
|
Photo Credits
Tom Coroneos
Celeste Ets-Hokin
Megan Hess
Rob Leidy
Editors:
Richard Kauffman
Kimra McAfee
|
|
|
|
|
 Spring is in the air! Read on for opportunities to get your hands dirty, clean up the watershed, support the bees, and save some trees.
Gardening for Native Bees
presented by Celeste Ets-Hokin
Wednesday, March 20, 7 p.m.
Dimond Library, 3565 Fruitvale Ave.
Come catch the buzz on native bees! Celeste will present wonderful images of native bees and discuss the importance of these pollinators, introduce native bee ecology and life cycles, give tips on species identification, and discuss plantings to encourage native bees. Take a field trip to the Gardens at Lake Merritt to see the vibrant native bee garden that Celeste designed. Download a flyer.
Earth Day Workdays
Saturday, April 20
Check out the event calendar to find details on a worksite near you. Join an intimate neighborhood workgroup or pitch in with the throngs of energetic students in Dimond Park and Dimond Canyon. Please contact the site leader if you have a group interested in volunteering. All volunteers under 18 must bring City of Oakland and FOSC waivers signed by their parent or guardian.
Sudden Oak Death (SOD) Blitz 2013
Saturday-Sunday, April 27-28
Sign up now to help with the East Bay SOD Blitz 2013 to track Sudden Oak Death, the pathogen that threatens our beautiful coast live oaks and thus the many species that depend on them. One-hour trainings will be held on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Orinda Public Library and at 1 p.m. on the UC campus in Berkeley. On Sunday afternoon, turn in the suspect bay leaves you've collected at your training site. Click here for more details and for contact links. Please email Kimra if you plan to collect samples in the Sausal Creek Watershed so we can coordinate routes. This year trees are being marked with aluminum tags to become permanent sample trees; volunteers with a GPS device or a tablet or phone with GPS capability are especially encouraged to help out.
|
G E T T H E T R A S H O U T !A Chance to Walk IN Sausal CreekOne of our organization's priorities is to help keep Sausal Creek free of garbage, especially within the heavily used city parks. Starting this month, FOSC board members will be leading walks in Sausal Creek to haul out garbage. Sure, we have trash crews scouring the trails and shallows during Earth Day and Creek to Bay Day, but this team of volunteers will pull on boots or waders and go well into the creek--a very different and exciting experience compared to following the trail at the top of the bank.  You may ask, "Is this really necessary?" Click here to see what Rob Leidy found on October 5, 2012, in a 300-foot reach immediately downstream of the Montclair Golf Course outlet . To get your feet wet, please join Rob for the first Get the Trash Out walk on Sunday, March 17, from 10 a.m. to noon. Meet at the El Centro Trailhead and make sure you wear your grubbies. Boots will be provided but please bring your own if you have them. Note that this event is not suitable for small children--12 and older only, please. RSVP to Kimra so we can have enough boots for all volunteers.
|
|
Thank you, Pat and Kristin!
 The FOSC board of directors bids a reluctant farewell to Kristin Ohlson, long- time board member who served nine years as our legal council. KO for short, she was a knockout lawyer who made sure FOSC took no missteps that could harm the organization. She made a huge difference providing guidance through some difficult financial times and always kept a cool head, helping us see the big picture. She helped FOSC transition from a neighborhood group into a regional watershed powerhouse with an equanimity invaluable to our board.  Pat Bacchetti, another long-serving board member, dedicated eight years to FOSC. A veterinarian by training, and growing up in the Central Valley, Pat brought a unique skill set to the board with her background in biology and farming, not to mention an ebullient, can-do spirit. Pat, like Kristin, helped FOSC through challenging times involving changes in personnel, financing, and infrastructure. She was instrumental, for example, in the completion of the nursery renovation, taking the lead on researching how to provide water and power to the newly built shade structure in time to grow new plants for our restoration workdays and plant sale. Pat says she will stay committed to the future of the nursery and will continue to help with the bird surveys, as she has become an avid birder. Both of these board members will be greatly missed. We truly appreciate your years of service to community building with the Friends of Sausal Creek. --Mark Rauzon |
|
Board Changes and Officers for 2013
FOSC's board came away from their annual half-day retreat this February energized and ready to move forward with strategic planning in 2013. The retreat gives us a much needed opportunity to step back and reflect on long-term organization goals and priorities. We are excited by the challenges ahead of us and feel confident that we will grow in our efficacy as a board this year.
After three years at the helm, Carl Kohnert is now serving in the supportive role of vice president, as environmental engineer Helen McKinley takes the mantle of president. Midway through 2012, Glenview neighbor and psychotherapist Richelle Jacobs jumped in with both feet to fill the vacant secretary position. (Goodbye and thank you to Sarah Nathe, whose presence is sorely missed since her retirement took her to a more rural watershed.) Ecologist Rob Leidy is assuming the role of treasurer to fill out the executive committee.
Our other returning board members are veterinarian Eleanor Dunn, civil engineers Paul Frank and Bob Roat, retired banker Barbara Goldenberg, communications specialist Richard Kauffman, biologist Mark Rauzon, retired Oakland Public Works legend Harry Schrauth, and attorney Sean Welch. Thank you to each board member for lending your professional expertise and sharing your passion for the watershed to the great strength of our organization.
--Kimra McAfee
|
|
How Clean is Sausal Creek? We're Finding Out
 Under the leadership of FOSC board member Dr. Robert Leidy, we have completed the first annual cycle of our water quality monitoring program. Volunteers collected samples one day a week for five consecutive weeks last summer (dry season sampling) and this winter (wet season sampling). You can learn more about our water quality monitoring program and review the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lab reports here. Our objective is to develop a continuous long-term dataset to help FOSC make informed long-term decisions on improving water quality. This data would not otherwise be collected by the city or the county. With the involvement of the EPA lab and the expertise of FOSC board members, we can ensure that we are collecting high quality, useful data. If you have a flexible weekday schedule and are interested in helping collect samples, please contact Kimra. A huge thank you to program volunteers Kathleen Harris, Carl Kohnert, and Rob Leidy!
|
|
Our Gardens Need You
Our beautiful native plant demonstration gardens would look even better with just a few hours of your time each month. Please consider adopting our Dimond Park, FOSC nursery, or Joaquin Miller Park Ranger Station demonstration gardens. Contact Megan to help.
|
|
Wanted: Homes for Native Plants
Next time you are volunteering at a Joaquin Miller Native Plant Nursery workday, check out the new discount plant table. We have some California native plants, not local to our watershed, that want to get out of their pots and into your garden. Your purchases help to support our nursery operations.
|
|
To subscribe to this e-newsletter, email
or call (510) 501-3672. |
|
|
