Update 2-22-2008

RUTH MENIKETTI MEMORIAL BENCH INSTALLED; THANKS AND PROGRESS

So much happening on creeks and the Bay! Benches honoring Ruth Meniketti, our beloved vice president, were installed at Albany's Creekside Park today – thanks to the City of Albany for installation. Please come see them at our work party Saturday!

Thanks to the Berkeley Peace Project, Berkeley Project and Circle K (UC students), Building with Books, Head Royce middle-schoolers, the F5C Weed Warriors, and many other volunteers, we did a great winter's work. Mortar Rock Park has been transformed, the mouth of Strawberry Creek is looking park-like, and the broom forest near the mouth of Schoolhouse Creek has been reduced to fringes. Now back to Cerrito Creek!

HELP RESTORE CERRITO CREEK THIS SATURDAY, MAR. 29

Please join us 10 am – 12:30 pm this Saturday, March 29, as we begin "liberating" another swath of Cerrito Creek at Albany Hill from invasive thornless blackberries, that increase flooding and destroy biodiversity. The heavy brush is gone (thanks, Shelterbelt Builders and City of Albany). We need to dig the roots. You'll be inspired by the flourishing natives we planted in areas already cleared - as well as by the new benches and interpretive signs! Lots of other light and heavy tasks - youngsters welcome, too, to enjoy the Creekside Park playground or playing in the creek itself.

To get there, from Central Avenue between San Pablo and I-880, turn south on Santa Clara, which ends at El Cerrito's Creekside Park. You'll see us there. By bus, take AC Transit 72 to San Pablo and Carlson, opposite El Cerrito Plaza. Walk west on Carlson past Peets, the Old West Gun Room, and bright yellow Tulip Floors. Where Carlson curves north, jog south on the unsigned Adams Street stub and then follow the creekside path two short blocks to Creekside Park.

Dress in layers in clothes that can get dirty. Wear closed-toed shoes with good traction. We will work in a light drizzle, but heavy rain cancels. As usual, snacks and water provided.

CODORNICES CREEK WALK APRIL 3 FOR AGES 50+

At 9 am Thursday, April 3, I will lead the Albany Senior Center walking group on an exploration of lower Codornices Creek and the nearby Ohlone Greenway, focusing on the wonderful citizen efforts that are transforming both. Meet at the garden next to Berkeley Bagels, 1281 Gilman near Santa Fe (AC Transit 9). This is an easy, level walk, but short stretches of trail are unpaved. Free and open to anyone over 50, but numbers are limited. Register at Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic, 510 524 9122, or Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin, 510 524 9283.

PANEL ON STUDENT VOLUNTEERING AT F5C MEETING APRIL 7

F5C isn't alone in seeing growing numbers of student volunteers. Student public service is on the upswing nationwide. At our meeting at 7 pm Monday, April 7, at Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin (at Masonic), a panel of UC student volunteer leaders will discuss the trend and their own motivations and experience. Free and all welcome – please join us!

TWO WAYS TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT IN EL CERRITO

The El Cerrito City Council is looking for residents interested in serving on a new El Cerrito Environmental Quality Committee. Members will advise the city and serve as community ambassadors for a wide variety of environmental efforts, including climate change, green building, waste and hazardous-materials reduction, Bay-friendly landscaping, and environmentally responsible transportation. For information contact Heather Abrams, Integrated Waste Management Manager at (510) 215-4350. Application forms are available at http://www.el-cerrito.org or from the City Clerk at (510) 215-4305.

Carla Koop, former F5C volunteer who is now with Rosie the Riveter National Park in Richmond, is looking for volunteers to help weed and occasionally water the beautiful native plant garden she established at the El Cerrito Library in 2001. If you live nearby, or visit the library or senior center, or are interested in using the garden as a learning lab for the adjacent school, or if you just like native plants, please consider helping! Contact Carla at 510-232-3291.

REGISTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL GARDEN TOURS

April 15 is the deadline to register for the fifth annual Bay Friendly Garden Tour, scheduled for Sunday, April 27. You can visit more than 30 public and private gardens featuring backyard farms, salvaged art, wildlife habitat, and a medley of other environmentally friendly approaches. Register with Alameda County Stop Waste, http://recycle.stopwaste.org/GardenTour/.

The annual Bringing Back the Natives free garden tour always fills up, so think about registering now for this Sunday, May 4 tour, which features Alameda and Contra Costa gardens that are at least half native plants, pesticide-free, water conserving, low maintenance, and bird- and butterfly-friendly. The tour also includes more than 50 garden talks, as well as native plant sales at various locations. Volunteers are needed to spend a morning or afternoon helping green tour participants; volunteers can ask for the assignment they like, and are invited to special garden soirees throughout the year.

Preview and register at www.BringingBackTheNatives.net. For more information on volunteering, contact Kathy@KathyKramerConsulting.net or call (510) 236-9558 between 9 am and 9 pm.

MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES

Native Grasslands: Early bird discount ends March 31 for the California Native Grasslands Association’s annual meeting, May 1-3 in Santa Rosa, with fascinating field trips and expert technical sessions. Information and registration at www.cnga.org or http://www.cnga.org/action/conference.php.

Watershed politics: Early registration ends April 1 for the April 10 Watershed Day at the Capitol, a day of networking, learning about state watershed-related programs, and lobbying. One important issue this year: making permanent state legislation that allows volunteers to work legally! Ths annual event is sponsored by the nonprofit California Watershed Network; you can find information on them and on the day at info@watershednetwork.org.

Saving the Delta: Prominent experts on the critically endangered Delta will speak at a free dialog, dialog "Focusing on our Delta: Diked, Dredged, and Diverted" 7:30 – 9 pm Thursday, Aprl 3, Rm. 100 Genetics and Plant Biology Building, UC Berkeley campus. Speakers will be Jeffrey Mount; Roy Shlemon Chair in Applied Geosciences and Director, Center for Watershed Sciences, University of California, Davis; and Peter B. Moyle, Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, Center for Watershed Sciences, University of California, Davis. The meeting is sponsored by the Bay Area Science Forum, a collaboration of the California Academy of Sciences, Stanford University School of Earth Sciences, and UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology. Information at www.bayareascienceforum.com.

World Ecocity Conference: Registration is open for the 7th International Ecocity Conference, April 22-26 in San Francisco, with speakers from India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Japan, and elsewhere. Information at http://www.ecocityworldsummit.org/about.htm/

Low-impact development and pervious paving: Registration deadline is April 13 for workshops on low-impact development including site design and use of permeable surfaces, April 23 in Oakland and April 25 in Santa Cruz. The workshops are sponsored by the California Coastal Commission and other agencies and nonprofits, and are aimed particularly at building and landscaping professionals and government employees. Cost is $30; Information and registration at http://www.coastal.ca.gov/nps/lid_workshops.html.

COASTAL ART PROJECT WINNER; BAY CONSERVATION LICENSE PLATE

Congratulations to second-grader Regina Kong of Kensington for her first prize in the Coastal Commission's annual youth art contest. You can see Regina's picture of a swimming sea otter at http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/poster/mm8/gallery-2008.html.

Last but not least, the California Coastal Conservancy's Bay Area program plans to issue a special license plate next year to raise money for Bay environmental restoration. Help them choose a slogan by taking their survey at http://cciwebresearch.com/bayareaplate.asp. For more information about the license plate project contact elizabeth@openspacecouncil.org or go to www.scc.ca.gov.

Thanks for reading -- hope to see you soon!
Susan Schwartz