Update 3-9-2007
THANKS
And thanks to the City of Richmond for continued follow-up on herbicide damage to our restoration on Cerrito Creek at Pacific East Mall. Mall management has committed, among other things, to picking up litter along the creek and trail daily or more often as needed, and to eliminating pollution via the storm drains. These have been long-standing problems. If you see significant amounts of trash or litter in this area, or dirty or smelly runoff from the drains, please tell us (f5creeks@aol.com) AND the City of Richmond, by going to its website, http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/, and clicking on "CORconnect" (left side of the home page). This gets you to a simple emailed form -- and lets you track the status of your report or complaint. (Handy for other things, too.)
MAR. 24 WORK PARTY INCLUDES OPTIONAL ALBANY HILL WALK
NEW FROM OTHERS
CODORNICES WATERSHED GROUP MEETS
TALK ON EVOLUTION OF BAY
PANEL ON "MAKING YOUR DREAM FOR THE COMMUNITY COME TRUE"
CONFERENCE ON LINKING WATER TO LAND USE RULES
DEPT. OF PESTICIDE REGULATION LAUNCHES TOLL-FREE PHONE FOR COMPLAINTS
The most recent, 2005, summary of pesticide-related illness in California included 911 cases, 647 of them agricultural -- 324 of those from one field-fumigation incident alone. This may under-report non-occupational injuries such as home accidents, however, since those types of reports have fallen sharply since funding for a system linked to the California Poison Control System ran out. More information on pesticide regulation can be found at www.cdpr.ca.gov.
Big thank-yous to UC Berkeley Circle K, Roots and Shoots, and Phi Gamma Delta fraternity for their hard work removing weeds on Codornices Creek below Fifth Street on March 4. Many thanks to Lloyd Andres for his gift of 48 California fescue starts that he raised from seed! We look forward to watching them flourish along Cerrito Creek. Thanks, too, to the City of Albany for hauling off the huge piles of blackberries, weeds, and trash we created with our winter's work. Albany Hill Park looks wonderful -- a great place for birding as spring comes on.
For our next work party, 10 am - 12:30 pm March 24 on Cerrito Creek at the foot of Albany Hill, we will continue freeing the beautiful and historic willow grove from invasive blackberries that all but hid the trees for many years. As an optional bonus, we'll hike to the top of Albany Hill afterwards -- you might want to bring a picnic lunch. Meet at Creekside Park, south end of Santa Clara Street, El Cerrito.
SCHOOLHOUSE CREEK COMMON SEEKS VOLUNTEERS, CARPENTER(S)
Schoolhouse Creek Common, a new community-created park at Virginia and Curtis (no creek, but it's in the watershed), needs volunteers to help build a play mound 10-noon tomorrow, Saturday, March 10. They also are looking for woodworkers or carpenters to build a bulletin-board case. Contact them at 559-8368 or email him at dayork@infinex.com.
Codornices Creek Watershed Council meets 6-8:30 pm Wed., Mar. 14, at St. Mary's High School Science Rm. 226, 1294 Albina Ave., Albany. The agenda includes monitoring results and plans for planting and outreach. Information at pamboyle@gmail.com
UC Berkeley Earth Science Professor Lynn Ingram speaks on "Late Pleistocene to Holocene Evolution of the San Francisco Bay," 5:30 - 7 pm Tuesday, Mar. 13, Rm 250, Goldman School of Public Policy, Hearst at LeRoy, Berkeley. The talk is part of the California Colloquium on Water presented by the Water Resources Center Archives. Information at (510) 642-2666, waterarc@library.berkeley.edu, or http://lib.berkeley.edu/WRCA/ccow.html
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Berkeley Partners for Parks hosts a panel of funders and activists aimed to encouraging small community-based projects, 7 pm Monday, March 19, at the Berkeley Public Works Green Room, Berkeley Corporation Yard, 1326 Allston (two blocks south of University and west of Sacrament), Berkeley. Information at www.bpfp.org or from me at f5creeks@aol.com.
Deadline is April 13 to register for an all-day conference, Linking Water and Land Use in the Bay Area, sponsored by the California Water Boards, Local Government Commission, and Bay Area Water Forum at Water Board offices, 1515 Clay Street, Oakland. Cost is $15; information at http://www2.lgc.org/events/.
The Department of Pesticides regulation has launches a new toll-free phone number, 1-87PestLine (1-877-378-5463), which transfers callers to their County Agricultural Commissioner's Office to report pesticide complaints, in particular illness, injury, and significant property damage including pollution.