| December 6, 2008 |
| 10:00 am | to | 12:30 pm |
From 10 am to 12:30 pm Sat., Dec. 6, join Friends of Five Creeks removing invasives and making an attractive park from former garbage dump at the mouth of Schoolhouse Creek. Eastshore State Park. Dress in layers with clothes that can get dirty. We supply gloves, tools, and snacks. From the small turnout from West Frontage Road between University and Gilman, go through the gate on the right (north) and then walk west (toward the Bay) until you see the group. Parking is limited; it’s best to park at the lot at Seabreeze Market & Deli, University Avenue just west of the freeway, and walk 5 minutes north on the Bay Trail. AC Transit 9, or a great walk or bike ride on the Bay Trail! Information at www.fivecreeks.org; f5creeks@aol.com.
November 10th, 2008 fivecreeks
Friends of Five Creeks had a busy Saturday, Nov. 8, volunteering in Eastshore State Park. In the morning, a dozen King Middle School 6th graders levered out broom bushes, pulled invasive ice plant, picked up trash, and planted native grasses, all in the course of an interpretive walk from Shorebird Park to the mouth of Strawberry Creek.
In the afternoon, more than 25 volunteers from UC Berkeley (Circle K and Roots and Shoots service clubs) and the community cleared a big broom thicket and masses of invasive weeds from the ecologically important Berkeley Meadow, north of University Avenue.
We’ll be planting natives at Cerrito Creek on November 22, and working on the waterfront again Dec. 6. See the calendar, or www.fivecreeks.org, and join us!
November 10th, 2008 fivecreeks
For the third year in a row, BPFP’s “Greening Berkeley Hands On” partnership has been awarded a Chancellor’s Community Partnership Fund grant by UC Berkeley. This year’s award of $24,000 will help BPFP affiliates carry out a wide variety of hands-on environmental projects. The grant pays for both materials and a UC student intern, who organized student volunteering through CalCorps, UC’s public-service arm.
Projects in the 2008 grant range from path construction and a solar light for the Santa Fe Right of Way, projects of Berkeley Path Wanderers, to tools and gloves for the city’s 14 public-school gardens, through Friends of School Gardens. The community-built Schoolhouse Creek Common will install chess tables and a bench. Nearby, Friends of Westbrae Commons will continue transforming the Ohlone Greenway south of Gilman with native coastal-prairie plants. Friends of Shorebird Park Nature Center will spread fresh sand and build new racks at Adventure Playground, while Aquatic Park EGRET will get upgraded nataive plants and upgraded wheelbarrows. Friends of Five Creeks will be able to install signs on local natural history and plant drought-tolerant natives in a variety of sites, from the Santa Fe Right of Way to Mortar Rock Park.
Aquatic Park EGRET also will partner with Earth Team Environmental Network, Berkeley Community Media, College of Natural Resources, and Berkeley Community Garden to involve local teens in habitat restoration days that teens also will film for showing on local cable TV. This project received a $5000 Chancellors Community Partnership grant.
Join us to carry out these projects! Contact BPFP or the affiliate group you are interested in — click on “Affiliated Groups” at right.
July 28th, 2008 fivecreeks
| May 31, 2008 |
| 10:00 am | to | 2:30 pm |
Saturday, May 31, celebrate historic Schoolhouse Creek in the Eastshore State Park with a bug hunt, making art from natural materials, a picnic, and interpretive walk or bike ride. Fun for all ages!
- 10 – 11:30 am, discover the fascinating and varied miniature world of insects with Cal Bug People.
- 11:30 am – 1 pm, enjoy a bring-your-own picnic (we’ll supply snacks and water) and short interpretive walk or bike ride. You’ll learn about the history and future of our waterfront, and how this former dump is being transformed.
- 1 – 2:30 pm, environmental artist Zach Pine will lead us making art with found materials at the "glass beach" and miniature salt marsh at the creek mouth.
Attend one or all — everything is free, but numbers are limited. Information and registration at 510 848 9358 or f5creeks@aol.com.
Directions: GREAT bike ride on the Bay Trail, also reachable by AC Transit 9, which stops on University just across from Sea Breeze Deli. From there, walk 5 minutes north on Bay Trail. You’ll see our sign at the turnout and trail that was Virginia Extension. By car, parking at the site is very limited — park at Sea Breeze Deli, south side of University Ave. just west of I-880/580, and walk 5 minutes north on the Bay Trail as above.
Online maps: "Virginia St and W Frontage Rd, Berkeley," only there is no Virginia St. — look for the small turnout and trail and our sign.
May 3rd, 2008 fivecreeks
Saturday- January 26, 10am
Help Plant Natives on Berkeley Paths
Please join BPWA and Friends of Five Creeks planting natives and removing weeds on Covert Path, part of a long-term project creating demonstration plantings and an “interpretive trail” from hills to Bay in the Codornices Creek watershed.
Meet at the top of Covert Path, downhill side of Keeler Ave. a short distance southeast of Twain Ave. Information at f5creeks@aol.com, 510 848 9358. www.fivecreeks.org.
January 26th, 2008 Lee Trampleasure
