Bring friends and family for an afternoon of camaraderie, food, drink, and music by the Berkeley Old Time String Players at Berkeley Partners for Parks’ annual Fundraiser, 3-5:30 pm Sunday, Sept. 28, at beautiful Halcyon Commons — an abandoned strip transformed into vibrant urban open space.
Dedication of the Halcyon Commons Rejuvenation Project follows. Come see this great example of the kinds of projects Berkeley Partners for Parks makes possible! Meet the people who are creating and revitalizing Berkeley paths, parks, creeksides, even a labyrinth!
Halcyon Commons is on block-long Halcyon Court, between Webster and Prince, one block west of Telegraph. Suggested donation $30; all donations tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.
September 18th, 2008 fivecreeks
Celebrate Worldwide Park(ing) Day
Friday, Sept. 19, at two Berkeley events:
Berkeley Partners for Park and Ecocity Builders transform a parking space on Center Street between Shattuck and Oxford into a mini-park for a day, showcasing our need to pass Measures WW and HH, continuing existing levies that support local and regional parks.
Nomad Cafe and neighbors offer music, a kid zone, face painting, plus grass and hay Friday through the weekend at 65th and Shattuck, presenting their vision for what the urban street corner could become (info at http://
nomadcafe.wordpress .com/2008/ 09/17/parking- day-at-nomad- cafe-this-
friday-sept- 19/)
Stop by and enjoy the “an open-source experiment in
reprogramming the urban surface” — creating ephemeral urban parks at metered parking spaces. The concept originated with San Francisco-based REBAR, www.rebargroup.org. The idea has gone worldwide and is now co-sponsored with Trust for Public Land.
For more info and a glimpse of other projects, go to www.parkingday.org.
September 18th, 2008 fivecreeks
Stephanie K. Gerson, Jane Wardani, and Shiva Niazi conducted a study of the Blackberry Creek Daylighting Project ten years after completion of the project. The results can be found here:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=7&url=http%3A%2F%2Frepositories.cdlib.org%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1056%26context%3Dwrca&ei=S6ReSIeyGImMsAPDhIT5Cw&usg=AFQjCNE6ffL0Fjo-Ce8eoR6ysCQQwbgvEg&sig2=IF8IExp33SZ58epunXGnHQ
From the Abstract:
Blackberry Creek drains a 0.3-square-mile watershed, flowing from the northeastern hills of Berkeley, California into the Marin Creek culvert and then to the San Francisco Bay. A 200-foot reach running under Thousand Oaks Elementary School was daylighted in 1995 by Wolfe Mason Associates in collaboration with the Urban Creeks Council. The goals were to provide an outdoor science lab for the school and an alternative to a culvert with a history of flooding.
Post-project appraisals conducted in 1996 and 2000 focused on geomorphic and biological aspects, and found sufficient flood control capacity and greater density of riparian vegetation than envisioned in project design. We conducted a PPA ten years after project completion, surveying the longitudinal profile and two
cross sections of the creek. We also looked at historical rainfall data and identified a 10-year event in 2002. Comparing our data to previous PPAs, channel flood capacity and gradient appear stable although the channel itself may have migrated within the high bankfull. Bank vegetation has become even denser,
reflecting a lack of maintenance.
Previous PPAs documented tension relating to perceived use and design among diverse groups such as the School, the Neighborhood Association, and a Tai Chi group that used the park and tot lot. To get a sense of community perception and use ten years post-project, we interviewed the Thousand Oaks science
teacher, past and current presidents of the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association, and the chair of the Urban Creeks Council at the time of daylighting. Today, the school is using the site as a regular science lab and the initial tension seems to have dissipated into general public acceptance.
June 19th, 2008 Lee Trampleasure
Saturday-January 26, 3pm
Bird Rescuers’ Get-Together
Celebrate the Bay and join in a thank-you get-together for everyone who helped after the November oil spill. We will see pictures from the spill, celebrate wildlife that was rescued, chat and hear about what others did, remember and reflect on plans to make it better next time. Short bird program/walk follows. Shorebird Park Nature Center, 160 University Ave., Berkeley (south side of University west of Adventure Playground; AC Transit 9). Information: 510- 981-6720.
January 26th, 2008 Lee Trampleasure
Saturday-January 19, 10am-2pm
Dear Fellow Weed Wrenchers
Tom and Jane Kelly are planning a major weed pull along the Bay Trail at Pt. Isabel in El Cerrito. They would very much welcome your help! It’s a great site-(lots of shore birds)-and once the non-natives are gone, the trail will be absolutely gorgeous! We’ll also be opening hte site up for better coverage by existing native plant species and will be looking for opportunities to plant Toyon and Buckeye trees. According to the history books, Buckeyes once covered the Point, so it would be wonderful to re-introduce them.
Here’s the plan:
January 19th, 2008 Lee Trampleasure
