By Paula White There was a holiday mood in the air at our Earth Day events this year—perhaps because of the sunshine after a rainy winter and the profusion of plants and pollinators we’re seeing at our newly planted bioswales. We had nearly 300 volunteers helping us fulfill our mission to improve the health of our watersheds. We kicked off the Earth Day season by putting some plants in the ground at our bioswale near 17th and Ohio on the Richmond Greenway. These beautiful and hardworking plants filter pollutants from stormwater, improve air quality and provide habitat for pollinators. The …
Ebb & Flow
The Newsletter of The Watershed Project
Bioblitzes and Biodiversity
By Sarah Haselton What is a bioblitz? A bioblitz is a citizen-science event combining the efforts of the public to record as many species as possible within a specific region. These events often take place over a short period of time, up to 24 hours, and the area studied can vary in geographic region as well as size. At a bioblitz event members from the community work together with the common goal of better grasping the local biodiversity. The data collected from bioblitz events are important resources for local conservation efforts. The end goal of a bioblitz is to get an overall tally of …
Go With the Flow: Urban Creek Care Tips
By Paula White A creek flowing through your back yard can be a restful oasis with proper care. In the pages of the newly updated Living With Creeks brochure, we offer guidance on how to keep your creek healthy so that you, your neighbors, and local wildlife will be happy. Tip 1: Get informed about how to care for your creek. If you don’t have a creek running through your backyard but want to be involved with creek stewardship, The Watershed Project has many opportunities throughout the year to participate in creek cleanups and water quality and habitat monitoring. Tip 2: Give the creek some …
A Summer Fit for a King!
By Chloe Criswell As summer draws closer and temperatures are rising, more wildlife can be seen out and about. Specifically, more of the cold blooded wildlife in the bay have started to make their appearance, sunbathing on rocks, hunting, or raising young. One of these is the California King Snake, or Lampropeltis getula californiae. As the name implies, they can be found in California, but also can be found in some surrounding states such as Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and even northern Texas! Likely the reason for this snake’s large habitat range is its extreme adaptability. The …
Show your love for the earth: get involved in watershed stewardship
By Sarah Haselton Earth Day is around the corner and The Watershed Project is celebrating! There are some wonderful opportunities for you to bring your appreciation for the environment into fruition this year. First on April 13 at 10:00 am- 1:00 pm at 17th St and the Richmond Greenway, spend your morning gardening, mulching, and planting with us! There is more fun to be had on April 20th from 9:00 am- 11:00 am at Wildcat Creek @ Verde Elementary School. We will be doing our part to keep SF Bay watersheds clean. After all your hard work we will be holding an Earth Day Celebration, filled with …
A Dive into Doves
By Calvin Abbott A lot of our articles talk about animals that people don’t see frequently, to increase interest in the world that lives right outside our sight. This is not one of those articles, but is instead an article about an animal that is omnipresent and seemingly uninteresting, the pigeon. The pigeon family (Columbidae) includes 310 species, ranging from the size of a sparrow to the size of a turkey. The only places on earth that do not have at least one species of pigeon are Antarctica, the Upper Arctic, and the most desolate regions in the Sahara Desert. The words pigeon and dove …
Can steelheads return to Wildcat Creek?
By Sarah Haselton On a Tuesday morning at the Wildcat Creek Fish Ladder, I had the opportunity to help conduct a sediment survey and learn about the importance and functions of fish ladders. The Watershed Project has been involved with this particular fish ladder in the past, along with several other organizations such as Trout Unlimited, Contra Costa County Flood Control, Contra Costa Conservation District, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Cities of San Pablo and Richmond. These organizations all worked together to hold an event for Coastal Cleanup day in 2018. The …
Favorite Wildflower Walks around the Bay
By The Watershed Project staff After record-breaking rains, it’s time to head to the hills and see all the flowers in bloom! Here is a by no means complete list of some of our favorite hikes in Bay Area parks where wildflowers abound, along with many other plants and critters. Dress appropriately for muddy conditions and it’s best to go with a buddy, be it two-legged or four-legged. Richmond/Berkeley: Wildcat Canyon Regional Park This park stretches from the steam trains in Tilden Park on the southern end to Alvarado Park in the north. Inspiration Point is a popular starting point. On your …