By Audrey Matusich It’s June, and summer has finally arrived. Summer marks the season of BBQs, camping, swimming, and endless other outdoor activities. Not only is June the start of summer, but it is also the end of the school year and beginning of a well-earned break for students and teachers across the country. Teachers have worked tirelessly throughout the school year to provide an enriching learning experience for their students, and we at The Watershed Project feel it is only fitting to express our gratitude to all the teachers and partners we have worked with this school …
Ebb & Flow
The Newsletter of The Watershed Project
What’s in Your Watershed? | The Regal Red-tailed Hawk
By Joanna Hoffman This Article was previously published in June of 2010. It has been updated and revisited June of 2023. If you keep an eye on the clouds, you're bound to see a Red-tailed hawk soaring and screeching across the Bay's blue skies. Red-tailed hawks are the most common member of the genus Buteo found in North America. They seek out open fields, perch on telephones poles, and wait patiently to strike at unsuspecting rodents. Over time, Red-tailed hawks have evolved to inhabit a wider range of territories. They are found in human environments, tropical rainforests, and out in …
North Richmond Watershed Connections – Sidewalk Art of Plants and Animals of the Wildcat Creek Watershed
By Naama Raz-Yaseef This is the first article in a series highlighting the inspiring artwork initiated and led by The Watershed Project in North Richmond. Today, we are thrilled to share with you the completion of a project that brings beauty, joy, and a deeper connection to nature to the streets of North Richmond. This endeavor is a part of the North Richmond Watershed Connections, an Urban Greening project, and the Safe Routes to School project. For more details about these projects, please visit our website. We aimed to create something truly special for the children of Verde …
North Richmond Community Street Planting – Hope Gardens 2023
Our annual native planting day in North Richmond is 5 years old! We couldn’t be more proud of this project, called Hope Gardens, where community members living in North Richmond adopt a garden in front of their house - the gardens are the areas in between the sidewalk and the street. Alongside community members and volunteers, we replace the area with what is often dead grass or weeds with mulch, compost and native and/or drought tolerant plants. The streets become more vibrant and the people and pollinators are happy. This year, we planted 5 gardens in the months of April and May, three of …
Friend or foe? Mistletoe’s Messy Relationship with Trees
By Paula White In my frequent trips to the Sacramento area, I have observed big clumps of mistletoe growing on large deciduous trees, especially oaks. I had heard that these trees were stressed out from the parasitic mistletoe and suffering a slow death. I even trimmed off some of the mistletoe that I could reach, thinking that I was helping the tree (and I also wanted to hang some up as a Christmas decoration). But last February while hiking in Mt. Diablo State Park, I read a fascinating article in the Mount Diablo Review by Jenn Roe that gave me a whole new perspective on mistletoe. …
What’s In Your Watershed: Time Encapsulated in Rock at Miller/Knox
By Pinkie Young Hundreds of years ago, a majority of the Bay Area’s shoreline was a mix of tidal marshes and wetlands. By the 1900’s, much of that land was drained and artificially filled to be used for industry, agriculture, and housing. My hometown of Richmond is now mostly fill, but across the street from Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline lies an outcrop of rock that tells a much, much older story. The “What’s in your Watershed” segment of our newsletter has been a longstanding channel to showcase living creatures in our local watersheds. This month, I’d like to focus on what was in …
Celebrate Earth Day with the Richmond Community
*Please help us better estimate attendance and supplies by pre-registering for Earth Day* We are excited to be celebrating Earth Day this year on Saturday, April 22 in collaboration with our community partners in North Richmond! We will be hosting a Creek Clean Up at Wildcat Creek in partnership with Urban Tilth, as well as a Native Plant Garden Planting. We are looking for volunteer partners who are interested in acting as anchor groups for our service projects! If you or your group are interested in volunteering with us, please reach out Marianella Aguirre at …
Staff Spotlight: Ethan Rayner, New Restoration Manager
The Watershed Project is excited to have a new team member, Ethan Rayner, who will take the lead on our restoration projects as the Restoration Manager! If you read a little bit about him below, it’s evident why he’s a new member of the team. What watershed do you live in and what do you like about it? I live in the Pilarcitos Creek watershed in what is now the city of Half Moon Bay, California, on the unceded land of the Ramatush Ohlone peoples. In my previous job I was the habitat restoration coordinator for State Parks in Half Moon Bay, so I lived close to work and I was …
