“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a visionary whose passion and aspiration for equality altered the history of our nation and the world. During his life, he shared his hope of creating an America where freedom and justice for all was a reality and not an empty adage. Please help us honor Dr. King’s legacy by joining The Watershed Project on January 20th for a national day of service. We hope that you will answer Dr. King’s question by actively engaging in public service along the Richmond Greenway or at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline.
Over the past 7 years, organizations active on the Richmond Greenway have hosted a workday that invites the surrounding community to participate in restoration and art projects. Hundreds of volunteers have come together to volunteer their time and their hands— rain or shine— to convert the Greenway into a collective open space for everyone’s enjoyment. The Watershed Project will be caring for its 400 foot bioswale between 6th Street and 8th Street in Richmond. The bioswale has transformed what was once a stagnant ditch into a verdant creek-like feature that takes in rainwater flowing off the streets and filters out the pollutants that collect in this stormwater, before sending the water on its way to the Bay.
This year, we need volunteers for our final phase of making the bioswale look and act like a natural creek. We’ll be planting trees that will mimic a native riparian gallery forest once all the trees are mature. The array of native tree species will follow the natural composition of species that occur in a riparian corridor. At the downstream, wetter end of the bioswale at 6th Street, species that naturally occur near creek edges, such as willow and alder, will be planted. The species composition will then transition upstream on the bioswale toward 8th Street to maple, bay, ash, and redwood, and the driest edges of the riparian corridor will be planted with oaks. Our riparian forest will create valuable habitat, not only for critters, but also for humans, to enjoy some shade on a hot summer day!
Volunteers will also get a chance to tend the native habitat gardens that are planted to attract valuable pollinating insects and birds in the spring.
If a view of the beautiful San Francisco Bay shoreline speaks to you, we will be hosting an event at Point Pinole as well. 
Here is your chance to enjoy and lend a hand to nurture this East Bay Regional Park that has 5.5 miles of shoreline and is home to 100 species of bird and lots of other critters. You can gaze at Mt. Tamalpais while removing invasive vegetation or meander along the meadows and marsh admiring the wintering birds while removing marine debris and invasive plants. Whatever you do, we hope that you will help make Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream a reality this coming Monday and make it a day on, not a day off!
At the Greenway
