BOTANICAL HIKE THROUGH GARBER PARK

        Saturday, May 20, 10am-1:00pm 

       Workshop led by Lech Naumovich

        Golden Hour Restoration Institute

     Meet at the Claremont Ave Entrance

                     to Garber Park

Join the Garber Park Stewards and Lech Naumovich, Golden Hour Restoration Institute on a fun and informative botanical hike through Garber Park, a 13-acre City of Oakland Wildland Park in Claremont Canyon.  

We will talk about many of the diverse native plants and plant communities found in Garber, including oak woodlands, wetland seeps, and other forest types with a focus on recognizing key characteristics of plants to allow for accurate identifications. We will highlight the ongoing restoration efforts in Garber, identify the invasive weeds, and discuss Sudden Oak Death, which was identified in Garber several years ago.  Spring is the best time to pull those invasive weeds – we welcome our weed pullers as well!

Wear long sleeves, long pants, and shoes with good tread, and bring a water bottle.  We provide snacks and water for refills; and gloves and tools but feel free to bring your own. 

To RSVP (space is limited) or for more information contact Shelagh garberparkstewards@gmail.com.

Directions:   Meet at the Claremont Ave Entrance for snacks before we begin.  From the intersection of Tunnel Rd/Ashby and Claremont, go .4 miles up Claremont Ave. to the Garber Park Sign.  By bus, take #49, get off at the Ashby/Claremot Ave intersection and walk up Claremont.  Maps and directions can also be found on our website www.garberparkstewards.com

Wear long sleeves, long pants, and shoes with good tread, and bring a water bottle.  We provide snacks and water for refills; and gloves and tools but feel free to bring your own. 

New Bridge at Overflow Creek

Walking up the Claremont Ave Bridge to Fireplace Plaza
and beyond just became easier - and safer - thanks to
Ricardo and the NEW BRIDGE at Overflow Creek.

Sweeping out the Broom, April, 2017

Smiling because after a full morning of broom searching this
is all they found!  

Can you ever say an area is "broom free?"  We think not, since French Broom seeds can remain in the soil for 40 years!  However, we have seen little broom in the past few years and have declared Garber about as Broom Free as an area can get.  But, we wanted to know just how much broom remains in the park, wanted to document it, and knew we had to keep on top of it each year or it could easily once again take over.  What to do?  Conduct a Workshop where participants would fan out across the park seeking broom, document results on a map so we could do this again next year and the next...

Searching in the Cow Parsnip Patch for broom - yea!  Little
found.  The Cow Parsnip showed its joy at the abundant
rain this year by growing 6 feet tall!

So on April 18 we began the first annual Broom Sweep.  We are happy to say we found only small patches of mostly small seedlings. It was Happiness all around - our hard work over the years has paid off - and where broom used to be - native ferns, grasses, wildflowers are now popping up.

Thanks, Lech, for a fun workshop.  And thanks everyone for your dedication to Garber's
Restoration!