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| Bagging Cape ivy in Horsetail Meadow. |
For our Tuesday February Workday (Feb 3) we were joined by
the City of Oakland’s Environmental Stewardship Team. With their help we were able to make a HUGE
dent in the Cape ivy blanketing Horsetail Meadow. The weather was beautiful and warm, and the
ground was still soft enough from the rain last week to pull the Cape ivy by
it’s roots! It turns out that several
from the Stewardship Team had much experience with Cape ivy – we enjoyed
sharing stories and learning about new techniques to help us rid Garber of this
most invasive weed. The Horsetails
(equisetum) for which the meadow is named are popping up; in another week or
two will once again be the dominant plant in the meadow – and a truly beautiful
site. 
A beautiful day, a diverse group interested and excited to learn about ferns and their habitat, and Lech's hands-on and informative workshop made for a FANTASTIC DAY!
After the rains in early February Garber has sprung back to life - and at this time of the year the ferns are at their loveliest. We learned to identify the five abundant and common ferns of Garber, their habitat, and how to create good conditions on-site for their regeneration and conservation. The last part of the day was spent enthusiastically pulling up ivy in Fern Glade and expanding this new restoration site that until a year ago, was a solid blanket of ivy and today is a site where the ferns - and trilliums, sanicles, fairy bells, California Buckeye, and California Maples are flourishing.
Click here to download and read a copy of Lech's very informative hand-out The Ferns of Garber Park: Ecology and Habitat Restoration. In this hand-out you will learn about the fern lifecycle (unique and fascinating), conditions needed for conservation measures to help maintain ferns, and a chart of Garber's Ferns and their characteristics essential for identification. Included is a longer list of Ferns found in the East Bay from Ertter and Naumovich, 2013.
Click here for more pictures of the workshop
This was the 3rd and final workshop for this Winter Season. The response has been overwhelming with each workshop filled. The entire series has been exciting, fun, and informative. Many thanks to Claremont Canyon Conservancy whose sponsorship makes these workshops possible. And special thanks to Lech for another fun, hands-on, and informative workshop series.
After the rains in early February Garber has sprung back to life - and at this time of the year the ferns are at their loveliest. We learned to identify the five abundant and common ferns of Garber, their habitat, and how to create good conditions on-site for their regeneration and conservation. The last part of the day was spent enthusiastically pulling up ivy in Fern Glade and expanding this new restoration site that until a year ago, was a solid blanket of ivy and today is a site where the ferns - and trilliums, sanicles, fairy bells, California Buckeye, and California Maples are flourishing.
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| Working in Fern Glade. Photo by Lech Naumovich |
Click here to download and read a copy of Lech's very informative hand-out The Ferns of Garber Park: Ecology and Habitat Restoration. In this hand-out you will learn about the fern lifecycle (unique and fascinating), conditions needed for conservation measures to help maintain ferns, and a chart of Garber's Ferns and their characteristics essential for identification. Included is a longer list of Ferns found in the East Bay from Ertter and Naumovich, 2013.
Click here for more pictures of the workshop
This was the 3rd and final workshop for this Winter Season. The response has been overwhelming with each workshop filled. The entire series has been exciting, fun, and informative. Many thanks to Claremont Canyon Conservancy whose sponsorship makes these workshops possible. And special thanks to Lech for another fun, hands-on, and informative workshop series.
