Short Summary

Garber Park is a 13-acre wildland park owned by the City of Oakland located behind the Claremont Hotel in Claremont Canyon. Garber Park is home to significant stands of big-leaf maple, California buckeyes and regenerating coast live oak woodland and forest. The Garber Park Stewards vision is to safeguard the native wildland resources of Garber Park while reducing the risk of wildfire and improving the trail system.

Monday, January 24, 2022

MLK Day of Service: Seeds of Hope

We are very excited to have started the new year honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during MLK's Day of Service, and what better way to do so, than by working alongside future generations in an effort to plant seeds of hope!

Pictured are some of our volunteers, Janet, Christie and Ruby who worked hard to remove invasive non-native plant species throughout Garber Park, while at the same time making room for many native plant species such as ferns, oak saplings, and miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata). 

One highlight of January 2022 was planting Purple Needlegrass (Stipa pulchra, left) and Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa, right) seeds in sunny bright areas around Garber Park, in hopes of new native plant growth! 

Our amazing volunteers joined us with enthusiasm and put their best work out there to make Garber Park a better habitat for so many species! Without your help, Garber Park wouldn't be as rich and full of life as it continues to be. 

Winter in January also marked a time of heavy rainfall, which allowed for ideal habitat conditions for our amphibian friends. The photos below are believed to be a Yellow-eyed Ensatina (Ensatina eschscholtzii xanthoptica) which are commonly found throughout the Bay Area and here in Garber Park! 

While removing invasive English Ivy to uncover native ferns, our local steward, Rich, came across this curious salamander as it tried to climb on him. After being carefully placed back in its habitat, the restoration efforts continued as we pushed to create better habitats for our amazing species friends!
There's still so much we can do. Come join us on our upcoming Volunteer Days on February 5th and 19th as we continue our efforts on our French Broom sweep and focus on restoring areas of Garber Park to be better suited for native species, and in doing so, creating a more fire safe park for everyone. 

Volunteers locate native ferns in Fern Glade to continue uncovering and expand their habitat by creating a buffer around them to protect them from English Ivy. 

If you'd like to volunteer with us visit our Volunteer Opportunities page for more info and if you'd like to join our mailing list please email Wyllie at gpstewards@gmail.com