HELP TRACK - AND SLOW - SUDDEN OAK DEATH: "bioblitz" survey May 10-11

Take an easy stroll or challenging hike to help with the annual Sudden Oak Death “bioblitz” survey! Help track the pathogen that is killing our beautiful Coast Live Oaks. After a 45-minute training in Berkeley or Orinda Saturday, May 10, you'll search for suspect leaves where you like – including your own yard! We'll suggest routes if you like. Return samples to a drop box by Monday morning. Results will be announced in fall, after lab testing.

No cure has been found for Sudden Oak Death, but well-timed action can slow spread and save specific trees and the many wild creatures that depend on oaks. For that, we need to know where the fungus-like water mold is spreading!


Sign up for 1 PM training on the UC Berkeley campus here. For the 10 AM training in Orinda,  email wllhh@ymail.com. Both sites are easily reached by BART.  Background info, including maps of Sudden Oak Death to date, here.  



A free two-hour training session on preventive treatment for Sudden Oak Death is scheduled Wed., May 7, on the UC Berkeley campus. Information and sign-up here.
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An Awesome April!

A HUGE THANK YOU to all the volunteers who gave their time and energy to advance the cause of restoration in garber during April. Excited by the rains early in April stewards could be seen almost daily  pulling invasive non-native weeds throughout the park, improving and mulching the trails, and even helping to get the last of the native plants into the ground this season.  The month culminated in a successful Earth Day -  we partnered with Claremont Canyon Conservancy to clean and beautify the Claremont Avenue roadside and the entrances to several of the popular hiking trails in the canyon.

Bob Strayer (on the left) can often be seen in Garber doing the heavy lifting work of trail restoration or pulling the ivy along Sylvan Path out of the trees.  On Earth Day he was joined by Pete, and these two did the really hardwork of removing loads of trash from Claremont Ave and Garber.  

The parking lot seen here was first cleared one year ago on earth day when over 40 people helped clear the the parking lot. One year  and many, many volunteer hours later the beautiful 1920's trail from Claremont Avenue to Fireplace Plaza has been restored.  This Claremont Avenue Entrance is now the main entrance to Garber.  There's ample parking and it's a beautiful short walk to Fireplace Plaza, the loop trail and Evergreen Lane, the site where most of our volunteer workdays begin.

Mark can often be seen removing ivy and
expanding the restoration site at Fern Glen.

Trail improvements such as this in Fern Glen
can be seen throughout the park

Many volunteers prefer the working along the trail or

in Garber's meadows.  Two years ago Rispin Meadow,  on

the left, was impenetrable, filled with fire prone

 invasive plants (Himalayan Blackberry, broom,

poison hemlock).  Once freed the natives have re-bounded -

and volunteers enjoy a quiet time weeding in the meadow.

I am humbled by the number of volunteers who come to help restore and maintain this little piece of paradise throughout the year.   And, what better time to say THANK YOU  than on Earth Day.  We couldn't do it without you!  

Habitat Restoration Workdays in May

 Tuesday, May 6 and Saturday, May 17

Meet at the Claremont Avenue Entrance

at 10AM.  We work till Noon.

Contact Shelagh at garberparkstewards@gmail.com

for more information.

We hope to see you soon in Garber!

Celebrate Earth Day

    APRIL 26, 9am-Noon   

      GARBER PARK

              AND  

   CLAREMONT CANYON

The Garber Park Stewards (GPS) and Claremont Canyon Conservancy (CCC) are again partnering and will be offering several fun and rewarding activities in the canyon:

HELP CLEAN-UP CLAREMONT AVENUE

Meet at the parking lot near 7380 Claremont Ave.   We will have several sites where we will clean and beautify this lovely popular corridor - Claremont Ave entrance to Garber Park in the lower canyon, Site 29, 28, and Four Corners in the upper canyon.

HELP COMPLETE SYLVAN PATH RESTORATION  

Meet at the Evergreen Lane Entrance. Help us complete the restoration of this beautiful trail built in the 1920's.  Projects include removing invasive ivy, weeding Garber's newest restoration site at Fern Glen, and cutting steps to make the steep parts of the path accessible and enjoyable for all.

Everyone Welcome.  No experience necessary.  Volunteering in Garber can be a great place for students to satisfy Community Service requirements.  Children under 18 must bring a Volunteer Waiver and Release of Liability Form, signed by a parent or guardian.  Children under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adults.

  

For more information contact Shelagh garberparkstewards@gmail.com.  

Directions:  A map and directions to both the Evergreen Lane Entrance and the Claremont Avenue entrance can be found at http://garberparkstewards.blogspot.com/p/directions.html.  By Bus: Exit AC Transit Bus 49 at NW corner of Claremont Ave/Ashby Ave.  It's a short .4 mile walk up Claremont Ave. to the Claremont Ave. Entrance to Garber (just beyond 7380 Claremont Ave.)

Wear long sleeves and pants, and shoes with good tread. 

Drinks, snacks, tools and gloves are provided, but do bring your own gloves and water bottle if you have them. 

Rain, Sunshine, and a Bird' s Nest

One of the many discoveries on
our Tuesday workday.  If you know
the name of the bird that inhabits
this nest please contact
garberparkstewards@gmail.com.

 Much to my surprise, our Tuesday Workday was on - the rain stopped and three Stewards came to help with our first Spring Invasive Weed Pull.  Unfortunately, it was too wet, soggy, and muddy to be tromping on the hillsides.  What to do?

With the sun peeking through, the bright green of the ferns and newly leafed out Buckeyes and Maples beckoned us to take a slow walk along the trails with an eye to planning future activities and projects.  Along the lower loop trail we discovered false solomons seal, cow parsnip, and giant vetch just coming into bloom as well as a superbly constructed bird's nest anchored high in the tree.  In Horse Tail Meadow, on the Upper Loop Trail, the Equisitum (horse tails) is dominating the meadow, and on Sylvan Trail it was most satisfying to see the abundance of ferns, false solomons seal, and trilliums in Garber's newest restoration site at Fern Glen thriving.

Unfortunately, our break from restoration work was short lived. Along Sylvan Trail at Sylvan bridge, the water was pouring down the creek, creating waterfalls and overflowing the trail.  A storm drain was plugged near Evergreen Lane, sending a cascade of water down the creek threatening to erode the trail and the creek banks.  I called Public Works while Ricardo and Bob set to work shoring up the trail.  Several hours later, their work complete, the rain began once again.   Many, many thanks to you both!

Horsetail Meadow

Our next volunteer workday is Saturday, April 19.  We will meet at 10AM at the Evergreen Lane Entrance.  

SAVE THE DATE:  Saturday, April 26.  TAKE ACTION and join The Garber Park Stewards and Claremont Canyon Conservancy in cleaning and beautifying Claremont Avenue. 
We hope you can join us.  

A Great Day for Invasives Removal

Cal Rotaract students help pull invasive weeds.  We always
appreciate the help of this energetic group.

Many Thanks to all the volunteers who came to Garber over the past two months while I was away.  And, thanks to Bob Strayer for leading the February 15 workday.

With the strong showing of Cal Rotaract students   plus some of Garber's veteran weed warriors in February we made great progress in removing invasive weeds from our newest restoration site at Fern Grove as well as selected sites along the Loop Trail.

In March we had to cancel our third Saturday workday, but our veteran weed warriors found time to do some serious weed removal - Cape ivy, poison hemlock, Himalayan blackberry, and Algerian Ivy.  In addition volunteers were rewarded with a beautiful show of blooming Trillium, which have made a tremendous come back this year in Garber.  Their colorful show is fading, but false solomon seal and cow parsnip will soon be blooming.

SAVE THE DATES:  As I write this blog we are receiving another bit of much needed rain ensuring a few more weeks of easy weed pulling.  We hope you will be able to join us for one of our Spring Weed Pulling Workdays in April:  Tuesday, April 1; Saturday, April 19; and Earth Day, Saturday, April 26.   

GARBER PARK HABITAT RESTORATION WORKDAY

Saturday, February 15, 10Am-Noon

Uncovering Trilliums, ferns, even
several oak seedlings as we weeded
and mulched in Fern Glen on our
first Tuesday in February - a most
gratifying day.

Please join us in Garber Park as we assess drought conditions, weed our restoration sites to give the natives their best chance to survive, perform trail maintenance, and continue removing ivy from the ferns and other natives we find in the western part of Garber. 
Wear long sleeves and pants, and shoes with good tread. Drinks, snacks, tools and gloves are provided, but do bring your own gloves and water bottle if you have them.
As usual we have activities for all ability levels, from easy weed removal on flat easily accessible areas along the Loop Trail to the more heavy lifting activities of trail maintenance and Algerian ivy removal from around the ferns on the steep hillsides along Sylvan Trail.  

Meet at the Evergreen Lane Entrance  Directions: From Ashby take Alvarado Rd to Slater Lane, turn Right onto Evergreen Ln.  The entrance is at the end of the street.  For a map and directions click here 
For more information contact Bob Strayer skyhuntermassage@gmail.com.  

Erosion Control Workshop - Great Start to a New Year

What a great start to the New Year - nineteen volunteers came to Garber on a beautiful Saturday in January to learn bioengineering techniques for erosion control in a workshop conducted by Lech Naumovich, Golden Hour Restoration Institute.   The day began with Lech talking and demonstrating hillside erosion techniques – in particular, the use of fascines (living branches bound together in long bundles) and spilings (using branches to create a retaining wall), both techniques used to protect a slope from erosion.   Then the real fun began – we set about building a fascine and spilling and installing both on our eroded slope.  

We divided ourselves into several groups – some went to collect live branches, others cut and prepared the branches and wove them into a long bundle. then carried the long sausage shaped  (now called a fascine) to the crew who had been working to prepare the slope.  At the same time still others were working on making a spiling (retaining wall).  After the stakes were driven into the ground it was time for weaving branches through the stakes to make a retaining wall.  One volunteer yelled out, “I’m a weaver!” and proceeded to direct the weaving crew.  The result - two structures built out of live materials, gathered onsite, and designed to hold and slowly release water.  Ideally, the cut branches of the fascines should grow producing roots and top growth,  but  in this year in which Gov. Brown just declared a drought emergency we are hoping that at least a few of our willow branches will sprout.  

For more pictures of the crew hard at work restoringGarber’s eroded slope click here.

View and Download Lech’s Hand-out explaining the bioengineering techniques we used in Garber, complete with References for those who wish to explore more.  It is important to note that this project is being implemented in an area that will not require permits.  Creating such structures in an active stream or around a wetland would require consultation, plans, and possibly permits.  

We were all excited to have the opportunity to learn these erosion control techniques and were looking forward to returning in February to learn to use passive restoration planting techniques to further stabilize the slope.  Unfortunately, because of the severe drought conditions we have cancelled the February workshop.    Stay tuned for some exciting workshops led by Lech later this Spring and Summer.   Looking further into the future - we hope to again offer the Erosion Control Workshop series next year. 

THANKS, Lech, for leading another unique and special workshop,  and to all the participants for a productive and fun morning.  We hope to see you all again soon in Garber.   Special thanks to Claremont Canyon Conservancy for their generous funding of our Winter Workshop Series, and the City of Oakland for their support for our volunteer work in Garber Park.    

Please join us for our February Volunteer Workdays:  Tuesday, Feb. 4 and Saturday, Feb 15, 10AM-Noon. Meet at the Evergreen Lane Entrance.  We will weed our restoration sites and perform trail maintenance.