SUMMER'S END/HINTS OF FALL

Bob's Place, once covered with an 8ft.
tall hillside of Himalayan
blackberry is recovering nicely.

False Solomon's Seal
(smilacina Stellata) from Planting
Bed 3

August's Tuesday  work session was full of subtle indications that seasonal change is once again at our doorstep. We continued the clearing at Bob's Place, but also took advantage of the beautiful summer light to document our hillside restoration beds at the Evergreen entrance.  We noticed among the litter, the first brown and crumpled leaves from the Big Leaf Maples up the hill.  We also noticed that a very few of our plantings apparently did not survive this period of dessication.  But the outstanding feature of all the beds was the health and vigor of every native grass that we planted and the abundance of seeds that each of these plants has produced.  From Bed 3, just above the beginning of the loop trail, we even found one lingering ripe red berry on the False Solomon's Seal which is doing well in the upper corner. 

Silhouette of grasses above
Fireplace Plaza

Bed 4 which lies just below the Loop Trail is perhaps the easiest to observe, so it is especially obliging this time of year in the amount of native grasses and grass seed that it has nourished. At planting time the hope was that by planting clumps or little communities of different native grasses, proximity might encourage their growth.  Bed 4 appears to have benefited from this practice; all the communities are strong and established.   The seed is plentiful and hopefully headed beyond the boundaries of the bed.  Bed 5 below did not have the same predominance of grasses, but what was put there is healthy and strong. 

Toward the end of our work session, we looked up and noticed that this time of year the only spot of bright sunlight on the hillside fortuitously falls on our "control" bed, the area which we scraped clean in February, and then hoped to see what would naturally grow there.  The control bed is carpeted with invasive Ehrharta grass, forgetmenots, rebounding Himalayan blackberry, and appears to contain no native plant. Compared to our native beds, the control bed is a riot of weeds.  

     It will be interesting to see what the return of the rains produces on the Evergreen Entrance hillside.

A REWARDING DAY AT BOB'S PLACE

My Blog Post last week summarized the flurry of restoration activities in Garber throughout July, but

the dedicated crew restoring Bob's Place along Harwood Creek just wouldn't let July end without ONE MORE IMPROMPTU WORKDAY!  Today's surprise - exposing a large two-foot diameter metal pipe in the middle of the creek.  Kathleen, excited to find out if she could get to the bottom of the pipe, grabbed a shovel and began digging in the mud. What was the original purpose of the pipe? Our best guess is that it was used as a watering hole for livestock back when John Garber owned the land. Discovering the pipe is turning out to be one more in a long list of intriguing mysteries to solve in Garber. 

Click here for more pictures of the exciting discoveries during July in Garber Park.   

JULY FLOWER - THIMBLEBERRY (Rubus Parviflorus)

Thimbleberry (Rubus Parviflorus) 

Although in July in Garber Park we are as likely to see the berry as the flower, we wanted to call attention in mid-summer to one of the delightful berry blossoms that may be found in the wetlands on the lower portion of the loop trail.  Thimblerry (Rubus parviflorus) occurs in many spots in the East Bay ridge lands, but has not been reported elsewhere in the bay counties.  Garber Park's Thimbleberries are dense thickets where the ground is seeping water from the springs upslope. Some commentators suggest that the first habitat in which to expect Thimbleberries is a Coast Redwood Forest, especially Muir Woods, but it seems that many riparian wetlands attract them.

The bright red berry of the Thimbleberry.  We hope to collect
these seeds and disperse them at Bob's Place at our
Seed Collection Workshop on August 20.

Thimbleberry is a good shrub for wildlife providing cover in thickets and food for birds and mammals.  The flower provides nectar for hummingbirds.

And, for those Ethnobotany fans indigenous cultures had many uses for Thimbleberry, from making soap to lining baskets,  and even as a remedy to bring down swelling.  For more on the Thimbleberry and its many uses click here.

Next time you walk the entire loop, look for Thimbleberry.  When you find it you will be looking back in time and forward across the ridges of the East Bay.

GARBER PARK'S JUNE FLOWER - Pacific Coralroot

Last year about this time as we were pulling French Broom from the sunny slope above the Evergreen Lane entrance a runner dashed by and asked if we had seen the orchid.  Of course we had missed it on the way up, but on our return we found it close to the trail at one of the steep upgrades.  It was about ten inches high, a thin pinkish stalk with many blossoms at the end of seed vessels that were just forming.  Our May 5, 2010 photograph shows a robust plant standing alone except for the tendril of a native cucumber nearby.

The discovery of a native orchid anywhere in the East Bay ridge lands is important and Garber's orchid brought forth a flurry of attention and botanic consideration.  Consensus said that we had come upon corallorhiza maculata --Spotted Coralroot--though our orchid had no spots.  Together with coralroot discoveries in Tilden and Joaquin Miller, Garber's orchid apparently brings up different taxonomic views and it is possible that there is as yet no settled opinion on the exact taxonomy here.

Because we knew where to look we were able to catch the return of our coralroot (a perennial) in 2011.  We expected the long and moist spring to have produced an even more lavish plant than the 2010 orchid.  Photos show the emergence of a much smaller plant with far fewer blossoms and seed vessels.  By mid-May, some desiccation was also visible.  On July 4 we noticed that only the stalk remained, the entire reproductive cycle apparently having been completed.

So far, we have not located any other coralroots on the hillside or indeed in Garber Park as a whole.  The characteristics of these plants are not well understood, but the appearance of even one in Garber  is testimony to the native botanic richness of the park.

We will keep you posted as to further discoveries and hope that if you come upon this rare native, you will let us know in time to photograph it and add it to our gallery of documentation.

Stone Patio unearthed at Fireplace Plaza

A stone patio unearthed at Fireplace Plaza at the Evergreen
Lane Entrance.  

July in Garber Park has seen a flurry of restoration activity.  Along the Loop Trail volunteers cut back vegetation, removed eucalyptus and broom sprouts.  At Bob's Place our dedicated Blackberry Eradication crew continued to remove Himalayan blackberry rootballs and re-sprouts and haul away the dead cane.
Because of their success at rolling back the years of neglect and the invasion of blackberries the native riparian habitat is returning -  Snowberry, thimbleberry, willows, and ferns are now able to once again flourish.  Bob's Place is now Restoration Site #2.

Back at Restoration Site 1 at the Evergreen Ln. Entrance weeding and monitoring the planting beds on the hillside continue.  Planted in February it is especially satisfying to see all these plants flourishing, most with seeds to be scattered across the hillside to fill in the empty spaces.

Do you have time to research the History of Fireplace Plaza?
Do you have a story to tell?  Interest in helping restore the
stone fireplace?  We need your help.  Contact
garberparkstewards@gmail.com

However,  it's the unearthing of a stone patio in front of Fireplace Plaza that has created the most excitement.  We receive suggestions almost daily about how wonderful it would be to refurbish the fireplace, the plaza, and research the history.  Bob has read through the archives of the Oakland Tribune and discovered that the fireplace that we thought was built during the WPA-era is actually much older, and was built in the early 1920's.  Nancy Mueller and others are actively engaged in ways to enhance the aesthetics of the ugly screen that was put over the fireplace last year after two fires were started there.  Still others are discussing ways to refurbish the fireplace itself.  We now have Restoration Site #3.  Do come to the Evergreen Lane entrance, walk down the stairs to Fireplace Plaza and contact us at garberparkstewards@gmail.com with your suggestions.  We need your help to make this project a reality.

Summer Stewardship a Success

Bob and Kathleen hauling away Himalayan Blackberry
canes from Bob's Place (Restoration Site #2) 

Thanks to all who came to Garber Park Saturday for our Summer Stewardship.  The Blackberry Bashers continued their work at Bob's Place near Harwood Creek.  It was almost a year ago at Creek to Bay Day, when volunteers first dove into the thicket of blackberry and day lighted the creek.  Almost every workday (regular and impromptu) since that time has seen this dedicated group returning to the blackberry thicket  with the ultimate goal of eradicating all the blackberry from the area to allow the native understory of ferns, willows, snowberry, thimbleberry, and other plants to emerge and thrive.  Each time they see a new fern or bee plant pop up this group has been inspired to continue their efforts.  Bob's place is now Restoration Site 2 - and the site where we are now dispersing the seeds we collect.  


We are thrilled to be moving forward with this project - and equally excited that this hard working crew that actually ENJOYS  removing the "difficult to get"  invasive plants such as Himalayan blackberry wish to continue their labor intensive activities in other areas in Garber.  We are now targeting invasive plant removal along Harwood Creek just across the bridge from Bob's Place, and will working our way towards Claremont Ave - one small patch at a time.


What's ahead for Restoration Site 2?  For those of us who prefer less labor intensive activities but wish to contribute to the restoration of Garber Park to its natural beauty this just might be the "spot" for you. On Saturday, August 20 Lech Naumovich will conduct Seed Collection Workshop #2 in Garber.   We also are conducting "light weeding" around the many natives that are popping up where Himalayan blackberries used to be, and always searching the area for those non-invasives that we wish to encourage to grow.  An important step in any restoration project is monitoring the site - taking pictures and noting what new growth is occurring.  And, of course, we always find time to talk about the future. 


Do come visit the park and send us an email garberparkstewards@gmail.com.  We depend on your feedback to guide us in future activities in the park.

SEED COLLECTION AND DISPERSAL - Our Next Step in Restoration

Today was a special day for the Garber Park Stewards. We spend so much of our time in Garber seeking out invasives to evict from the park,  but today we had a slow, purposeful walk along the trail identifying, collecting, and disbursing seeds at our 2^nd restoration site along Harwood Creek. Plus, a rare heat wave in the Bay Area made it a perfect day to be in Garber's shady riparian woodland.

Our Workshop on Passive Restoration and Seed Collection on June 21 was lead by Lech Naumovich, Founding Director of Golden Hour Restoration Institute. He began the workshop with a discussion of the principles and methods of seed collection. We then headed out along the lower loop trail. We were rewarded with a rich variety of native plants – from Giant Vetch, fields of Cow Parsnip, snowberry, creambush, thimbleberry and more – each in a different stage of development, which provided Lech with the opportunity to demonstrate how to compare immature and mature seeds. Squeezing a seed pod that appeared to our untrained eyes as mature produced a white “doughy” substance – mature seed pods are hard and when opened – have seeds.

Continuing our walk we find mature seeds – Cow Parsnip and GiantVetch – which we carefully collected and placed in envelopes labeled with the name and location of the plant (easy with iphone GPS app). Arriving at Restoration Site #2 at Harwood Creek (fondly called Bob's Place after the guy who lead the successful effort to eradicate the Himalayan blackberries) we walked up the hillside along the creek disbursing the seeds. Unlike our first Restoration Site at the Evergreen Lane entrance, Bob's Place will be a study in Passive Restoration.

And what is Passive Restoration? From Lech's handout “It is using existing resources (seeds, vegetation, debris, organic matter) to improve habitat conditions for target native plants. Passive restoration is seeded in the assumption that the site has rich native resources that simply need to be encouraged. Utilizing the on-site seed resources is central to passive restoration.” Although we will have to wait till next spring to see the results of today's effort, removing the Himalayan blackberry has already shown its rewards – native ferns, willows, and other natives are beginning to emerge.

Read Lech's workshop hand-out and his description of the workshop to learn more about seed collection.  The Garber Park Stewards hope it will inspire you to join us on one of our Stewardship Days.   While we mostly do ongoing invasive weed removal we have now added Seed Collection and Dispersal to our Summer Stewardship activities.  Can't make it to a workday but want to learn more about seed collection?  Contact Shelagh at GarberParkStewards@gmail.com.  She will gladly arrange a time for a guided walk through the park.

Below is a participant's summary of the day:
Lech was incredible - sorry I could not stay.  I was able to contribute by gathering quite a few seeds on the uppermost part of the trail from the Vicia nigricans gigantea.  Your groups work and the planting project are outstanding and I like Lech's very locavore emphasis.

I had never been to Garber Park.  I was excited to see Acer negundo, Fraxinus, Alnus rhombifolia, lots of invading Epipactus helleborine and tons of Ash - Fraxinus along with cream bush Holodiscus, lots of fairy bells-Disporum hookeri, Drypteris, Elymus, bromes and Juncus - not to mention 2 kinds of Solanume-blue witch and a white flowered solanum.

I think Garber Park has fascinating diversity.  I admire your fight against the dreaded Himalayan blackberry and you and your group have done an incredible job on the park.  AS