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by Jane Kelly
March, 2003

In July, 2001, together with many local volunteers excited about getting their hands into the soil, we began a "habitat restoration" project in the backyard of the HUD subsidized affordable housing complex known as Strawberry Creek Lodge in West Berkeley. The Lodge is home to 180 people, many of whom are hardy and seasoned peace veterans who continue to struggle against the mounting injustices that emanate from the Bush/Cheney war rooms.

We adopted this project after I completed a comprehensive, but doable, series of workshops conducted by the Aquatic Outreach Institute (AOI) in Richmond. AOI training is intended for K-12 teachers and other members of the general public who are interested in transforming small, open spaces into wildlife habitats that attract birds, butterflies, insects, and other creatures. These small spaces may include school yards, creek banks, backyards, and parks and are often intended to be demonstrations of the myriad, but often obscure, plants, trees and shrubs that are native to the region. See, AOI at http://www.aoinstitute.org/ for information on their programs.

As with so many "labors of love", the project soon doubled in size and brought more than 200 volunteers in contact with one of the most beautiful stretches of creek in Berkeley. Our plan was to first remove the thick hanging Algerian ivy and Himalayan blackberry that stretched 30 feet up into the willow trees and completely covered the banks of Strawberry Creek, and to replace these exotic, invasive plants with California native species that might once have grown in this woodland environment.

"Restoration" can mean returning an area to the condition that existed before humans intervened to develop the land, or it can be something as straightforward as planting a public space with native trees and shrubs. Unfortunately, our highly developed urban landscape allows few opportunities to do more than create islands of reclaimed natural habitat. The good news is that the number of projects is expanding, the public and our State and local officials are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental benefits of returning developed areas to their natural state, and there is a financial commitment by the people of California to contribute to the cost of restoring the land. Perhaps we are beginning to understand, on a subliminal level at least, that our existence relies on a healthy and thriving environment.

This project is a good example of the type of restoration that is occurring all over the Bay Area. Supported by small grants from the Alameda County Wide Clean Water Program and the San Francisco Estuary Project that pay for such things as plants, tools, and erosion control materials, like most projects, ours is volunteer driven. In our case, the volunteers are made up of a core group of local environmentalists from the Friends of Strawberry Creek, Lodge residents, Berkeley High School students, the Green Party, Kiwanis Key Club members, Berkeley Highıs WorkAbility program, local Cub Scouts, and members of the California Native Plant Society ­ to name just a few of the organizations that have made a contribution of time. In addition to removing invasive plants that destroy wildlife habitat, the work crews constructed a staircase to allow easy access to the creek, and have planted over 200 native plants and trees. Many of the plants are already beginning to leaf out and bloom. Soon we will create a demonstration garden at the front of the Lodge that will be readily accessible to the public.

Similar projects exist on Cerrito Creek near the East Shore Mall, Codornices Creek along the border of Berkeley and Albany, Sausal Creek in Oakland, Baxter Creek in Richmond, San Pablo Creek in Orinda, and others, both large and small.

If you are ever in need of a break to restore some physical and mental balance in your life, youıll find working on these projects worth the effort. These projects have volunteer opportunities for people of all interests and abilities. Here is the contact information for each project:

1) Jane Kelly ­ Friends of Strawberry Creek ­ jandtkelly@igc.org (510) 528-3949
2) Susan Schwartz ­ Friends of Five Creeks - F5creeks@aol.com (510) 848 9358
3) Friends of Sausal Creek - coordinator@sausalcreek.org (510) 501-FOSC (3672)
4) Friends of Baxter Creek - baxterfriends@hotmail.com
5) Friends of San Pablo Creek ­ contact the Aquatic Outreach Institute at (510) 231-9566

[Photos by Bob Marsh]

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