We’re always delighted to see articles about nature, but the Codornices Creek reach between 6th and 8th referred to was not in a pipe, nor were the reaches downstream.

Since 2000, three projects have carved new channels … Continue reading »]]>

This section of Codornices Creek, at 6th Street in Berkeley, used to run through a concrete pipe. Photo: Neil Mishalov

Update, 01.31.12: Susan Schwartz, President, Friends of Five Creeks, provides an informative clarification on the history of this section of Codornices Creek. (This is why we love the Berkeleyside community so much — our expert readers always bring the latest intelligence to the table!):

We’re always delighted to see articles about nature, but the Codornices Creek reach between 6th and 8th referred to was not in a pipe, nor were the reaches downstream.

Since 2000, three projects have carved new channels In this post-industial area, giving more meander to what had been a more or less straight ditch. In some areas concrete cladding was removed from banks and/or bottom. Native plants have been planted, with, we hope, more such diversity to come. The hope is to reduce flood danger, improve habitat for the rainbow trout/steelhead already in the creek (more than 100 had to be moved in order to improve just one of these three sections), and generally revitalize nature in the city, for the sake of people as well as wildlife.

We commonly call this “restoration,” but that may not be the best term. Before European settlement, Codornices Creek appears to have petered out in a wet grassland before reaching the slough and salt marsh that drained north-northwest to the Bay behind Fleming Point (now Golden Gate Fields race track; the channelized slough is still there). Without a Bay connection, there probably were no trout/steelhead (rainbow trout and steelhead are the same species).

The creek probably was ditched through to the slough in the 1870s, when what is now the transcontinental railway tracks were built through Berkeley. Probably in the 1980s or 90s, improving water quality (due to disappearance of industry and the federal Clean Water Act) let adventurous steelhead successfully reproduce in the creek. The reason we think it was that late is that kids, who know these things, don’t seem to remember the fish before then. But we’d love to know more about this!

The reach between 8th and 9th, referred to by Charles [in the Comments section], was actually taken out of a culvert in 1995, largely by volunteers, including Richard Register, who has faithfully maintained the project ever since.

Original story: Never let it be said that Berkeley isn’t teeming with wildlife, be it scavenging turkeys, mountain lions on the prowl, or — in this case — some happy-looking ducks and a white egret.

The photo above was submitted by Neil Mishalov and it shows a section of Codornices Creek east of 6th Street, just before the creek goes under 6th (see map, below). This part of the creek, which marks the border between Albany and Berkeley, was culverted for many years, reports Mishalov. It was recently opened, and life is flourishing in what was once a dark, closed concrete pipe.

Berkeleyside publishes many articles every day. To catch up on ones you have missed, check out All the News.

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | 10 comments |
Post tags: Berkeley nature, Codornices Creek

The authority, which also goes by the name Stopwaste.org, also voted to require businesses and multi-family dwellings to recycle all “high-market value materials,” as part of an initiative to reduce waste going the landfill.

The plastic bag ban will apply to 2,000 stores around the county. The ban does not include restaurants or retail stores. … Continue reading »]]>

Alameda County has acted on plastic bags. Photo: Polandeze/Creative Commons.

The Alameda County Waste Authority voted Wednesday to ban the use of plastic bags at pharmacies and grocery stores county-wide, starting in 2013.

The authority, which also goes by the name Stopwaste.org, also voted to require businesses and multi-family dwellings to recycle all “high-market value materials,” as part of an initiative to reduce waste going the landfill.

The plastic bag ban will apply to 2,000 stores around the county. The ban does not include restaurants or retail stores. Stores can provide customers with paper or reusable bags, but must charge 10 cents for them.

“Setting restrictions on single-use bag distribution will help local jurisdictions meet their storm water permit and litter control requirements at lower costs and reduce environmentally harmful trash in storm drains and creeks,” the authority said in a press release. “Despite voluntary efforts to promote reusable bags countywide for several years, plastic bags comprised 9.6% of litter collected during coastal cleanup days (based on 2008 data) in Alameda County.”

Berkeley may soon see a more restrictive law. City Councilmember Kriss Worthington plans to urge the city to enact its own ban on plastic bags, but one that also applies to retail stores. The City Council will discuss the matter at its Jan. 31 meeting.

The mandatory recycling law adopted Wednesday will require businesses and multifamily structures that generate more than four cubic yards per week of solid waste to not only recycle newspapers and cardboard, but compostable materials, like food. The current California law does not stipulate which materials should be recycled.

Related:
Will Berkeley pass a plastic bag ban soon? [01.25.12]

By Frances Dinkelspiel. | Permalink | 7 comments |
Post tags: Kriss Worthington, plastic bag ban, StopWaste.Org

Then a group of neighbors got together, and, with hard work and the assistance of funding from the city and UC Berkeley, transformed the steps into an inviting path. New lights now illuminate the walkway, and every March hundreds of daffodils push their way to … Continue reading »]]>

Bruce McMurray and Vicki Wade stand along the LeRoy Steps, which they have spent years improving. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel

Five years ago the steps leading from Hilgard Avenue down to LeRoy were a tangled mess, ill lit, broken in spots, and dotted with graffiti. Scraggly trees and brambles grew unrestrained along the steps’ borders.

Then a group of neighbors got together, and, with hard work and the assistance of funding from the city and UC Berkeley, transformed the steps into an inviting path. New lights now illuminate the walkway, and every March hundreds of daffodils push their way to the surface, creating a yellow burst of color.

“Several years ago it was just a dump,” said City Councilmember Susan Wengraf. “It was overgrown, strewn with garbage, basically abandoned by the city. Over time it really became transformed from a very unattractive place to quite a beautiful place.”(...)

Read the rest of LeRoy Steps: Source of pride and local controversy (2,317 words)

By Frances Dinkelspiel. | Permalink | 68 comments |
Post tags: Andrew Harth, Bruce McMurray, Daniel Gallagher, Helen Alvarez, LeRoy Steps Stewardship Project, Luis Alvarez, Mark Selvaggio, SEEDS, Shar Etebar, Sue Ferrara, Susan Wengraf, The Big Orange House, Vicki Wade

The City of Berkeley has partnered with Energy Upgrade California to offer the workshop as a one-stop shop for all Alameda County homeowners to find contractors, get information about the rebates and tax credits available and have all their questions answered.

Jason Mark, Editor of Earth Island Journal, with moderate a panel of Timothy Burroughs, Climate Action Coordinator for the City of Berkeley, Lisa McNeilly, Director of Sustainability, UC Berkeley, Jason Trager, Environmental Sustainability Director, Graduate Student Assembly, and Claire Evans, lead coordinator of the UC Berkeley Compost Alliance.

Tonight’s panel will focus on … Continue reading »]]>

Collaboration between the university and the city on sustainability issues is at the center of tonight's discussion. Photo: Tracey Taylor

The second event in The University and the City: Ideas for Partnership, a fall series of evening discussions, will be held tonight on The Environmentally Sustainable City.

Jason Mark, Editor of Earth Island Journal, with moderate a panel of Timothy Burroughs, Climate Action Coordinator for the City of Berkeley, Lisa McNeilly, Director of Sustainability, UC Berkeley, Jason Trager, Environmental Sustainability Director, Graduate Student Assembly, and Claire Evans, lead coordinator of the UC Berkeley Compost Alliance.

Tonight’s panel will focus on ways in which the city and university can collaborate on sustainability issues, including transportation, energy conservation, zero waste and housing. The discussion will start at 7 p.m. at Berkeley City College, 2050 Center Street.

The series, sponsored by the Office of Mayor Tom Bates, Councilmembers Laurie Capitelli, Darryl Moore and Susan Wengraf, UC Berkeley Office of Government and Community Relations, Berkeley City College, Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Berkeley Association, Telegraph Business Improvement District, Livable Berkeley, and Berkeleyside, is exploring various aspects of the relationship between the university and the city.

To find out what is going on in Berkeley and nearby, be sure to check out Berkeleyside’s Events Calendar. We also encourage you to submit your own events.

By lance. | Permalink | One comment |
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