Claremont Creek south of John Muir School is usually fenced off to keep children away from the water. But Rachel Harris, who teaches gardening and science at John Muir Elementary School had opened the fence to teach basket weaving to a class of 15 fourth and fifth grade girls. Harris was showing her students how to soften the tule reeds in water and … Continue reading »]]>

Rachel Harris soaks tule reeds on Claremont Creek. Photo: Sandy Friedland

Sandy Friedland, who walks all around Berkeley, spotted an unusual sight Saturday on her early morning stroll.

Claremont Creek south of John Muir School is usually fenced off to keep children away from the water. But Rachel Harris, who teaches gardening and science at John Muir Elementary School had opened the fence to teach basket weaving to a class of 15 fourth and fifth grade girls. Harris was showing her students how to soften the tule reeds in water and then weave them. She sat on the bank of the creek to demonstrate the technique.

The students belong to the Girls Outdoor Club, which introduces them to nature. In the process, they learn about themselves, Harris told Friedland.  The club is sponsored by the Open Circle Foundation, an East Bay organization dedicated to trying  “to improve the quality of life in a community, and enhance the human experience of the natural or urban environment.”

“This sighting made my regular morning walk quite special,” said Friedland.

By Frances Dinkelspiel. | Permalink | 2 comments |
Post tags: John Muir Elementary School, Rachel Harris, Sandy Friedland

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 photos here were sent in by Ty Alper, who was driving down San Pablo Avenue this morning around 8:45 am, and spotted this … Continue reading »]]>

This flock of wild turkeys was spotted at around 8:45 am on Thursday on San Pablo at Marin. Photo: Ty Alper

Is it our imagination, or are the wild turkeys of Berkeley becoming bigger and more prevalent? It was only a couple of weeks ago that we reported on two clusters of the fabulous fowl roaming the streets of Berkeley and Albany. And yesterday a photograph of a group of them happily exploring someone’s roof crossed our radar.

The photos here were sent in by Ty Alper, who was driving down San Pablo Avenue this morning around 8:45 am, and spotted this flock near the intersection with Marin.

“They were in the street until they got scared and scattered into an alley,” he writes.

Turkey takeover anyone?

The turkeys made off into an alley after being disturbed on the street. Photo: Ty Alper

Related:
Gobble gobble: Wild turkeys roam streets of Berkeley, Albany 

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | 21 comments |
Post tags: Wild turkeys, Wild turkeys Berkeley

An exhibition at UC Botanical Gardens that runs through February 3rd showcases the intricate skills of botanical artists.

The Third Annual Plants Illustrated exhibition, held in conjunction with the Northern California Society of Botanical Artists, includes a talk and a two-day class by artist Catherine Watters. Notecards featuring some of the illustrations … Continue reading »]]>

Magnolia wilsonii by Catherine Watters. Courtesy UC Botanical Gardens

Before photography, scientists relied on the work of botanical illustrators to document and record plants. Today botanical art is prized for plant portraits that are both elegant and technically accurate.

An exhibition at UC Botanical Gardens that runs through February 3rd showcases the intricate skills of botanical artists.

Cyclamen by Diana Treter. Courtesy UC Botanical Gardens

The Third Annual Plants Illustrated exhibition, held in conjunction with the Northern California Society of Botanical Artists, includes a talk and a two-day class by artist Catherine Watters. Notecards featuring some of the illustrations are also available for sale.

To find out about more events in Berkeley and nearby, visit Berkeleyside’s Events Calendar. We also encourage you to submit your own events.

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | 2 comments |
Post tags: Third Annual Plants Illustrated exhibition, UC Botanical Gardens

The cold, clear weather that has parked itself over the Bay Area for the past six weeks should be moving on soon. Weather forecasters have predicted rain for Wednesday and Thursday.

By Frances Dinkelspiel. | Permalink | No comment | Post tags: Aaron Glimme

The shaking was felt all over town.  @nmsanchez tweeted “Earthquake shook hard in West Berkeley.”

No damage has been reported.

By Frances Dinkelspiel. | Permalink | 2 comments | Post tags:

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

What can you tell us about the recent quakes centered in Berkeley?
The magnitude 4:0 quake [which was felt at 2:41 pm on Thursday October 20] was followed by several aftershocks in … Continue reading »]]>

Map showing the Hayward Fault. Source: USGS

Last week’s series of earthquakes in Berkeley had Berkeleyans, including Berkeleyside readers, all a-twitter about the possible significance of the rash of tremors, their concentration and location. We spoke to geophysicist Paul Caruso at the National Earthquake Information Center to sort out fact from fiction.

What can you tell us about the recent quakes centered in Berkeley?
The magnitude 4:0 quake [which was felt at 2:41 pm on Thursday October 20] was followed by several aftershocks in the area of rupture over the next few days as the earth tried to come back into equilibrium. Aftershocks are defined as being smaller than the original quake.

Some Berkeleyside readers said they thought a series of small quakes was a good thing because it indicated a “release of pressure” on the Hayward fault line; others said it indicated a “build-up to a big one”. Are either of these ideas valid?
Both are legitimate theories. The truth is we don’t know whether earthquakes like these are relieving pressure or whether pressure is building.(...)

Read the rest of Quakes: All you wanted to know but were afraid to ask (423 words)

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | 12 comments |
Post tags: Earthquake science, Earthquakes in Berkeley, National Earthquake Information Center, Quakes, Seismology, USGS

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Rainer Maria Rilke

The fire missed me that day. I was alone in my fiancée’s kitchen, up near the ridge line of the hills, drinking coffee and reading the Sunday paper. The heat and winds were unusual. Pine needles blew from the trees and whipped sideways past the windows. I noticed smoke in the distance, in a corner of the view to … Continue reading »]]>

The iconic figure of the chimney standing in the ashes became the central element of a new house. Photo: Kurt Lavenson

By Kurt Lavenson

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Rainer Maria Rilke

The fire missed me that day. I was alone in my fiancée’s kitchen, up near the ridge line of the hills, drinking coffee and reading the Sunday paper. The heat and winds were unusual. Pine needles blew from the trees and whipped sideways past the windows. I noticed smoke in the distance, in a corner of the view to the north, comfortably far away and just mildly interesting.

But it didn’t stay that way for long. Soon I was packing family photos and boxes of files into my truck for an evacuation. When we returned hesitantly the next day, the house and neighborhood were fine. The winds had stopped before pushing the fire into our canyon — and that was all it took to separate us from the others. A mile or so north, there were 1,500 acres of blackened devastation.(...)

Read the rest of Loss assessment: Building anew after devastation (1,931 words)

By guest. | Permalink | 4 comments |
Post tags: Oakland-Berkeley Firestorm