Nature and Culture

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August Happenings 2023

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Monkeyflower is in bloom in the Canyon, stewardship efforts near the heritage oak - a 100 year old tree!, volunteer with the Garber Park Stewards and at Signpost 29.

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July Happenings 2023 - Advocacy Update

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This month’s newsletter includes our response to the June 9, 2023 State Court of Appeals decision, working towards fire safety, East Bay Hills' grassroots advocacy effort, and more!

Species identified on April 23, 2023 Bird Walk

In all, 16 species were identified, including a wild turkey in mid-flight. Nancy Mueller, host of the event, said, "It was a big thrill for me to see a turkey flying down Claremont Avenue. I had no idea they could fly."

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Wrap up of Annual Meeting, Sunday, November 13, 2022, 4-6 PM, by Jon Kaufman

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At the Conservancy’s annual meeting on November 13, we had a record crowd of 114 people who heard Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin and Acting Fire Chief David Sprague discuss the city’s new wildfire preparedness program.

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Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve—Eucalyptus Removal is Underway by Marilyn Goldhaber

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Conservancy member Ron Berman (standing in the middle with white hat) led Conservancy board members last week on a tour of work in the upper part of the eucalyptus grove at the Stonewall Road entry to the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve.

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Evacuation on my mind, by Sue Piper, Chair Oakland Firesafe Council

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Now, 30 years after the 1991 Firestorm and three years after the Camp Fire, which killed 85 people on the one road out of Paradise, evacuation is on many people’s minds. The problem, as I learned in 1991, is that in a crisis, you think with your gut. Oh, if we only had opportunities to practice evacuation many times over so that when the real threat appears, our minds know exactly what to do.

The Hermit Thrush, by Marilyn Goldhaber

The Hermit Thrush is a medium-small brownish bird with spotted breast, white eyering, and pink legs. Although it prefers a dense cover, it can be found in urban settings, especially on the border of forests. The bird pictured to the right was photographed in November by Erica Rutherford in her backyard at Hiller Highlands—the photograph then posted to Kay Loughman’s local wildlife gallery (nhwildlife.net).

The Chert Wall

The Claremont Chert, named after our own canyon, is a type of marine sedimentary rock. It consists of hard, fine-grained silica, plus more friable shales and mudstones from ancient siliceous skeletons of microscopic creatures. These tiny skeletons and other materials were deposited over millions of years in off-shore basins—when the shoreline of the California coast looked quite different from today.

The Aubry's Tree of Hope

We wanted you to know that the 1991 “Tree of Hope” was lit on Thanksgiving night in honor of all those who have perished from the virus. We will also light it from Dec. 1 to Jan. 1 to remember all the souls we have lost in California fires over the years. We want to especially thank our daughter, son in law and grandson (Janae, Lawrence & Christopher) who came over from Sacramento with their masks and managed to put the 1,000 lights on our “tree”.

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Restoring the high ridge meadow areas above Claremont Canyon by Glen Schneider

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Ecological restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem. The Skyline Gardens Alliance has been doing just that in the high ridge volcanic area between Tilden and Sibley regional parks. This is East Bay MUD watershed land, traversed north-south by the Skyline Trail. Under special permit from EBMUD, we are doing a botanical census …

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