Managing a Changing Oak Woodland, by Shelagh Brodersen

Workshop attendees on the hillside planting native forbs and grasses after the removal of the old oak which had succumbed to “sudden oak death.”

THANKS TO EVERYONE who made January 12, 2019 such a fun and exciting start to this year’s restoration work in Garber Park. The recent removal of the old oak tree at the Evergreen Lane entrance, due to its earlier demise, gave way to a most timely, information-packed and fun workshop by Lech Naumovich. The workshop focused on the changing ecology of the Evergreen Hillside and was aptly named: Managing a Changing Oak Woodland: Oak Woodland Restoration Post-Climax.

The old oak came down on Thursday, January 10, the first sunny day after a week of down-pours, just in time for the weekend workshop. And what a fantastic workshop it was. From Lech: “ I estimate we planted over 100 plants (plugs, containers, cuttings plus we caged three coast live oak seedlings). What a great group and we got quite a bit of work done.”

New trail signs installed, by Jon Kaufman

With thanks to Tom Klatt we now have a new trail marker where the Gwin Canyon Trail meets the Willow Trail just down the steps from Signpost 29. We installed the trail marker during our January stewardship day. We are hopeful that the Park District will add a trail sign of their own at the other end of the Gwin Canyon Trail where it meets Norfolk Road. Conservancy volunteers continue their work to make the trail easier to traverse by installing more steps and water bars and making a part of the trail less steep. We also will be installing logs along the edge to reduce erosion. Finally, the University has just improved the area just outside the gate at Signpost 29, making it safer to pull over and park.

Outing with the Park District trails managers

Conservancy members recently hosted a tour of Claremont Canyon with planners from the East Bay Regional Park District's Trails Development team, including trails manager Sean Dougan and Ward 2 Board Member Dee Rosario. We hiked up the Conservancy's new Gwin Canyon trail connecting Park District and UC lands, then headed over to the Stonewall-Panoramic Ridge Trail to assess its steepest section just below Panoramic Way. We are hoping the Park District will build switchbacks on this degraded section of trail for increased safety and accessibility to hikers. We'll keep you informed as progress develops.

Cal Berkeley Project Day

Thank You CAL Students: More than 20 UC Berkeley students joined us on October 28th to celebrate Berkeley Day working on trails in Claremont Canyon. Together we cleared trails, pulled French broom, widened the narrow portions of the new Gwin Canyon Trail and began installing steps on the steeper portions. Lots was accomplished and the trails are in great shape. Berkeley Day happens twice a year and the Conservancy has had students involved in these efforts for several years. Claremont Canyon is an example of how teamwork pays off. Thank you to the students, the Eagle Scouts and to all our volunteers for their past and present efforts.

Broom removal in the preserve with Ranger Jeff McKenna, by Marilyn Goldhaber

Another great stewardship day in the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve. Although only four hardy souls showed up on this beautiful Saturday morning, we got right to work, splitting up into two locations to rid the lower canyon of French broom.  We were fortunate to have Ranger Jeff McKenna, who brought along some large and small weed wrenches and a lot of muscle power. We feel that the lower Preserve is pretty much cleared of mature broom and only young seedlings are appearing--in smaller and smaller numbers each year.