Save the Date - Annual Meeting November 12th from 4-6PM. Planning Commission Meeting November 1st. Watch for skippers this fall!
October Happenings 2023
Save the Date—Annual Meeting Sunday, November 12 from 4-6 p.m. at the Claremont Resort and Spa
September Happenings 2023
August Happenings 2023
July Happenings 2023 - Nature and Stewardship
July Happenings 2023 - Advocacy Update
Advocacy for the Canyon
Wrap up of Annual Meeting, Sunday, November 13, 2022, 4-6 PM, by Jon Kaufman
Vision 2042! by Nancy Mueller
Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve—Eucalyptus Removal is Underway by Marilyn Goldhaber
Tribute to Tim Wallace by Marilyn Goldhaber
This spring, the Conservancy placed a bench in upper Claremont Canyon in memory of our first board president Tim Wallace who passed away last May. Tim was 92. Tim provided tremendous leadership and guidance to the Conservancy over his 13 years as president through his diverse background and natural talent as a leader.
Celebrating Shelagh Brodersen and the Garber Park Stewards by Elizabeth K. Stage
Upper Canyon Stewardship, by John Brochu and Josh Borkowski
An awesome Earth Month in Garber Park, by Shelagh Brodersen
Walking in Garber Park just became easier—and safer—thanks to the many volunteers who came to the park during Earth Month. Eager to once again be out in nature, we formed small groups on three consecutive weekends in April to pull weeds and haul them down to a dumpster provided by the City of Oakland.
UC's Evacuation Support Project, by Marilyn Goldhaber
Claremont Avenue above Alvarado Road was transformed this past winter as part of an ongoing fire management program carried out by UC’s Facilities Services. Eucalyptus and other trees that could fall across the road during an emergency or ignite close to the road were logged along with brushy understory, within 100 feet of edge of the pavement . The total project area was approximately 18 acres.
Sudden oak death, local SOD blitz, by Matteo Garbelotto, Ph.D.
In spite of the ongoing health scare and of the statewide “Shelter in Place” ordinance, we have been able to redesign the 2020 SOD Blitzes to make them 100% safe and legal, an effective activity that allows you to exercise, and—of course—a powerful Citizen Science program that will help all of us protecting our forests. The program has received full approval by U.C. Berkeley and it will go on as long as we all follow the simple guidelines posted at www.sodblitz.org.
Monkey flower gene discovered
Sticky monkey flower in north coastal scrub, south-facing slope of Claremont Canyon.
Monkey flower is about to bloom in coastal scrub areas all over the Claremont Canyon. In the next couple of months, when you're out walking on the trail, look for a low-lying bush with an abundance of small gold-orange, horn-shaped flowers and reflect upon a neat synergy with our native bees. In a related story, Berkeley News reports on UC Assistant Professor Benjamin Blackman's recent publication regarding two forms of monkey flower found in California, Mimulus guttatus and Mimulus lewisii (note, other names also apply). Blackman identified a gene that allows pigmented spots to "act as 'bee landing pads' attracting nearby pollinators." Our local sticky monkey flower, Mimulus aurantiacus, which is more common in Claremont Canyon, is less likely to display spots but nevertheless is well-known to attract bees and hummingbirds for pollination. Read more here.
Restoring the high ridge meadow areas above Claremont Canyon by Glen Schneider
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 …
Roadside clearing by Nancy Mueller
This season the Oakland vegetation management unit, under the leadership of the incomparable Vince Crudele, made significant progress in reducing vegetation on city and public roadside properties. Major thoroughfares in our area include Tunnel Road, Skyline Boulevard, Grizzly Peak Boulevard, Hiller Drive, Clarewood Drive, Panoramic Way, and Claremont Avenue. I’m pleased to say that Oakland is doing its job in the hills along major roads and near open spaces.
