Fellow environmentalists!
This week I decided to take a walk over to the West Side of campus to check on the progress of the path that we had started building last week. Upon arriving to the area I found that I unfortunately had difficulty locating it. Though the week before we had put down wood chips and found that they blended into the surroundings a bit too well, the new layer of mulch or other such substance that was now serving as the new lining did not fare much better. Though it was now a bit darker than the surrounding leaf litter, the path itself still proved difficult to distinguish, thus driving the need to obtain different colored wood chips to an even greater height. The beginning of the path especially had a tendency to blend into the surroundings, and it was only when I looked at the path from afar that I could see the evidence of our progress. I would like the path to be as useful and noticeable as possible and although the goal of a granite or plank path might be a far off one I feel that it would be more useful to at least utilize wood chips that would stand out more (as I had heard that there was a possibility to obtain green or alternately colored ones) so that more individuals could notice it and enjoy the full beauty of the Creek while still helping its fauna flourish. As such, this path clearly demonstrates the fact that enjoying the beauty of our surroundings and practicality do not have to be mutually exclusive ideas, and in fact mesh together quite well.
Edit: I forgot to mention my surprise the previous week upon how many individuals stopped by to ask us about our project while we were working on the path! Representatives responsible for campus care as well as visiting groups (i.e. international business groups) alike were drawn to the path and I was delighted to see them noticing the beauty of the Creek and campus more as well as desiring to find out how they could assist. This just further demonstrates the effect that a few dedicated individuals can have on the campus and I hope that the Strawberry Creek Restoration Project continues to expand from here on out. With that, I hope to make my long-held dream of going to the nursery a reality this week. Until next week!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Path Progress Part Two
Fellow environmentalists!
This week I decided to take a walk over to the West Side of campus to check on the progress of the path that we had started building last week. Upon arriving to the area I found that I unfortunately had difficulty locating it. Though the week before we had put down wood chips and found that they blended into the surroundings a bit too well, the new layer of mulch or other such substance that was now serving as the new lining did not fare much better. Though it was now a bit darker than the surrounding leaf litter, the path itself still proved difficult to distinguish, thus driving the need to obtain different colored wood chips to an even greater height. The beginning of the path especially had a tendency to blend into the surroundings, and it was only when I looked at the path from afar that I could see the evidence of our progress. I would like the path to be as useful and noticeable as possible and although the goal of a granite or plank path might be a far off one I feel that it would be more useful to at least utilize wood chips that would stand out more (as I had heard that there was a possibility to obtain green or alternately colored ones) so that more individuals could notice it and enjoy the full beauty of the Creek while still helping its fauna flourish. As such, this path clearly demonstrates the fact that enjoying the beauty of our surroundings and practicality do not have to be mutually exclusive ideas, and in fact mesh together quite well.
Edit: I forgot to mention my surprise the previous week upon how many individuals stopped by to ask us about our project while we were working on the path! Representatives responsible for campus care as well as visiting groups (i.e. international business groups) alike were drawn to the path and I was delighted to see them noticing the beauty of the Creek and campus more as well as desiring to find out how they could assist. This just further demonstrates the effect that a few dedicated individuals can have on the campus and I hope that the Strawberry Creek Restoration Project continues to expand from here on out. With that, I hope to make my long-held dream of going to the nursery a reality this week. Until next week!
This week I decided to take a walk over to the West Side of campus to check on the progress of the path that we had started building last week. Upon arriving to the area I found that I unfortunately had difficulty locating it. Though the week before we had put down wood chips and found that they blended into the surroundings a bit too well, the new layer of mulch or other such substance that was now serving as the new lining did not fare much better. Though it was now a bit darker than the surrounding leaf litter, the path itself still proved difficult to distinguish, thus driving the need to obtain different colored wood chips to an even greater height. The beginning of the path especially had a tendency to blend into the surroundings, and it was only when I looked at the path from afar that I could see the evidence of our progress. I would like the path to be as useful and noticeable as possible and although the goal of a granite or plank path might be a far off one I feel that it would be more useful to at least utilize wood chips that would stand out more (as I had heard that there was a possibility to obtain green or alternately colored ones) so that more individuals could notice it and enjoy the full beauty of the Creek while still helping its fauna flourish. As such, this path clearly demonstrates the fact that enjoying the beauty of our surroundings and practicality do not have to be mutually exclusive ideas, and in fact mesh together quite well.
Edit: I forgot to mention my surprise the previous week upon how many individuals stopped by to ask us about our project while we were working on the path! Representatives responsible for campus care as well as visiting groups (i.e. international business groups) alike were drawn to the path and I was delighted to see them noticing the beauty of the Creek and campus more as well as desiring to find out how they could assist. This just further demonstrates the effect that a few dedicated individuals can have on the campus and I hope that the Strawberry Creek Restoration Project continues to expand from here on out. With that, I hope to make my long-held dream of going to the nursery a reality this week. Until next week!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Comments and Concerns
Fellow environmentalists!
Ah Homecoming Week. A time of numerous parents, hugs, ridiculously difficult to find parking and of course, investigating our local creek to check on its health.
My investigation this past week has resulted in some concern. I am of course, nowhere near an expert on biological matters, but my discovery of the presence of water sliders (family Gerridae, species unknown since there are over 1700 of them that differ in extremely intricate ways) on the surface of the water for the entire duration of the Creek on campus had me a bit perplexed. Although having a diversity of bugs and other creatures is touted to be an indication of good health for any aquatic environment, I have never seen these particular insects on healthy bodies of water that I have visited. If anyone can put my fears to rest please feel free to comment.
My walk down the Creek also resulted in me seeing a lot more trash along the entire length of the Creek than in previous runs. Although I would like to attribute this to a larger number of people present on campus I am saddened to see that this larger volume seems to necessitate a greater degree of litter alongside the riverbed. There really is no reason that we cannot make the extra several feet to the nearest recycling bin to throw away our water bottles and instead find it more acceptable to throw it in the Creek. If any of you see any trash along the riverbank, please do Cal, yourselves and the Creek a favor and pick it up! It makes for a much cleaner, biologically stable and overall more pleasant environment for all of us.
Observations aside, hopefully this next week I will finally be able to make it to the Nursery! I'm definitely looking forward to getting my hands dirty and making a contribution. Until next week!
Ah Homecoming Week. A time of numerous parents, hugs, ridiculously difficult to find parking and of course, investigating our local creek to check on its health.
My investigation this past week has resulted in some concern. I am of course, nowhere near an expert on biological matters, but my discovery of the presence of water sliders (family Gerridae, species unknown since there are over 1700 of them that differ in extremely intricate ways) on the surface of the water for the entire duration of the Creek on campus had me a bit perplexed. Although having a diversity of bugs and other creatures is touted to be an indication of good health for any aquatic environment, I have never seen these particular insects on healthy bodies of water that I have visited. If anyone can put my fears to rest please feel free to comment.
My walk down the Creek also resulted in me seeing a lot more trash along the entire length of the Creek than in previous runs. Although I would like to attribute this to a larger number of people present on campus I am saddened to see that this larger volume seems to necessitate a greater degree of litter alongside the riverbed. There really is no reason that we cannot make the extra several feet to the nearest recycling bin to throw away our water bottles and instead find it more acceptable to throw it in the Creek. If any of you see any trash along the riverbank, please do Cal, yourselves and the Creek a favor and pick it up! It makes for a much cleaner, biologically stable and overall more pleasant environment for all of us.
Observations aside, hopefully this next week I will finally be able to make it to the Nursery! I'm definitely looking forward to getting my hands dirty and making a contribution. Until next week!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Cal Creeks: A Walk to Remember (and Shameless Borrowing Of Famous Movie Titles)
Fellow environmentalists,
As you may or may not have noticed (for those of you that stayed inside and crammed for midterms) IT RAINED THIS PAST WEEK! I decided to take a stroll down Strawberry Creek to see what was going on within the stream itself.
As expected, the water flow was much faster in most parts of the river, except where fallen debris (both natural and man-made) had clogged up the flow. People tended to shy away from the creek, choosing instead to take the longer, less wet way around to Dwinelle from the SLC area, which was a shame if you took the time to look at the creek itself. The water may have been a dark murky brown due to the rapid flow of the water taking off parts of the bank with it but it still remained intriguing (especially for those that didn't mind getting their feet wet!). Areas with higher traffic, as expected, tended to get more polluted but I was still saddened to see a newspaper and a sandwich wrapper making their way down the stream. The areas underneath falls in height (since calling them waterfalls would be a tad dramatic) were also murky, and in some areas of the stream it was nearly impossible to see into the water or even walk your way past it with knee-high boots on! It seems that the power of the Creek never ceases to amaze.
I did wonder as I was passing by about how those crayfish that we saw earlier last week were faring. How did they fare against the elements? What happened to the species that resided in the river such as the 3 species of fish that were introduced to the habitat? It seems that some questions will have to wait until the next event however.
As much as I enjoyed the rain perhaps this next week, we will get to enjoy the Creek without the torrents of rain and thus have more individuals appreciating the beauty of a clear and hopefully unpolluted force of nature. Until next week!
As you may or may not have noticed (for those of you that stayed inside and crammed for midterms) IT RAINED THIS PAST WEEK! I decided to take a stroll down Strawberry Creek to see what was going on within the stream itself.
As expected, the water flow was much faster in most parts of the river, except where fallen debris (both natural and man-made) had clogged up the flow. People tended to shy away from the creek, choosing instead to take the longer, less wet way around to Dwinelle from the SLC area, which was a shame if you took the time to look at the creek itself. The water may have been a dark murky brown due to the rapid flow of the water taking off parts of the bank with it but it still remained intriguing (especially for those that didn't mind getting their feet wet!). Areas with higher traffic, as expected, tended to get more polluted but I was still saddened to see a newspaper and a sandwich wrapper making their way down the stream. The areas underneath falls in height (since calling them waterfalls would be a tad dramatic) were also murky, and in some areas of the stream it was nearly impossible to see into the water or even walk your way past it with knee-high boots on! It seems that the power of the Creek never ceases to amaze.
I did wonder as I was passing by about how those crayfish that we saw earlier last week were faring. How did they fare against the elements? What happened to the species that resided in the river such as the 3 species of fish that were introduced to the habitat? It seems that some questions will have to wait until the next event however.
As much as I enjoyed the rain perhaps this next week, we will get to enjoy the Creek without the torrents of rain and thus have more individuals appreciating the beauty of a clear and hopefully unpolluted force of nature. Until next week!
Restoration Induction
Greetings fellow environmentalists!
My name is Larisa and I'm going to be using this blog to detail my foray into the effort to restore Strawberry Creek at UC Berkeley to its original, undisturbed form- one free from any invasive species that choke off biodiversity and reduce the native plants' ability to thrive. Although a thick mat of ivy often gives the illusion of prosperity, last week taught me that not only does it choke off the native flora but also diminishes the local fauna since numerous species live in an mutually interdependent way that is extremely threatened by the disappearance of one of its constituents.
The several hour long restoration project was a battle against invasive species and the onset of physical exhaustion if you pulled the invasives out incorrectly (there is a reason that squatting low to the ground and pulling with our entire bodies was the way to go, a fact that I quickly discovered). The beginning of our session sported safety demonstrations and a bit of the history of the area as presented by Time Pine (the staff adviser for the Strawberry Creek Restoration Program) but also incorporated lighthearted jokes as we listened in on the wise advice to aim any sharp tools we would be using away from ourselves as well as any offending digits. It was a privilege to hear the advice and trials of those who had worked on the project before us, and I managed to widen my knowledge of the myriad of forms that knowledge takes as our facilitator rocketed off the Latin names of all of the species that we were out to protect (including Heteromeles arbutifolia and Umbellularia california). We also were personally assured of the presence of life in the Creek itself since we saw several pointer crayfish scrambling amongst the rocks at the bottom of the creek. I had realized that restricting oneself to interaction with the stereotypically "intellectual/difficult" majors had limited my views and I was glad to have gained the knowledge that nomenclature, among many other details associated with protecting the environment, were not easy systems to commit to memory or understand. With this newfound knowledge I trekked onwards, my clothes a little dirtier, my shoes a little scruffier but my mind a little sharper.
But why limit myself to just restoration events? Mayhaps the nursery awaits me this week as well? Only time will tell. Until next week!
My name is Larisa and I'm going to be using this blog to detail my foray into the effort to restore Strawberry Creek at UC Berkeley to its original, undisturbed form- one free from any invasive species that choke off biodiversity and reduce the native plants' ability to thrive. Although a thick mat of ivy often gives the illusion of prosperity, last week taught me that not only does it choke off the native flora but also diminishes the local fauna since numerous species live in an mutually interdependent way that is extremely threatened by the disappearance of one of its constituents.
The several hour long restoration project was a battle against invasive species and the onset of physical exhaustion if you pulled the invasives out incorrectly (there is a reason that squatting low to the ground and pulling with our entire bodies was the way to go, a fact that I quickly discovered). The beginning of our session sported safety demonstrations and a bit of the history of the area as presented by Time Pine (the staff adviser for the Strawberry Creek Restoration Program) but also incorporated lighthearted jokes as we listened in on the wise advice to aim any sharp tools we would be using away from ourselves as well as any offending digits. It was a privilege to hear the advice and trials of those who had worked on the project before us, and I managed to widen my knowledge of the myriad of forms that knowledge takes as our facilitator rocketed off the Latin names of all of the species that we were out to protect (including Heteromeles arbutifolia and Umbellularia california). We also were personally assured of the presence of life in the Creek itself since we saw several pointer crayfish scrambling amongst the rocks at the bottom of the creek. I had realized that restricting oneself to interaction with the stereotypically "intellectual/difficult" majors had limited my views and I was glad to have gained the knowledge that nomenclature, among many other details associated with protecting the environment, were not easy systems to commit to memory or understand. With this newfound knowledge I trekked onwards, my clothes a little dirtier, my shoes a little scruffier but my mind a little sharper.
But why limit myself to just restoration events? Mayhaps the nursery awaits me this week as well? Only time will tell. Until next week!
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