Friends of Sausal Creek |
In a small city park known as César Chávez Park, in the Fruitvale district of Oakland, runs a short open section of Peralta Creek. Hidden towards the rear entrance to the park, this creek has been subjected over the years to many alterations, including the installation of a bypass culvert to carry high flows, concrete retaining walls, and boulder rip-rap. Although the intent of these additions was to prevent the creek from flooding its banks and spilling into the neighboring houses, they have created an eyesore for the park. The creek, instead of being seen as an amenity, has been seen as a dumping ground. |
To change the attitude towards the creek and improve the local habitat, the Public Works Agency of the City of Oakland is planning a restoration and rehabilitation project funded by the California Department of Water Resources. Along with its project partners, the Urban Creeks Council, the Unity Council, and the Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, the city will implement a regrading and native-plant revegetation project. The plan calls for removing a section of the bypass culvert so that the banks can be regraded to a more gentle slope, thereby improving the visibility of the creek. This element of the restoration is an important one for the community because the current lack of visibility has led to the creek attracting undesirable activity. Changes to the creek will also improve the native-plant habitat diversity, control erosion of the banks, and improve access, making the creek a more enjoyable place to visit. The success of the project will depend not only upon the success of the revegetation but also on change in the community's attitude towards the creek. To increase community involvement and understanding of the need for the project, the city invited the community development organization, the Unity Council, to participate. The Unity Council organized a series of three community meetings where the restoration plan was explained and the community given an opportunity to provide their input and state their concerns. The city and the Unity Council have also started community-based water-quality monitoring and plant-propagation groups. Each of those groups meets on an every-other-month basis. The water-quality monitoring group meets in the park, and the plant propagation group meets at Joaquin Miller Park native-plant nursery that is run by the Friends of Sausal Creek. The plant group is helping to raise native plants that will be installed at the project site next December. The project is scheduled to go to construction in the summer of 2003. If you would like more information about the project or would like to get involved with water-monitoring or plant-propagation groups, contact Kristin Hathaway at the City of Oakland, at 238-7571. |
