Friends of Sausal Creek
Soul of an Oak Nurtures Dimond Park

by Mark Rauzon

The soul of Sausal Creek resides in an ancient oak in Dimond Park. This venerable tree lives next to the scout hut near the pool. Perhaps the oldest and largest oak in Oakland, this battered behemoth is a survivor of another era. It saw the original residents of Sausal canyon come and go. Who knows? Maybe a grizzly bear sharpened his claws on the tree it's old enough to have been a substantial oak even 200 years ago. With a circumference just shy of 15 feet, the tree must be 500 years old. A "sacred tree" indeed, as Gary Snyder the poet/wilderness writer suggests. Why not dedicate the life of this witness of hundreds of years of canyon life to the restoration of the wellspring that waters its roots, shelters the birds in its branches, and binds a community together?

The scout hut itself is rich with local history, the kind future generations will search for in strip malls without success. The next time you visit our garden, pause and read the plaque on the hut. Built in 1897, "Dimond Cottage" was first a playhouse for area youth and was in use until 1924, when it was destroyed by fire. The adobe walls and stone arch are all that's left. The 1893 bell hangs in the headquarters of the Dimond Volunteer Fire Department serving "as a reminder of the unflinching sacrifice of volunteer firemen." The new building was dedicated in 1955. Adobe bricks reputed to be from the original Peralta homestead have been incorporated into the scout hut's north-facing walls. The old oak literally thrives in the dust of the past. The scout hut is central to the many Friends of Sausal Creek projects.

The "tragedy of the commons" (where individual users of a resource collectively but unknowingly diminish its value) has been averted here. Instead, Friends of Sausal Creek volunteers maintain the public park for a variety of user groups who may not even be aware of the Friends of Sausal Creek, the oak, or the power of restoration. The Dimond Oak watches in patient regard, holding together the living center of the watershed. The next time you pass her, reflect a moment on this grand living being and wonder how much water has flowed down Sausal Creek since she was an acorn.