Friends of Sausal Creek
Bringing Back the Natives

by Joan Lohman

If you've been hiking recently between rain showers on Dimond Canyon trail, you've noticed the lattice of erosion-control blankets on the west side of Sausal Creek at El Centro, where 550 native riparian and oak understory plants have been skillfully placed by Oakland High's volunteers with Earth Team. The project, which Friends of Sausal Creek cosponsors, is designed to teach high school science students about ecological restoration.

All the plants for the Dimond Canyon restoration project were grown at Joaquin Miller Park Native Plant Nursery, a cooperative project of Friends of Sausal Creek and the City of Oakland. The Nursery will hold its first-ever Native Plant Sale on Sunday, May 7, as part of the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tours, an annual event featuring self-guided tours of 60 East Bay gardens. Native plants will be on sale at over a dozen locations, and some lucky gardener will win a free landscape consultation. For more details about the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tours, go to bringingbackthenatives.net.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Joaquin Miller nursery will be open for visitors, lessons in propagation, and purchases. The demonstration garden contains over 100 species native to the Sausal Creek watershed. At 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., garden visitors will be invited to join a hands-on workshop, "Learn How to Propagate California Native Plants." Prices will range from inexpensive annuals in two-inch pots to buckeyes and maples in three- and five-gallon pots. To download a list of available plants, go to www.sausalcreek.org/plantsale.html.

"You can get your hands dirty and also think about how to create habitat in your own yard for beneficial birds and insects," says Field Coordinator Kristen Hoppper. "Backyard habitats create an important corridor for wildlife."

"Even with just a little space, you can give native plants a toehold in your yard," continued Hopper. "It's beneficial to have plants that attract bees, like the bee plant, which also creates groundcover and prevents erosion."

Hopper suggested wild ginger as a groundcover substitute for ivy, and yarrow to fill space with a pleasant flowering plant. "If you want to attract hummingbirds, try hummingbird fuchsia," she added. "Hedge nettle is also an excellent cover and will form a mat under dappled shade, again, good for erosion."

Before planting a total of 550 natives at Dimond Canyon, Oakland High students and Friends of Sausal Creek volunteers cleared the area of invasive, nonnative plants such as Cape and Algerian ivy and Himalayan blackberry. This month the students will return to count their plants and determine survivorship.

"With a prayer to the rain gods, we hope that the plants will establish themselves and add diversity and vitality to the ecology of this wonderful stretch of creek," commented Hopper. "So many ecosystems have been fragmented by development and by invasive species. Where there is only one major plant, like Cape ivy, it becomes a green desert," she added. "You will see only that one species. If the ivy is removed, you might see 20 or more different plant species. Biological diversity offers forage for wild creatures."

On Earth Day, April 22, volunteers coordinated by Friends of Sausal Creek worked to remove Algerian ivy growing up oak trees in Dimond Canyon in an effort to create an ivy-free space at the base of each tree. Ivy is a significant threat to the health of Oakland's California live oaks.

The Native Plant Nursery is at 3594 Sanborn Road, behind the Woodminster Amphitheater. From Highway 13, take the Lincoln Avenue/Joaquin Miller Exit up the hill, going east on Joaquin Miller for three-quarters of a mile. Turn left onto Sanborn Road. Look for the "Native Plant Nursery" sign in the median.