Friends of Strawberry Creek,
Every semester there is a shining date in the calendar that doesn’t seem to come soon enough. It is on this day that Berkeley Project sends a solid work-force over to Strawberry Creek in an effort to restore native biodiversity. The weather forecast on Saturday predicted a small batch of rain, but that didn’t deter any of our potential volunteers. Showing up an hour early, our crew was ready to work from the get-go. Oddly enough all of the volunteers were female, and they had something to prove. We conducted our business in the Goodspeed Natural Area. This site has not been touched by our restoration efforts in the past, but our new friends were not intimidated by the vast monoculture of invasive plants. Working harder than many fraternities these gals starting ripping out invasive ivy as if there were no tomorrow. Complex roots, dead squirrels, and glaring sun were no match for these heroes as they spent the majority of their midterm-season Saturday conducting restoration.
Throughout our work-day we took breaks to discuss some natural history of the local area. David and I were surprised at how inquisitive the volunteers were, and there were some terrific exchanges. David discussed the difference in Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and Coastal Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), which were both present at the site! Conversely, other students borrowed a pair of binoculars to determine what bird life was in the local vicinity while yet another group of students found an Aneides lugubris (Arboreal Salamander)!!
This restoration event was a great way to kick-off efforts in the Goodspeed Ecological Natural Area. I’m already starting to countdown the days until Berkeley Project Fall 2011. Please contact me if you have any questions, or want original picture files.
Take Care,
~Tyler ‘Fungi’ Grinberg~
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