Watershed Stewardship Program A project designed to inspire environmental stewardship for Strawberry Creek’s Upper Watershed
Where We Work:
Water quality monitoring
Environmental Education
The Lower Jordan Fire Trail
Sustainable Business
Enjoyed by students, community members, visitors from afar, and dogs alike, the Jordan Fire Trail is located in Strawberry Canyon’s upper watershed, just behind the University’s main campus. The trailhead to the Lower Jordan Fire Trail (depicted at right) is located on the right side of Centennial Drive, just before the UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens.
Hands-on restoration to restore native habitat
Protecting Strawberry Creek’s Upper Watershed
Purpose • To protect the vitality of Strawberry Creek by using a holistic approach of environmental protection in the Strawberry Creek Watershed. Approaches include Green Business, water quality monitoring, environmental education, and hands-on restoration! • To promote ecological literacy regarding watershed issues among Berkeley community members.
Along the Lower Jordan Fire Trail. (L R): Joggers, Strawberry Creek, Coast Live Oaks. Photos courtesy of Ken Cheetham.
Highlighted Accomplishments (2012-2013) Surveyed users of the Jordan Fire Trail to establish metrics regarding number of people who use the trail, awareness of flora and fauna along the trail, reasons for use of the trail, presence of dogs, and any suggested improvements.
Canvassed seven Northside businesses for the Bay Area Green Business Registration Program. Assisted Nefeli Café with registration process.
Drafted five interpretive signs for installation along the trail. Rough drafts for three are shown below (LR, TB: Welcome, Fire Prevention, Pollution, Biodiversity, Invasive Species).
At the corner of Hearst & Euclid. Courtesy of Google Earth.
Presented our work to local community members, AP Environmental Science students from Berkeley High, and college students from the Bay Area. These were promotional opportunities for us to showcase our work in the upper watershed while raising awareness about local watershed issues. The topics we presented on ranged from environmental leadership to restoration efforts on campus.
Led two restoration events along Jordan Fire Trail. 60’ Updated Student Restoration Leadership Handbook to include a more comprehensive approach to the environmental protection of Strawberry Creek’s watershed, as well as an extension of existing invasive/native species identification guide. This handbook will be made available online at our website, strawberrycreek.berkeley.edu, and blog, calcreeks.blogspot.com. Come check us out to find more information about your neighborhood creek and how you can get involved!
of invasive brush (including thistle and broom) cleared during Restoration Event #1; 8 native toyons planted during Restoration Event #2.
L R: Toyon, French Broom, Thistle. Photos courtesy of Ken Cheetham.
Meet the WSP team! Tim Pine (EH&S) Veronica Chew (Project Manager) Carolyn Orson (Former Project Manager) Katy Nomura (Project Coordinator) Justin Skootsky (Outreach Intern) Thank you to The Green Initiative Fund for their generous support.