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Volunteers Needed for New Projects Removing Invasive Plants
The East Bay Regional Park District is currently looking for volunteers for several habitat restoration projects as part of its invasive plant removal outreach program. The projects are short-term in April and May and include removing invasive plants from several parks. These are preliminary short-term projects as part of a comprehensive park-wide invasive plant program to be unrolled in the winter of 2008.
Projects are listed below:
- (New Project!) 9 a.m. - noon, Saturday, April 26 and May 24 – Wildcat Canyon Regional Park, Richmond. Looking for minimum of 3 and maximum of 15 volunteers.
- (New Project!) 9 a.m. - noon, Wednesdays (ongoing) – Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden, Berkeley. Looking for 4 or 5 volunteers.
- (New Project!) 9 a.m. - noon, Thursdays, April 10, 24 and May 8, 22 – Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, Oakland. Looking for 7 or 8 volunteers.
- (New Project!) Time TBA, Last Saturday (May to December) – Crown Memorial State Beach, Alameda. Looking for 30 volunteers.
- (New Project!) 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., 2nd Saturday (May to October) – Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland. Looking for 30 volunteers.
- (New Project!) 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., 3rd Sunday (May, June, September to December) – Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline and Point Isabel Regional Shoreline, Richmond. Looking for 20-25 volunteers.
Call or e-mail 510-544-2590 kfusek@ebparks.org for more information or to register for any of these new projects or to be notified of future projects.
- (Ongoing Project) Saturday, first Saturday of each month – Redwood Regional Park, removing French Broom – 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Skyline Gate on Skyline Boulevard in Oakland. Call 510-482-6024 or email redwood@ebparks.org for more information or to register.
- (Ongoing Project) Sunday, second Sunday of each month – Redwood Regional Park, Riparian Restoration Volunteer Project – 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Redwood Regional Park, 7867 Redwood Rd., Wayside Picnic Area in Oakland. Call 510-482-6024 or email redwood@ebparks.org for more information or to register.
Background: The East Bay Regional Park District faces many challenges in managing nearly 100,000 acres of open space. One of the greatest challenges is the threat of invasive plants such as French broom, yellow starthistle, fennel, and now oblong spurge, just to name a few. Invasive plants are harmful, non-native plants that are introduced into an environment in which they did not evolve. "Invasives" often have no natural enemies allowing them to out-compete native plants. The spread of invasive plants is profound and rapid, negatively changing the landscape and environment. The district uses several methods to control invasive plants such as prescribed burns, but for obvious reasons like urbanization, this method is limited. Another way to control this spread is to pull the invasive plants before they can get established, and for this the District is indebted to its hardworking volunteers.
The Park District hosts several invasive plant removal projects at various parks throughout the winter and spring. Currently, the District is expanding these projects and designing a new volunteer program and education series specifically aimed at removing invasive plants and restoration projects in the regional parks. This is a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a volunteer group, become active in the community, develop new friendships, and do something important for the environment!
