ebcnps
Field Trips
There will be an autumn field trip to the Vaqueros Farms property recently acquired by East Bay Regional Parks, for a treasure hunt of alkaline vegetation. This land is still closed to public access. If you are interested, RSVP to janetgawthrop47@gmail.com. If you are not already signed up for the East Bay listserve, you can do so by e-mailing Martha Booz at mlbooz@calnatives.com to receive further updates about this trip.
Saturday, September 4, at 9:00 am, Skyline Gate at Redwood Regional Park
Join the park staff to remove Genista, but also to monitor habitat changes since the trails and roads crew widened the East Ridge Trail in mid-August. All are welcome, but anyone with previous experience on East Ridge Trail can contribute memories or photos of vegetation to keep track of machine grading on the surrounding parkland. Bring gloves and tools, or park staff can loan those to you.
Directions: From Highway 13, exit at Park and turn left at both the traffic light at the exit ramp and again at the traffic light for Mountain and Park. Follow Mountain northwest for several blocks to the traffic light for Mountain and Snake. Turn right (uphill) onto Snake. In one short block, you will reach a fork where Shepherd Canyon Road goes straight uphill and Snake turns left. Follow Shepherd Canyon Road uphill to its end at the intersection with Skyline. Turn right onto Skyline and follow it south; turn off at the Skyline parking lot on the left.
Saturdays, September 11 and October 9, 9:30 am, Restoration crew at Huckleberry Regional Preserve
We will revisit the knoll and canyon near the entrance, to keep several invasive species in check over this cool, moist summer. Volunteers can work in one of several locations near the entrance. If you want to go further into the preserve to pull cape ivy or veldt grass, then be sure to take a bag so the weed seeds do not stay behind. There will be large plastic bags, water and snacks, and some tools available at the entrance. Bring gloves, or send an e-mail to janetgawthrop47@gmail.com if you need to borrow a pair.
Directions: Exit Highway 13 at either Park (from the south) or Moraga/Thornhill( from the north). From Park, turn left over 13 and left again onto Mountain. Turn left at the stoplight for Mountain and Snake, and turn right (uphill) on Snake. After a very short distance, Snake will split, with the left-hand fork keeping the same name and winding hard to the left. Stay on the left fork--the right side is Shepherd Canyon Road. Follow Snake uphill until it ends at the stop sign at Skyline Blvd. Turn left onto Skyline and follow it a short distance to the Huckleberry parking lot on the right. From Moraga/Thornhill, proceed straight through the traffic light on Moraga. Moraga runs south parallel to 13 and changes its name to Mountain. Turn left (uphill) onto Snake at the traffic light for Mountain and Snake, and follow the previous directions to Huckleberry.
Larry Abers
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Larry, John Game, and Jeff Greenhouse have a chance encounter in the wilderness. Photo by Delia Taylor. |
Larry Abers, EB chapter activist and plant photographer familiar to many of us from wonderful field trips, workshops, lectures and other activities, died on the evening of July 30th while he was camping at Tuolumne Meadows at the beginning of the Jepson Herbarium Alpine Botany Workshop in Yosemite. Those with him at the time said that he was relaxed and in good spirits until he suddenly lost consciousness from an apparent heart attack and could not be revived.
I had known Larry for some time, especially through Jepson workshops, which he attended once or twice a year, accompanied recently by his companion Britt Thorsnes. We shared a strong interest in photography, and he was always very helpful, encouraging, and friendly. I remember him particularly from San Miguel Island, where the plants were so good that I ran out of film. He provided a spare roll and shared his top-of-the line lenses. Larry liked to visit Anza Borrego in the spring of most years, and this year he encountered our CNPS group by chance in Borrego Palm Canyon. He had found an unusual penstemon that most of us had never seen, and obligingly retraced his steps to show it to the group (see Delia Taylor’s photograph). Later, I talked more about penstemons with Larry on the excellent San Jacinto Mountains workshop in May. Early in July, Larry came to Berkeley and we visited the herbarium to talk at length with others about plant locations in Oregon, where Larry was going to look for rare Calochortus species. The genus was always a favorite with Larry, me and others in our loop, and he would, as always, share his enthusiasm and information about it. We had talked of going to Oregon together one day, but sadly it wasn’t to be. His knowledge, warmth, companionship and generosity will be missed by many.
John Game
He was a long-time boy scout troop leader and took the boys out on many outdoor and nature outings, including rafting on the Klamath River. He was also a dedicated desert rat and arranged his schedule most years so he could spend as much of the spring in various southern deserts as possible, much of it on his own.
It was when he gave his first lecture/slide show at the Botanic Garden earlier this decade that I realized he not only took great photos of the flora, but also was a wonderful all-around nature photographer with fabulous shots of birds, mammals, reptiles/amphibians, insects, landscapes, etc. In addition, he shared wonderful stories of his experiences as he roamed the natural world. I always looked forward to his annual slide show at the Garden.
I was lucky to have been friends with both Larry and his girlfriend Britt Thorsnes separately before they “found” each other and fell in love, and so feel fortunate that I witnessed that wonderful relationship from its beginnings. They went on so many terrific nature explorations during their years together, including participating in several Jepson Herbarium workshops.
More recently, this past year Larry led two field trips for our chapter for the first time, helped the Regional Parks botanist monitor rare plant populations, and volunteered regularly with Britt to get the Bay Leaf mailing out on time; they have been volunteering at the plant fair each fall as well. Also, this spring he confirmed Britt’s rediscovery of a fairly large population of the rare Oakland star tulip, Calochortus umbellatus, (not reported since the 1960’s) on or adjacent to EBMUD land near Wildcat Canyon Road. I am glad to have seen Larry grow through the years in his relationship with and contribution to native plants through both our chapter of CNPS and the Regional Parks Botanic Garden. We will miss him..
Celia Zavatsky
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