• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

CNPS East Bay

  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
    • Members Meetings
    • Field Trips
    • Donate
    • Membership in CNPS
    • Restoration Projects
    • Stay Connected
  • Gardening
  • Conservation & Science
    • Conservation Committee
    • East Bay Rare Plants
    • Plants of the East Bay
    • Database of Rare and Unusual Plants
    • Research Grants Program
  • Publications
    • Bay Leaf Archives
    • News Archive
    • Guidebook to Botanical Priority Protection Areas
    • Annotated checklist of the East Bay Flora
    • Resources
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Mission Statement
    • Officers & Committees
    • Press

News · November 30, 2020

Restoring Habitat and Pandemic-Weary Volunteers

French broom (Genista monspessulana) at Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park (with the tool of its future destruction). Photo by Wendy Tokuda, CC-BY-NC 4.0.

Our CNPS East Bay Chapter’s restoration projects check all the boxes for COVID-19 safety: we don’t share tools, we severely limit the number of people involved at any given time, and we work with way more than six feet of social distancing.

East Bay chapter volunteers besieged several of the most invasive plant taxa in 2020: French broom (Genista monspessulana), Algerian sea lavender (Limonium ramosissimum), Cape ivy (Delairea odorata), periwinkle (Vinca spp.), and Italian and bull thistles (Carduus pycnocephalus and Cirsium vulgare). With permission, experienced individual volunteers returned to restoration sites in regional and municipal parks even after the pandemic restrictions stopped organized crews. Except for a few weeks of the worst air quality, restoration volunteers persisted everywhere in public open spaces, from El Cerrito’s Hillside Natural Area and Richmond’s Point Isabel to Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park in Oakland, and east to Walnut Creek’s Shell Ridge and sites stewarded by Friends of Orinda and Alhambra Creeks.

It has been good for the habitat and good for the volunteers. Says one volunteer, “COVID has been wonderful for weed eradication projects. Some of us are working weekly in the parks and the difference is dramatic.… Bonus, we get outside in fresh air, and it has done wonders for my mood and sanity.”

— Janet Gawthrop, Restoration project leader, Sibley Volcanic and Huckleberry Botanic regional preserves

The Stinkwort Project

Before
After

Making the East Bay a better place by eradicating stinkwort (Dittrichia graveolens). Photos by Barbara M. Leitner.

Ten years ago, I started noticing stinkwort (Dittrichia graveolens) near my town. Stinkwort is a moderately invasive, rapidly spreading weed. It has no value to wildlife, it’s toxic to livestock, it’s persistent…and it causes a nasty rash. Not much to like. Just seeing it made me feel bad.

I started removing stinkwort to make myself feel better. I began working with some agencies (Caltrans, EBMUD, Contra Costa Public Works, towns’ public works, schools) to get access, and to get support, like accepting bags of debris. That’s a small request, but my involvement keeps weeds more in managers’ minds.

Can one person—plus a few friends—make a difference? I say yes. We have much less stinkwort here. And word is getting out. I hand out informational brochures. I speak to neighbors and friends. I put notices on Nextdoor. Next year I will write articles for local newspapers.

Here are my two takeaways. One, this project gives me a deeper knowledge of my environment, the people and the land; I love that. Two, sure, I’m the wacky weed lady, but some people I engage with will go away caring a little more about their landscape too. I’m happy to share that love.

Want to find out more, join me, or start your own project? Please do!

— Barbara M. Leitner, Conservation Committee and Native Here Nursery Committee member
December 2020

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to our newsletter

Upcoming Events:

April 1, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Garber Park Stewards Restoration (Oakland) (Restoration Project)
April 10, 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Marin CNPS Meeting (Zoom): Creating a Bee, Butterfly and Bird Restaurant and Building Community Along the Way (On-line Lecture)
April 13, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Redbud CNPS Meeting (Zoom): Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change – A 25-Year Journey (On-line Lecture)
April 15, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Garber Park Stewards Restoration (Oakland) (Restoration Project)
April 15, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Bringing Back the Natives Tour: Online version (Garden Tour)
April 16, 9:30 am - 12:00 pm
Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve (Oakland) (Restoration Project)
April 22, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Garber Park Stewards Restoration – Earth Day ! (Oakland) (Restoration Project)
April 29, 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Albany Hill Restoration Project (Albany) (Restoration Project)

Join CNPS

Footer

  • FacebookFacebook
  • InstagramInstagram
  • MeetupMeetup
  • YouTubeYouTube

Copyright © 2023 California Native Plant Society, East Bay Chapter — CNPS Privacy Policy