Friends of Sausal Creek |
What do Chabot Space and Science Center, Dimond Park, the Fruitvale and Dimond communities, and the Oakland Estuary have in common? They all are part of the Sausal Creek watershed. A watershed is "the region draining into a river, river system, or body of water." The Sausal Creek watershed includes not only the creek and its critters, but also all the trees, flowers, plants, soil, and other geographic features that make up the drainage basin that flows into Sausal Creek. |
Chabot Space & Science Center and the Friends of Sausal Creek (FOSC) are working together to care for our local watershed. One branch of Sausal Creek at the top of the watershed starts at Chabot and connects into the main portion of the creek, which winds its way down through Dimond Park, the Dimond and Fruitvale Communities, and finally ends up at the Oakland Estuary. The Board of FOSC meets monthly at Chabot. Also, FOSC representatives participate in some of Chabot's weekend environmental programs. One issue in discussion recently between our two organizations is the increased runoff to the creek caused by one of Chabot's parking lots. This can create increased erosion and a deepening of the river channel. Therefore, we are now beginning a dialog to find ways to ameliorate the problem. As an Oakland native and lifetime resident of the Sausal Creek watershed who majored in Environmental Science at UC Berkeley, I am happy to serve on the board of FOSC and in my current position as Environmental Programs Instructor at Chabot. I hope to increase awareness about how we all can be better stewards of our local environment. Special upcoming environmental events:Garden Days, the second and fourth Saturday each month (April 10 and 24, May 8 and 22), we explore Planet Earth through indoor and outdoor activities in the areas of earth and environmental science. Earth Day (April 17), we will celebrate our planet, Earth. We'll offer special prizes, guest lectures, and a variety of hands-on activities. We'll also be debuting our Redwood Forest Exploration Back Packs for checkout while visiting. Current operating hours: Monday and Tuesday, closed (except during most holidays); Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Friday, for members and prebooked groups only, 5 to 10 p.m.); Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Want to get involved or help out? Join as a volunteer or a member. Also, we are looking for donations of old Legos to use in our Solar-Powered Rover Team Challenge, so that youth and families can compete to build and race solar cars for prizes. You can find us on the Web at www.chabotspace.org, or by phone at 336-7300. |
