Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation |
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NavigationAbout WCOSFJoin the WCOSF How to Volunteer Contact Us WCOSF Projects Schedule of Activities Oak Restoration Quail Habitat Exotic Pest Plant Control Riparian Habitat Heather Farm Park Restoration Native Grasses Education Programs Recommended Walks Directions to Entrances Photo Galleries Nature - what's here Articles on various topics Plants Wildlife What is it? guides What can I see now? Search this web site Contact the webmaster City of Walnut Creek Open Space web pages |
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Welcome to Our Web SiteThe Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation works to preserve and enhance Walnut Creek's nearly 3000 acres of open space and to educate area residents so that they can enjoy this wonderful resource. The Foundation is a purely volunteer organization that performs habitat restoration projects in the open space and supports open space related activities sponsored by the City of Walnut Creek. Members support these projects through their membership dues and by contributing their time and skills. Click here to learn about our projects and other activities. Click here to find out how you can volunteer or become a Foundation member. Activity
and
Weather Update
Check here for information on changes to activities and for open space status. Open Space map here
The Walnut Creek Open Space Staff has allowed us to post their Open Space trail map as two PDF files. You will find the front and back sides of the map at Front side of OS trail mapBack side of OS trail map In the past, our Fioundation has contributed to the cost of printing this map and we are happy to provide the map in online form. You will need Adobe Reader (from adobe.com) or the equivalent software to view the maps. You can zoom in and out to see the trails of interest to you. Website Additions We have added three items to the website. First, there's an article on our riparian habitat projects. Second, we have a new gallery called Out of Sight which shows the clues animals leave to their presence. And third, there's a list of wildflowers seen on a late March walk in Acalanes Open Space. We hope to create a series of these which will cover the whole wildflower season. One of the treasures in Acalanes is baby blue eyes, an enormously appealing wildflower, blue with a white center – see the photo on the right.
Three
New
Projects
In July 2008 the Foundation received a $10,000 Civic Pride Grant from the City of Walnut Creek that will partially defray the expense of three new projects: deepening Bayberry Pond in Lime Ridge North, removing old ranch equipment from the Bob Wisecarver Quail Habitat at Borges Ranch, and extending the Habitat toward Twin Ponds. The remainder of the cost was covered by membership dues. We have made progress on all three. Click here for additional information and photos. We're
Restoring Bayberry Pond
This fall the
Foundation used a
Civic Pride Grant to fund restoration of Bayberry Pond near the
Bayberry Court entrance to Lime Ridge Open Space. (North)
Accumulated sediment was removed from the pond so that it
will
retain water longer in the spring. A nearby grass fire last summer
provided an opportunity to do habitat restoration in the area near the
pond. Foundation volunteers have been hard at work already and more
activities will be listed below and on our calendar page as they are planned.
Come celebrate Heritage Day at Borges Ranch on June 13
For many years, Borges Ranch was a working cattle ranch and home to the Borges family. The Open Space staff hosts Heritage Dday to provide our residents a chance to see how ranch families lived in the Walnut Creek area. This is a family event with plenty of activities for children and adults. This announcement by the open Space staff describes the event. New Plants
Found on Lime Ridge
Two
new plants have been discovered in Lime Ridge Open Space by botanist
David Gowen of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS).
His 2008 discovery of Lime Ridge Navarrettia and Lime Ridge
Woolystar is the result of years of careful observation and research. Pictures
of the plants and of David Gowen are in the right column. Bob Simmons, past President of the Foundation, stressed that "the discovery demonstrates the wisdom of those who more than 30 years ago worked so hard to protect the open space areas in and around Walnut Creek. It also underscores the importance of very carefully managing this special area with a primary emphasis on protecting and preserving the unique biological resources that are present at Lime Ridge." Seth Adams of Save Mount Diablo organized the announcement of this important find. CNPS, Save Mount Diablo and our Open Space Foundation are cooperating with Walnut Creek's Open Space Staff to develop ideas for protecting the plants. Click here to read the press release issued by this working group and the City of Walnut Creek.These discoveries would not have been possible without the open space bond issue passed by residents in 1974, the continuing support of the City of Walnut Creek and the diligence of Walnut Creek's Open Space staff and the Open Space Foundation. Volunteers
Needed!
The Foundation needs your help to
accomplish its
goals. The pictures on the right illustrate the range of
volunteers who work with the Foundation. Many of these
volunteers
come out for one work session. We always need a core of
people
who can help these one time volunteers be productive. Contact us
if you can help with any of our products including restoration of oak
habitat and quail habitat, riparian corridor restoration, removing
invasive exotic plants or establishing the Nature Area at Heather Farm
Park.June, July and August Activities
June 6 - Watering oak seedlings at Lime Ridge north. Meet at 8:30 AM at the Rock Oak Drive entrance. (Groups should email for reservations.) June 27 - Watering oak seedlings at Lime Ridge north. Meet at 8:30 AM at the Rock Oak Drive entrance. (Groups should email for reservations.) July 25 - Watering oak seedlings at Lime Ridge north. Meet at 8:30 AM at the Rock Oak Drive entrance. (Groups should email for reservations.) August 22 - Watering oak seedlings at Lime Ridge north. Meet at 8:30 AM at the Rock Oak Drive entrance. (Groups should email for reservations.) (Click on the meeting place name for directions. Click here for more info on these and other activities.) Open
Space Vision Project Update The Task Force has completed a draft report to the PROS Commission. The Commission reviewed the report and accepted further public input at its regular meeting on Monday July 7. Foundation President Bob Simmons thanked the Task Force and the PROS Commission for the report and emphasized the need for the Open Space Staff to have flexibility in dealing with issues arising from cattle grazing. The Task Force will make final revisions based on the comments by Commissioners and the public and issue the final report. The draft Task Force report and Appendices are now available on-line (click on the underlined links to view the documents): Draft Open Space Vision Project Report Draft Open Space Vision Project Report Appendices Notes from the workshops – transcribed directly from flip charts and oral statements as Word or PDF files. - November 10, 2007 - Word PDF - January 17, 2008 - Word PDF - February 9, 2008 - Word PDF Complete survey results of the on-line and written surveys as a Word or PDF file.. A background report and appredices written before the workshops are also available as PDF files. Background report - part 1 Background report - part 2 Background Report - Appendices For more information, contact: Dan Cather, Public Services Manager (925) 943-5854 cather@walnut-creek.org Bob Wisecarver On May 29, 2008, Bob Wisecarver passed away. He was a person of intelligence and originality. He applied those qualities to a number of projects to benefit wildlife and the natural environment. He conceived and led the quail habitat project near Borges Ranch and the project to improve riparian habitat in Lime Ridge Open Space. He was a tireless worker on his own and other people's Open Space projects and a leader who attracted volunteers to help him achieve his vision. He was active throughout northern California in creating habitat for bats.In recognition of his contribution to wildlife habitat in the Shell Ridge Open Space, the City of Walnut Creek named the area he worked in as the "Bob Wisecarver Quail Habitat Restoration Area". Click here for a picture of Bob with the sign identifying his Quail Habitat Restoration Area. Foundation Board Members Honored Board members Ralph Kraetsch and Dick Daniel were honored at the May 2008 meeting of the Walnut Creek Park, Recreation and Open Space Commission. Their work began with Dick's experiments near Bob Pond at Borges Ranch in 1989. In the fall of 1991, Ralph recruited volunteers to help with collecting and planting acorns and watering the resulting oak seedlings. Ralph and Dick have continued to plant and nurture oaks since then. Their work has produced hundreds of healthy oaks in our open space. Board member William Hunt and past board member Lesley Hunt were honored at the July 2008 meeting of the Commission for their work on restoration projects and other volunteer activities. |
Click on any image to see a larger photo. (including the images above.) California poppy, Acalanes ![]() Baby blue eyes in Acalanes OS ![]() Excavating Bayberry Pond ![]() Ranger Bruce works at the anvil in the blacksmith shop ![]() ![]() Lime Ridge Woolystar. photo by Scott Hein ![]() David Gowen with Navarrettia. photo by Scott Hein. People we work with ![]() Sun Terrace Elementary School students with trays of native plants. ![]() Week of Caring volunteers like these from Chevron help us propagate native plants every September.
The Volunteer Center of the East Bay helps us connect with students from area high schools. Hundreds of students help with our projects each year. ![]() Local residents from 12 to 90 help us with our projects too. |