Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation

The 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.

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 map

Back 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.

(Click on the meeting place name for directions. Click here for more info on these and other activities.)

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.

Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation

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