Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation |
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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. Working to Acquire Open Space
on Acalanes Ridge
You may have read that Muir Heritage Land Trust is acquiring about 23 acres of open space on Acalanes Ridge adjacent to Walnut Creek's Acalanes Open Space. The Open Space Foundation has been active in working with neighbors on Acalanes Ridge, the City of Walnut Creek. the East Bay Regional Park District and Muir Heritage Land Trust to make this acquisition happen. The Cities of Walnut Creek and Lafayette and the East Bay Regional Park district have each contributed about $400,000 in funds provided by Measure WW which area voters passed in 2008. Muir Heritage will be raising $450,000 to close the funding gap. This acquisition will be owned by Muir Heritage but it will be open to all area residents. This land is important to us for its unparalleled views and its wildlife corridor that strengthens the connection between the existing Acalanes Open Space and other open space lands in the area. The image to the right shows a small part of the 360° view from this property. The Open Space Foundation will contribute from our Land Acquisition Fund toward this purchase. We are asking our members, Walnut Creek residents, and the general public to contribute to ensure that this acquisition can be completed and that it is opened and managed for the enjoyment of all. If we do not raise the money, the land will be developed. Please contribute generously to help us preserve this valuable open space on Acalanes Ridge. Send your check (payable to Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation) to Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation P.O. Box 309 Walnut Creek, CA 94597-0309 Come Help us Restore Open Space
We can use your help as a volunteer in our activities. We are checking oak seddlings, controlling weeds, building our plant nursery and doing other priojects. Look at the list of events below or on the calendar page and pick an activity and date that suit you. Contact us and sign up! Volunteer Opportunities on Weekdays Many of our activities are held on weekends to fit the schedules of people who work or attend school on weekdays. We now have regular activities during the week for volunteers who are free during the week, Click on the underlined group description for more information.
Fire in Shell Ridge Open Space
There was a wildfire in Shell ridge Open Space on Friday June 11 burning about 180 acres from the Briones - .Mount Diablo regional Trail across the top of Shell Ridge. Here are some photos taken by Brad Heckman, Cooper Ogden and David Ogden. Cooper and David Ogden's pictures SmugMug Galleries The next four images on the right are taken from walks around our open space. Click on the spider image to see more pictures of bugs we've seen on wildflowers. Click on the butterflies image to see those pictures and pictures of wildflowers. These links take you to photo galleries on the SmugMug website where some of our members display their photos. We have links to other galleries and information on viewing images at SmugMug here. If you haven't visited SmugMug before, here are some pointers: You can view images in several styles: as a page of just thumbnails (All Thumbs), several pages with thumbnails on the left and a single larger image on the right side of the web page (SmugMug style) or as a slide show. You can change the style using the Style control. You can also view images at the original size to see all the details. Slide the mouse to the right side of the large picture in the SmugMug view. A menu will slide out and you can click on "original" or other sizes. When you are finished viewing the original size image, scroll to the top of the web page and click on "close". We will be adding more links to SmugMug galleries as we get them organized. In cooperation with the California Bluebird Recovery Program (www.cbrp.org), Foundation members including Brian Murphy and Bob Brittain have been constructing, installing and monitoring nest boxes for bluebirds in our open space. Western bluebirds and several other species of native cavity-nesting birds have been raising their young in these nest boxes. Click here for a pictorial essay with photos of nests, eggs, chicks, and parent birds! If you are interested in adopting a bluebird trail in Walnut Creek, please contact Bob at bobbrittain@astound.net or at 925-938-5831. Other New Material 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. We're
Restoring Bayberry Pond
In 2008 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 that
summer
provided an opportunity to do habitat restoration in the area near the
pond. Foundation volunteers have been hard at work and more
activities will be listed below and on our calendar page as they are
planned.
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 projects including restoration of oak
habitat and quail habitat, riparian corridor restoration, removing
invasive exotic plants or establishing the Nature Area at Heather Farm
Park.September Activities
September 1 - 1st & 3rd Wednesday group. Email us if you'd like to be notified about our activities on each work day. (Click on the meeting place name for directions. Click here for more info on these and other activities.) Open
Space map here
The Walnut Creek Open Space Staff has allowed us to post their Open Space trail map as two PDF files viewable with Adobe Reader. For Reference Click on these links for older articles Open Space Vision Project Report Rare
Plants found on Lime Ridge |
Click on any image to see a larger photo or a gallery of photos. (including the images above.) ![]() The view toward Suisun Bay from the new Acalanes property. Click on the image for a brief slideshow. ![]() The acquisition will close half the gap between the two pieces of Acalanes Open Space ![]() Crab spider on Mule's ear flower Click on the image for more bug pictures ![]() Pale blue butterflies mating Click for more images from the Ridge Top Trail ![]() blue eyed grass Click for other flower pictures from Shell Ridge ![]() A white Mariposa lily in Lime ridge. Click on the image for a gallery of Lime Ridge pictures. ![]() Western bluebird ![]() Excavating Bayberry Pond 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. |