Jingletown and Shoreline Martin Luther King, Jr. Workday 

If you stand at the mouth of Sausal Creek at Fruitvale Bridge Park, you are on the San Francisco Bay Trail. The vision for this planned 500-mile trail is to build a continuous shoreline bicycle and pedestrian path that runs through all nine Bay Area counties, 47 cities, and across seven toll bridges. Although you cannot currently go under Fruitvale Bridge to connect to the Bay Trail in Jingletown, there are several options to navigate from this point. Check out the Bay Trail's navigational map.

We invite you to learn the history of the waterway along this section of shoreline on a walking tour with local historian Dennis Evanosky the morning of January 12. This event takes place during one of the King Tides of 2017, and participants are encouraged to bring their cameras to help document what our daily tides may look like in the future as a result of sea level rise. Please wear sturdy shoes. Click  here for more information on the California King Tides Project.

The success of FOSC's work depends on the participation and enthusiasm of local community volunteers--people who have formed a connection and love for the creek and the surrounding watershed and who have a desire to give back to it. One such volunteer is Amanda Ma. Amanda first volunteered with FOSC in 2010 at Dimond Park and Dimond Canyon with the local service organization buildOn. In 2012 she participated in our summer internship program in between her sophomore and junior years at Oakland High School, learning about the natural resources of the watershed and working on environmental stewardship projects over the course of six weeks. After the internship she started volunteering as a crew leader for almost all of FOSC's large Earth Day and Creek to Bay Day events, as well as helping out occasionally behind the scenes to move plants and help our staff prepare for programs. Four years later she is still a volunteer crew leader with FOSC, most recently planting native trees along the creek in Dimond Canyon during our December 2016 solstice planting event. Over the years Amanda has also gotten involved with conservation efforts with the Student Conservation Association, and she is now a junior at U.C. Berkeley studying Forestry and Natural Resources. Thank you, Amanda, for all of your help and your continuous enthusiasm and can-do attitude! The creek has been lucky to have you as a steward all of these years.

The Oakland City Council has designated Dimond Park as one of the park prioritization sites for the fiscal years of 2015-2017. Attend the Dimond Park meeting on Sat., Jan. 21, 10 a.m.-noon at Dimond Recreation Center to let city staff know what you see as priority projects for Dimond Park.

Calendar the upcoming  Bay Currents talks to learn about natural history and environmental issues: otters (Jan. 10), Mt. Diablo (Feb. 14), stopping the coal and oil trains (March 14), and the workings of California rivers and lakes (April 18).

The  Santa Clara County Creeks Coalition is launching a new docent training program to promote education and stewardship of the Coyote Creek Watershed. If you want to train with a professional naturalist so you can lead future educational walks, contact [email protected] or (510) 621-3147.

Photo Credits: Rebecca Armstrong, Megan Hess, Michelle Krieg, Kimra McAfee, Jill Sunahara