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Black-headed grosbeak bathing in Palo Seco Creek, a tributary of Sausal Creek in Joaquin Miller Park.
Photos by Mark Rauzon
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Friends of Sausal Creek is a volunteer-based, community organization. We appreciate your support of our education, monitoring, and restoration programs in the
Sausal Creek Watershed.
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Insect Walk and Talk with Eddie Dunbar
Saturday, July 12, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Dimond Park
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Join FOSC and guest educator Eddie Dunbar, a professor at Merritt College’s Landscape Horticulture program, for a hands-on exploration of the fascinating world of insects in the Sausal Creek Watershed.
The Sausal Creek Watershed is home to approximately 2,600 documented species of flora and fauna. Insects, though comprising just 583—or 22%—of recorded species, are by far the most abundant and diverse organisms in the watershed. Their small size and elusive behavior, however, make them difficult to observe, study, and photograph.
| | This up-close and personal exploration will help uncover the hiding places and intricate lives of Dimond Canyon’s most obscure and under-appreciated creatures. | |
Welcome New FOSC Executive Director
Nicki Alexander
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We are excited to welcome Nicki Alexander as the new Executive Director of Friends of Sausal Creek. Nicki will support FOSC’s dedicated team of field staff, oversee day-to-day operations, and direct fundraising efforts to advance FOSC's mission and ensure its long-term sustainability.
Nicki is thrilled to rejoin FOSC staff after previously serving as Education and Outreach Coordinator in 2018. In the intervening years, she has pursued her passions for environmental justice, watershed conservation, and education through positions with the Peace Corps in Paraguay, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Region II), and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Economics & Management, a B.A. in Spanish from the University of Georgia, as well as an M.S. in Development Practice from the University of California, Berkeley.
Please join us in warmly welcoming Nicki back to the watershed. She looks forward to connecting with partners and community members soon and can be reached at nicki@sausalcreek.org.
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Grant Awarded for Lower Watershed Project
Fruitvale's Living Waters
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We’re excited to share that FOSC has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment and the San Francisco Baykeeper to support our “Fruitvale’s Living Waters” project!
This year-long initiative aims to improve water quality in Sausal Creek and San Francisco Bay while enhancing three beloved community spaces: Barry Place, Wood Park, and Austin Square.
The project will focus on habitat restoration through native plant installation, removing invasive species, and preventing erosion. We'll continue supporting community volunteer events and expand our water quality monitoring efforts, including regular trash cleanups to address pollution in Sausal Creek.
We're so grateful for the strong site leadership already in place at these locations. This funding will enable us to provide deeper support through additional training, resources, and peer networking opportunities. Importantly, this grant will also allow us to implement the community-driven design plans for Barry Place that we developed together in 2024—also with support from the Rose Foundation.
The grant builds on our ongoing collaborative work and will help transform these spaces into vibrant community assets that benefit both neighbors and our watershed.
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Friend of the Month
Archana Paladugu
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Meet Archana, a volunteer steward who brings curiosity, gratitude, and a deep sense of place to her ongoing relationship with the Sausal Creek watershed.
FOSC: What is your connection to the Sausal Creek watershed?
Archana: After I moved to California from the East Coast, I took a Wholly H2O tour of watersheds as part of my “get to know the land” orientation. Thinking of the watershed as an extension of your house, your yard, and your neighborhood is a wonderful way of looking at the land and belonging to a place. I first learned about the work being done at FOSC during a tabling event for Earth Day—that got me to come visit the creek. The Bridgeview trail is somewhere I bring my nephews to all the time.
FOSC: What inspired you to get involved in creek restoration with FOSC?
Archana: Substack has become a home for nature writers and climate workers. A post by Priscilla Stuckey, a neighbor and advocate of Peralta Creek, made a big impact on me. As soon as I read it, I signed up to volunteer with FOSC the following weekend. I thank the artists who are helping shape narratives of meaning and purpose. This land has given me so much—home, friends, cultures to learn from, forests to walk in, songbirds, BART, libraries, shorelines… The land inspires reciprocity.
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Giving Outside the Box
Creative Ways to Support Our Watershed Work
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There are so many meaningful ways to support Sausal Creek that bring your care for the watershed into the rhythms and celebrations of your life. You might consider hosting a birthday or solstice party fundraiser, collecting donations via Facebook or Instagram. You could also make a gift in someone’s honor as a meaningful way to celebrate your connection with the watershed.
You can also explore impactful options like donating stock or using your employer’s matching program—simple actions that can boost your impact and help sustain this work year-round.
Every gift—no matter how it’s given—strengthens our ability to respond to immediate needs while planting the seeds of long-term resilience. Thank you for helping nourish this work in your own creative way!
A little extra to say thanks: Donate $75 or more and choose between a limited-edition Friends of Sausal Creek t-shirt or hat. With a gift of $125 or more, you can get both! These locally designed thank-you gifts are available while supplies last—perfect for showing your support in style.
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FOSC Book Shelf
Community Recommendations
| | Here are just a few reads recommended by FOSC board and staff members. We'd love to hear your book recs too! Please email info@sausalcreek.org if you have suggestions to include in future newsletters. | | |
The Pacific Circuit by Alexis Madrigal — Zoom in on Oakland to understand the forces—social, economic, technological, and political—that are shaping our city and the modern world.
Trout are Made of Trees by April Pulley Sayre — Follow two curious kids as they discover how plants and animals are all connected in nature’s food web as they observe life in and around a stream.
The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer — A bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world.
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We need volunteers in the watershed now more than ever!
Join us for one of our many workdays.
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Friends of Sausal Creek is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Our mission is to restore, maintain, and protect the Sausal Creek Watershed.
We educate future generations, involve the community in local environmental stewardship, and collaborate with agencies and other nonprofits to have a positive impact on the local ecosystem.
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Photo credits:
Mark Rauzon, Elizabeth Cash, Ella Matsuda, Elena Stenger, Archana Paladugu, Kate Berlin, Eliana Thompson
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