September 2025 Watershed News | | |
Ocean Spray or Creambush (Holodiscus discolor) blooming along the Bridgeview Trail in Dimond Canyon. In early summer, fluffy clusters of fragrant, edible flowers adorn this deciduous shrub. You’ll find Ocean Spray at our Native Plant Sale.
Photo by Andrew Aldrich
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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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Creek to Bay Day - This Weekend!
Multiple Dates and Watershed Sites
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Volunteer with us this 30th annual Creek to Bay Day to help keep our city and water clear, from creek to bay and beyond!
Saturday, September 20
- Beaconsfield Canyon: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
- Dimond Park/Dimond Canyon: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
- Jingletown: 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
- Marjorie Saunders Park: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
- Wood Park: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
- Barry Place: 1 - 4 p.m.
Sunday, September 21
- Bridgeview Trailhead:, 9 - 11 a.m.
- Monterey Redwoods: 1 - 3 p.m.
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20th Annual Native Plant Sale and Open House
Saturday, October 25th, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. | FOSC Native Plant Nursery
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Save the date and spread the word!
You can now browse the wide selection of native plants that will be available at the sale on our webstore. On the day of the event, enjoy live performances by local songwriter Jashvina Devadoss of Creekside and jam band Tuesday Tunes, and explore a variety of community tablers, from local artists to native landscaping experts. You can help us spread the word by inviting friends, family, and neighbors—share our Facebook Event, Instagram, or LinkedIn posts! Your support through purchases at the sale helps restore the watershed and educate future stewards of our land.
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Arts in the Watershed
Jashvina Devadoss
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We’re thrilled to have Jashvina Devadoss perform at our Native Plant Sale this year. From 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Jashvina will share original folk songs from the Creekside album Emerging, and new works from their place-based project Of this Earth: Songs of the Natural Reserves. They’ll also join members of the jam group Tuesday Tunes for a lively set of contemporary and traditional American music. Expect a joyful mix of guitar, fiddle, mandolin, clawhammer banjo, bass, and harmonies.
Jashvina shared with us about their work as a musician and ecologist, and how they are inspired by the living landscape.
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Echoes from the Forest
Insights from New Accoustic Bat Monitoring Research
| | | | UC Berkeley PhD candidate Alexis Flores is leading new acoustic bat monitoring research to better understand bat diversity in East Bay urban ecosystems. Fern Ravine was one of 16 sites where they installed monitors, identifying seven bat species — a surprising finding that sheds light on how bats adapt across both quiet forests and busy urban spaces. Alexis shared more about their inspiration, research methods, and what these discoveries mean for local ecology and conservation. | |
Friend of the Month
Mary Spicer
| | | | Meet Mary Spicer, Founder of I Heart Oakland Alameda Estuary (IHOAE), a nonprofit that organizes large shoreline cleanups and community outreach efforts. She joined us as a guest speaker for both our Stream Team and Team Oakland youth programs, where students learned about estuarial ecosystems and the environmental impacts present at this urban shoreline. We talked with Mary about her vision for connecting more people to the water: “The estuary is a beautiful place—it’s our watershed, and it’s teeming with life. Many Oakland residents don’t have access to it, and we need more ways to open those doors. I want students to meet the harbor seals and bat rays, to connect with the water, and to understand the ecological challenges it faces.” | | |
FOSC's New Team Members!
Welcome, Noé and Renata!
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Noé Romo Loera joins FOSC as our Restoration Manager. He plans, implements, and monitors restoration efforts across the Sausal Creek Watershed.
Originally from Aguascalientes, Mexico, he was raised in a rural town before moving to California where his curiosity for nature persisted. Eventually this passion blossomed into a career in natural resource management across non-profits and federal agencies. Recognizing the importance of community involvement in the success of restoration and conservation projects, he was excited to join the FOSC team. Noé earned a B.A. in Environmental Studies concentrating in Conservation Science and Policy at UC Santa Cruz.
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Renata Robles, who joins FOSC’s Board of Directors, was born and raised in the East Bay and brings a background in planning, landscape architecture, and community engagement to the Board. Her interest in conservation was sparked by a high school field trip to the watershed with Friends of Sausal Creek, followed by a summer internship with FOSC leading habitat restoration projects.
Her interdisciplinary experience in planning—spanning natural and built environments—as well as her skills in grant writing and community engagement, enhance the impact she brings to FOSC’s programs and initiatives. Renata holds a degree from Brown University and a master's in Urban Planning from the University of Southern California.
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Native Plants for Your Garden
Chlorogalum pomeridianum - Soap Plant
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Soap plant (also called soap root) is an underused gem in the garden. It's a member of the Agave family, but its long, wavy leaves and delicate, white flowers are reminiscent of a lily. Soap plant is native to California and Oregon and in the Bay Area can often be seen growing along dry, sunny hillsides.
The common name "soap plant" comes from the plant's bulb, which can be crushed and mixed with water to create a soapy lather for cleaning. The latin name "pomeridianum" refers to the plant's flowering time—soap plant flowers open in the late afternoon or early evening and remain open all night, like little terrestrial stars offering nectar to nighttime pollinators.
Once established in the garden, soap plant is a low maintenance superstar. It doesn't require any summer irrigation, although it is summer deciduous, with the leaves drying up in late summer and then reappearing in late fall or early winter with the rain. And it's a showstopper when flowering—garden specimens can have multiple flowering stalks growing anywhere from 2 - 8 feet tall.
We have soap plant growing in the FOSC nursery—pick one up for your garden at our plant sale this October!
—Kristy Brady, FOSC Board of Directors Vice President
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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:
Andrew Aldrich, Elena Stenger, Eliana Thompson, Jashvina Devadoss, Alexis Flores, Kristy Brady
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