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This special edition of the FOSC newsletter features articles and contributions from a
few of our incredibly talented and environmentally active young community members,
as well as outreach and stewardship opportunities designed for youth.
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This month, youth in our Spring Stream Team program took to the water to collect marine debris and conduct a trash assessment along the Oakland-Alameda Estuary with our partners at IHOAE.
Photo by Elena Stenger
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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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Upcoming Events and Opportunities
Karen Paulsell Remembrance Gathering
Friday, June 19, 4 - 6 p.m. | FOSC Nursery in Joaquin Miller Park
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We are saddened to share that foundational FOSC member Karen Paulsell passed away on May 10. Karen brought deep botanical knowledge, insatiable curiosity, and years of dedicated stewardship to the Sausal Creek watershed. From leading seed hikes and training new nursery managers, to mapping the entire watershed, her impact on our work cannot be overstated.
We invite all who knew Karen to join us for a remembrance gathering to honor and celebrate her life and contributions to this community. This will be a potluck gathering; guests are welcome to bring something to share, but it is not required.
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Grasses Walk and Talk — Event Full, Join the Waitlist!
Saturday, May 30, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Joaquin Miller Park
| | | | Ecologist and educator Saumitra Kelkar will lead a walk and talk through Joaquin Miller Park exploring the ecology of native grasses. A former OUSD biology teacher with degrees in forestry and environmental economics from UC Berkeley, Saumitra is passionate about restoring ecosystems and helping people build relationships with the living world around them. This event is currently full, but you can still join the waitlist! | |
EBMUD East Bay Public Gardens Open House
Saturday, June 6, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Dimond Park
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We’re looking forward to hosting a Native Plant Garden Open House in Dimond Park as part of the EBMUD Public Gardens Open House event!
Stop by for guided tours of the native plant garden, learn more about the work happening in Dimond Park, and explore the network of participating public gardens across the East Bay using the event map.
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Team Oakland 2026: Apply to be a Team Leader!
10-12 week commitment from June - August
| | | | As we prepare to kick off our 11th year of Team Oakland in June, YEP is currently hiring Team Leaders who will help lead a new cohort in continuing this work across the watershed. This paid program offers Oakland teens and young adults the chance to gain hands-on job experience while giving back to their community and environment. Participants are placed with various partner organizations—including FOSC—and engage in city cleanups, park maintenance, habitat restoration, community outreach, and training on job readiness, life skills, and environmental topics. | | |
Student Contributions across the Watershed
Reflections from Spring Stream Team
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The 3rd annual Spring Stream Team is coming to a close! Since April, 25 Oakland high school students have been coming together each week as part of our paid youth stewardship program, building skills and a deeper connection to the watershed.
Students have been visiting sites across the watershed—from the headwaters at Fern Ravine to the outlet at the Oakland-Alameda estuary—getting hands-on with habitat restoration while learning directly from field staff and community partners.
| | | | Eagle Scout James High of Piedmont Troop 15 recently constructed and installed three wooden signs in Joaquin Miller Park at key restoration sites: Blue Rock Mesa Botanical Reserve, Fern Ravine Creek, and our Native Plant Nursery. | |
Jack Weinberg, a graduating senior at Oakland Technical High School, recently completed construction of a shade structure that will be used as a pot washing station for our nursery.
As Jack shared, “Joaquin Miller Park is a very special place for me. It's played host to dozens of activities over the years, so when I got the chance to give something back to the park, I jumped at the chance.
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It was a fun challenge to design and build the shade structure, and incredibly rewarding to see completed. I hope that volunteers and employees can rest in its shade for years to come.”
Interested in completing your Eagle Scout Project with FOSC? Fill out this form!
| | | | Fern, Marley, and Angie, three students from Latitude High School, joined us this spring as part of their senior capstone project. Throughout the semester, each student selected different focus areas, including nursery workdays, supporting field trips, and event planning. On the final day with us, they collaborated on painting a map box to be installed in the watershed. Check out Angie’s photo essay website documenting their work! | | Beaconsfield Intern: Tyler Dare | | | | |
Tyler Dare started volunteering at Beaconsfield Canyon in his junior year of high school, with a cohort of Environmental Justice Science Engineering Technology (EJSET) students. Tyler shares, “For the class we had to find a place of internship relating to environmental justice. I had already been volunteering at Beaconsfield with Wendy for a while, so I decided to intern with her, which allowed me to visit and work much more often.
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Now I’m on my way to UC Santa Cruz to study Environmental Sciences all thanks to Wendy and my teachers Mr. Bonano, Mr. Derleth, and Mr. Rusich at Albany High.”
As Wendy tells us, “We were thrilled with Tyler’s offer, as we need all the help we can get. He has a natural affinity for the woods and blends into the hillside, hard at work. He’s made a tremendous difference at Beaconsfield."
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Volunteer Spotlight
Piedmont Community Service Crew
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Meet members of the Piedmont Community Service Crew (PCSC), a youth-led service organization that has partnered with FOSC on infrastructure projects at our Native Plant Nursery.
Founded just over 20 years ago by Ken Li, who leads the crew to this day, through the Venturing program of Scouting America, PCSC emphasizes youth leadership through hands-on community service. PCSC members lead the planning, fundraising, and execution of ambitious projects, from building tiny houses for unhoused youth to local environmental work like improving our nursery.
This past year, outgoing crew presidents Elena and Stephanie helped lead several large volunteer workdays at the nursery, bringing together dozens of youth volunteers for a variety of projects. New co-president Claire Aubrecht also spearheaded the design and construction of a new kiosk installed at the nursery entrance.
They shared with us about their roles as co-presidents of PCSC, what they learned working at the nursery, and experiencing the impact of their environmental stewardship projects.
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Dale Bowyer Fellowship Fund
Laila Robinson
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We’re so excited to have Laila Robinson, a recent graduate of Oakland High School, as our Dale Bowyer Fellow this summer!
Made possible by Susan Bowyer and other donors honoring Dale’s legacy, along with generous support from the Hillside Gardeners of Montclair, the fellowship carries forward Dale and Susan’s deep love for the Sausal Creek watershed–particularly Dimond Park–and invests in the next generation of environmental professionals.
Over the past two years, Laila has become a valued part of the FOSC community as a volunteer, youth leader, and thoughtful steward of the watershed. This fall, she is excited to pursue studies in Environmental Studies, and Government and Legal Studies at Bowdoin College.
We’re thrilled to support emerging environmental leaders like Laila, and look forward to all she’ll bring to the creek this summer.
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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:
Elena Stenger, Saumitra Kelkar, East Bay Municipal Utilities District, Kate Berlin, Jack Weinberg, James High, Angelina Peczon, Wendy Tokuda, Ken Li, Eliana Thompson
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