LifeGarden - What's New

What's New features our work and the projects of our friends, advisors, and affiliates throughout California who are applying the principles of ecology in the development of cultural practices that lead to more sustainable lifestyles and a healthier planet.

LifeGarden receives grants from the City of Walnut Creek and Contra Costa County to develop first Iron Horse Corridor Interpretive Panels

LifeGarden was awarded a Civic Pride Grant for 2007-8 from the City of Walnut Creek to design, construct and install an interpretive kiosk featuring the history and ecology of the Iron Horse Corridor. The kiosk will be at our Walnut Creek site north of Ygnacio Valley Road and east of Civic Drive (see photo).

A matching grant was secured from Contra Costa County for the project along with an assistanceship grant from the National Park Service. A task force consisting of individuals from different disciplines has been created to supervise the development of the sign. A special feature of the kiosk will be a directional panel showing the trailuser where he/she is both along the Iron Horse Corridor and in the Walnut Creek Watershed. LifeGarden's new map of the Watershed will be featured on this panel. The ecology panel will describe native plants which can be seen along the trail in the vicinity of the sign.

GREENING OUR COMMUNITIES ONE NATIVE SEED AT A TIME

The Lorax asked the question
“Who will speak for the trees?”
The answer lies below ...

Recognizing that 2007 was the year of the acorn, LifeGarden introduced an Acorn Rescue project with schools and scout groups last fall. The plant equivalent of animal rescue, LifeGarden turned nature's abundance into a life-saving exercise. Each acorn, of course, is a little gift of nature that contains a tiny plant programmed and ready to become a tree much like its parent. In 21st century lingo, each seed is a carbon offset. Although acorns do not fall far from the tree, they often fall on paved surfaces or onto otherwise undesirable locations.

Children gathered acorns that would have otherwise been destroyed from local, mature native oaks and potted them up for later replanting at community locations.

Each tree planted represents the greening of our community and demonstrates the ability of each child, each individual, to make a difference. Our understanding of nature enabled us to fill an important community need. Acorn Rescue is a fun, educational and sustainable activity.

Participation in the CCC Creeks and Watershed Symposium

Also last fall LifeGarden was a cosponsor of the Contra Costa County Creek and Watershed Symposium. Here we staffed an exhibit which featured our new maps of the Walnut Creek Watershed and our habitat restoration work along the Iron Horse Corridor. Along with more than two dozen other organizations, most of them in existence longer and larger than LifeGarden, we had a brief opportunity to speak publicly about our watershed activities in Contra Costa County.

Watershed Education And Sustainable Trails Fund

LifeGarden maintains a special fund to support its "on the ground" work along the Iron Horse Corridor and other educational programs in the Walnut Creek Watershed.

Your donations to the fund will enable us to purchase and install native plants in the Corridor, pay for design and technical services, acquire tools, and produce educational materials and interpretive displays for the trail. Checks should be made payable to LifeGarden WEST Fund and sent to us at 860 Bellows Court, Walnut Creek, CA 94596-5867.

New Watershed Committee Established

LifeGarden is establishing a new committee to facilitate its watershed activities and to promote our long-range goals for the Walnut Creek Watershed. We are seeking individuals having experience with watershed management, native plants, landscape design, creek restoration, hydrology, and fund-raising to serve on this committee.

NEW PROGRAM for SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Watershed Education with Social Implications

LifeGarden introduced a new watershed education program for high school students last spring. The program was funded by the City of Walnut Creek under its NPDES Permit.

Students were provided with LifeGarden's new Map of the Walnut Creek Watershed and its City Creeks Journal.

Part one of the high school program consisted of an in-classroom powerpoint presentation about watersheds in general, the Walnut Creek Watershed in particular, and the meaning of a "watershed approach" to land use planning. In addition, there was a discussion of storm drain systems and sustainable solutions to handling stormwater runoff. The powerpoint presentation can be viewed at www.owenswatershedplanning.com.

Part 2 of the program was a field investigation of the particularly spectacular section of San Ramon Creek adjacent to Las Lomas. The emphasis here was on the native and nonnative plant species found in this urban riparian community. An important theme of the program was to help students understand the connection between their own (and our) lifestyles and watershed health.

The program is still in its infancy. We envision a much more comprehensive one for high school students and the general public by the end of the year. Watch for the announcements of these watershed workshops and creek walks.

Walnut Creek Watershed Map

LifeGarden's map of the Walnut Creek Watershed is now available for downloading (pdf file).

LifeGarden has been a catalyst for the creation of the Walnut Creek Watershed Exploratory Committee and participates actively. Currently facilitated by the Contra Costa County Watershed Forum, its goal is the formation of a coalition of businesses, government agencies, creek groups, environmental nonprofit organizations, and others interested in the Walnut Creek Watershed that will initiate the development of a plan for the protection, enhancement and restoration of the watershed's streams and vegetated edges. The County's Resource Conservation District will be seeking funding for a Coalition Coordinator. Once a watershed plan is in place, the Coalition will apply for major funding to implement the plan. There will be opportunities for citizen input and involvement throughout this process. It is our ultimate hope that fish, now endangered, but once native to our streams, will be able to return and be nourished all of the way into the the upper reaches of our watershed. This is monumental undertaking but a critical one. We are seeking volunteers for a Watershed Committee to help us move this vision forward. Contact judy@lifegarden.org.

The Walnut Creek Watershed is the County's largest having more than 90,000 acres. It is heavily populated, highly urbanized and extremely complex. You can help us protect it by taking part in our popular restoration events in this watershed.