Earth Day 2017

Earth Day 2017

Workday!

APRIL 22^nd, 9AM to Noon

Friends of Leona Heights Park will be hosting an event on April 22^nd from 9AM to Noon. We will be pulling French broom, removing trash, and performing some light trail maintenance. Volunteer check-in will be at the Carl B. Munck Elementary School (11900 Campus Drive) starting at 8:45 AM. Please bring sturdy shoes, clothes you don’t mind getting dirty and your love for the park. We will provide gloves, but please feel free to bring your own if you like. If you have any questions please email us at friendsofleonaheights@gmail.com or find us on Facebook at Friends of Leona Heights Park.

P.S. We are looking for some help with providing snacks and water this year. Contact us if you can help.

Earth Day 2016 is fast approaching! Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 23rd. We will be working from 9AM to noon. We need volunteers to weed the native garden, pull french broom, pickup spray cans, and clean out some trail stairs. This will be our sixth annual Earth Day event. Last year was a strong turnout and were hoping for even more this year. If you attend please dress accordingly, but do make sure to wear sturdy footwear (no sandals or flipflops). We are always looking for people to help coordinate the event and if you are interested please let me know. I really need someone who has some trail maintenance experience to lead our work crew for the trail stair cleaning. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please email us at friendsofleonaheights@gmail.com.

I hope to see you there!

Christopher Cook
Co-founder of Friends of Leona Heights Park

SUNDAY HIKE (2/7) Horseshoe Creek mapping project hike. This Sunday we will be walking in and along Horseshoe Creek. We are hoping to do a little bit of a clean up, but also work on mapping the creek as well. We will be planning our Earth Day event as well so if that interests you please let us know. If you wish to join us please let us know by emailing us at friendsofleonaheights@gmail.com . Otherwise bring sturdy shoes that you are not afraid of getting muddy and possibly completely soaked. Bring gloves if you want to help with our clean up. We will meet at the upper entrance to York Trail (campus blvd. across the street from Merritt College) at 10 AM and should be wrapping things up around 1PM

Public discussion about Leona Creek Cleanup

Please come join us this Thursday at the Leona Lodge (4444 Mountain Boulevard, Oakland) for a discussion of what steps are being taken to cleanup Leona Creek.

Creek to Bay Day 2013 -- Rain or Shine

 

This year the Creek to Bay Day event was one to remember. Volunteers from the local neighborhood, Laney and Merritt College and Black & Vetch created a large turn out for the annual September event almost double the amount of the previous year. They were welcomed by a cool morning with a shining sun and not a cloud in the sky.

Alyssa and the sign in table

Tasks for the day included removing of trash from the Merritt College's abandon parking lot, cleaning of spray cans & trash from the canyon along Campus Drive and the installation of permanent garbage cans to help prevent those same spray cans from entering into Horseshoe creek. Volunteers were working with an astonishing vigor and tasks were approaching completion at a fast rate when mother nature decided to have a change of plans.

The skies began to darken, then the tit-tat of rain began to hit our backs, and before we knew it we were working in a torrential downpour. Horseshoe creek which was running at a slow summer pace that morning turned to a roaring lion of white water within a half an hour. The volunteers stuck it out and worked through the rain and before too long everyone was soaked to the bone. Despite having small lakes in their boots people worked hard and accomplished all the tasks for the day beyond the call of duty.

Permanent trash cans that were purchased by the Friends of Leona Heights through a grant given my the Clean Water Program were the largest accomplishment for the day. These cans will help curb the tremendous amount of trash that has been found making its way down the canyon side near a graffiti wall. These cans are helpful in that they offer a place for the graffiti "artists" to place their refuse which for many years had been just carelessly tossed down the very steep canyon side eventually making its way into the creek. It couldn't have been done without the experienced and very handy crews from Black and Vetch who were very gracious to send some of their folks to the Leona Heights site. Big shout outs to Matt Stavis' chemistry class who helped remove well over 1,000 pounds of trash from the park.

Over 1,000 pounds of garbage removed including
two tires, construction debris, and an estimated 800 spray cans.

 

 

Creek to Bay Day 2013

Come join our efforts to maintain and clean Leona Heights Park on September 21st from 9AM to 12PM. Meeting at Carl B. Munck Elementary School 11900 Campus Drive, Oakland, CA 94619.

We will be conducting litter removal, installing park amenities, and some trail maintenance. Dress accordingly (jeans, boots or sneakers, hat and gloves), do not wear shorts and flip-flops. If you would like more information about this event please contact Christopher by emailing greenrosettas@gmail.com.



Matt Stavis at the 2013 Creek to Bay Day event.
Photo by Cuc Huynh

 

 

Interpretive Signs Leona Heights is a jewel of the city park system. The canyon that the park encompasses has for long offered many enjoyable recreational and enriching educational experiences. Many of the East Bay hills habitats are found in the park. Creek and vernal pools, Redwood forest, oak woodland, chaparral, cliff faces, and flats offer a variety of life that can't be found in any other city park. This enriching experience that this park offers deserves amenities that can introduce and enrich visitors to the park. With this idea in mind we have started the steps to install two interpretive signs into the park. These signs will welcome visitors to the Leona Heights park with brief introductions to local history, geology, and flora fauna. A sign at the upper entrance of the York trail will announce the presence of a sometimes forgotten park. To many students and faculty pass by the park not realizing the valuable resource that borders their daily commute. Our hopes is to "place make" and create a area that teachers and students could start nature hikes to learn of t is also a home to many flora and fauna The people's love for the park has kept it clean and relatively safe throughout the years.