Last Saturday, October 25th, marked the first field event of the year for Arroyo and San Lorenzo Earth Teams! Interns traveled south to Sunol Community Gardens, a small, local park in unincorporated Alameda, and worked closely with the Alameda County Clean Water Program (ACCWP), Alameda County Resource Conservation District (ACRCD), California Trout, and Friends of Sunol Park.
Everyone arrived bright and early at 9 a.m. on a misty fall morning, ready to learn and get their hands dirty. We began the day with an engaging lesson on watersheds from Jennifer Trevis of the ACRCD. She taught us about the Alameda Creek watershed and showed us how to make a watershed map in the palms of our hands! Afterwards, we heard from Molly of California Trout on the lifecycles of trout and salmon and their importance to local ecosystems. Molly walked us through the lifecycles of these fish and taught us the ecological importance of trout. During our game, a light sprinkle of rain began, but our interns were brave and stuck it out. Luckily, the weather cleared in about twenty minutes, so it was time to begin the day’s main activities: native plant installation and litter removal in the creek.
The planting group worked closely with Derek, the Sunol park manager, to install native species in ideal locations along the park’s drip irrigation system, helping ensure their survival and growth in the coming years. Interns planted wild grapes near the park entrance, sticky monkeyflower inside the main area, and elderberries along the creek to help stabilize the banks. Derek also provided fresh compost, and interns made sure each plant received a nourishing bed of compost and a good watering to help them settle in.
Meanwhile, the creek group joined Molly to remove micro-litter from the dry creekbed. Derek and the Friends of Sunol Park maintain the area well, so there isn’t much large, visible trash. This allowed the interns to focus on small, hard-to-see pieces of plastic and debris scattered along the banks. With the rainy season approaching, it was the perfect time to remove this litter before the creek begins to flow again and carries it downstream.
Behind the scenes, a few lucky interns took on a special creative project with Jennifer: painting her new rainbow trout costume! While it makes for a great Halloween outfit, the costume will actually be used year-round at Clean Water outreach events to help raise awareness about the San Leandro Creek watershed and support efforts to protect the habitat of returning rainbow trout.
By the end of the day, our interns had installed forty native plants, collected two square yards of micro-litter, and painted one spectacular rainbow trout. It was a productive and inspiring start to the season, and we’re grateful to all our partners for making this event possible and for supporting our students in their hands-on environmental learning journey. A huge thanks to the Alameda County Clean Water Program, ACRCD, California Trout, and Friends of Sunol Park!
