In recent months, teams from several of Earth Team’s Schools have worked hard to restore and protect native vegetation at Don Castro Regional Park. One of the main projects in this project is the creation of a native garden near a storm drain in the park, with the goal of creating native habitat and filtering stormwater that flows into drains. The site is near the entrance to the swimming lagoon and will see a lot of foot traffic in the busy summer season.
Castro Valley’s Sustainable Watershed Action Team has been at the front and center of this effort, and it is a project close to the homes of many of the team members. Many of them visit Don Castro on hot summer days, and take solace in knowing they made their community a nicer place to live and visit.
The garden is also not just for people, as the East Bay Parks Rangers who led the project were quick to point out. The garden will serve as a new habitat for newts and salamanders who populate the park, as well as the numerous other animals that call the park home. Interns were excited to hear that their work would go a long way in making sure their nonhuman neighbors would benefit as well.
Now that this restoration project is almost complete, the team can refocus on their other projects, like cleaning up litter on their campus and spreading the word about what can be done to protect our watersheds. With some good experience under their belts now, the team is ready to tackle some big issues this spring!