October 2009 The Bay Leaf California Native Plant Society • East Bay Chapter Alameda & Contra Costa Counties V MEMBERSHIP MEETING J Wild River Botanizing Along California's Eel and Carson Rivers Speaker: Ted Kipping Wednesday, October 28, 7:30 pm Location: Garden Room, Orinda Public Library (directions below) Wild rivers sometimes provide access to places roads do not or will not take you and offer insights unavailable to the seatbelt bound. They can also provide alternate periods of tranquility and hang-on-for-dear-life stimulation, at once engrossing and humbling. Ted Kipping will take us on a not-too-wild photographic trip to see the plants along two of California's beautiful Wild and Scenic rivers. Northwestern California's Eel River runs south to north through Mendocino and Humboldt counties to the ocean south of Eureka, along the way passing through oak savannahs and majestic redwood groves. The Carson River flows through a very different landscape down the steep east side of the Sierra from the Sonora Pass area into the Nevada desert. Come get a vicarious taste of river botanizing without getting your feet wet. Ted Kipping's interest in the natural world began early and led to studies of natural history and a passion for plants. After working at Strybing Arboretum, Ted founded a tree pruning business and has earned a reputation as one of the most artistic and knowledgeable of the Bay Area's certified arborists. In addition, Ted is an accomplished and widely published plant photographer who is active in a number of botanical and horticultural societies. East Bay CNPS membership meetings are free of charge and open to everyone. This month's meeting takes place in the Garden Room of the Orinda Public Library at 24 Orinda Way (in Orinda Village). The Garden Room is on the second floor of the building, accessible by stairs or an elevator. The Gar- den Room opens at 7:00 pm; the meeting begins at 7:30 pm. Please contact Sue Rosenthal, 510-496-6016 or rosacalifornica@ earthlink.net, if you have any questions. Directions to Orinda Public Library at 24 Orinda Way From the west, take Hwy 24 to the Orinda/ Moraga exit. At the end of the off ramp, turn left on Camino Pablo (toward Orinda Village), right on Santa Maria Way (the signal after the BART station and freeway entrance), and left on Orinda Way. From the east, take Hwy 24 to the Orinda exit. Follow the ramp to Orinda Village. Turn right on Santa Maria way (the first signal) and left on Orinda Way. Once on Orinda Way, go 1 short block to the parking lot on the southeast side of the two-story building on your right. There is additional free parking beneath the building as well as on the street. From BART (4 blocks): Exit the Orinda station, turn right and cross a pedestrian bridge, then cross a second pedestrian bridge on the left. Go 1 short block on the sidewalk to the third pedestrian bridge. Go 2 blocks on Orinda Way to the Orinda Library. Next Program Wednesday, November 18, 7:30 pm, Orinda Library Garden Room Jerry Powell— Native moth and butterfly larvae that feed on native plants PLANT SALE INFORMATION, OCTOBER lO AND 1 1 • In addition to books and posters, the chapter will be selling, caps and taking orders for official chapter polo shirts. • Bulbs, metal plant labels and bird houses will be for sale. • A new edition of the CD East Bay Native Plants with many new pages will be available for $25. Bring your old version to trade in for a price reduction. • Vendors will include artists Dianne Lake, Heidi Rand and Yulan Tong. • Seeds will be sold on Saturday by East Bay Regional Park Botanic Garden's Seedy Friends • Special exhibits on native bees, weeds, beavers. • Special pricing on five gallon coast live oaks, valley oaks and blue oaks. • Ferns, iris and wild ginger will be available. • Don't forget to bring your checkbook or cash— we don't have credit card capability! Gudrun Kleist and Charli Danielsen T-SHIRTS, HATS WITH LOGO Imagine our EBCNPS bay leaf logo (shown below) set on sky blue polo shirts and khaki hats— look for these at the Plant Fair. Delia Taylor NATIVE HERE NURSERY Native Here Nursery pre-Fair • Please note that the nursery will be closed Friday, October 9. Volunteers are welcome to help us set up for the fair. • Update on the Proposed Casino at Point Molate in Rich- mond Native Here customers wishing to take advantage of the volume discounts and those purchasing plants for agencies and restoration projects will wish to shop before the Plant Fair. The only discounts during the fair will be on five-gallon Quercus agrifolia, Quercus lobata, and Quercus douglasii. • Join us on our seed collecting trips on Thursdays through October. Meet at the bottom gate of the nursery at 9 am. For further information check the calendar of the chapter website, www.ebcnps.org, or e-mail nativehere@ebcnps.org. Usually the group returns by 1 pm, but occasional longer trips will be scheduled. E-mail ahead if time is a concern or call the nursery on Tuesday afternoon between noon and 3. There is life after the Plant Fair! • The East Bay Regional Park District has scheduled tree work later in October, which may close the nursery for a few days. Check the website www.ebcnps.org or call 510-549-0211 to be sure we are open. PLANT FAIR VOLUNTEER- • WeTl be working hard the first week and a half of October to get the nursery ready for the plant fair. Join us whenever the nursery is open to put out plant cards, clean up the nursery, water, weed, pot up plants, sort bulbs for sale, and get familiar with our plant selection. • WeTl need many volunteers just before, during and after the Fair for setting up, labeling oaks for half price, sales, holding area help, cashiering, helping vendors, loading, and clean-up. Come by on October 9 to help with set up, or come on Monday the 12th or Tuesday, October 13, to help with clean-up. • To help at the Fair, contact Elaine Jackson elainejx@att. net. Elaine Jackson • Volunteers will be welcome to help us move plants after the fair before and after the tree work. • Plant sales continue whenever the nursery is open through- out the year. Check the plant list on the website for new of- ferings. Many plants are being potted in October that will be available in December, just in time for holiday giving. • Watering the thousands of plants in the nursery must be done carefully. If you can spend two hours each week on a regular basis, a section can be assigned to you. If you can spare time less frequently, come in on Tuesday afternoon or Saturday morning to help fill in for those on vacation and to relieve the managers of some of the watering tasks. No experience is necessary. We will train you. Strong wrists are important. • Seed sowing is planned for Tuesday, October 27 from noon to 2 pm. Join us to learn about this important aspect of the nursery's work. Margot Cunningham and Charli Danielsen 2 THE BAY LEAF October 2009 California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter 2009 NATIVE PLANT FAIR Native Here Nursery 101 Golf Course Drive - Tilden Park, Berkeley (Across from the Tilden Golf Course) Saturday October 10th 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Sunday October 11th noon -3:00 pm Native plants, books, posters, gift items for sale Vendors showcasing photography, seeds & bulbs, crafts Exhibits about invasive plants, native bees, CNPS membership O Saturday Guest Speaker each day at 1:00 pm Sunday Pete Veilleux, East Bay Wilds David Bigham, Landscape Architect “Lose the Lawn, Gain a Beautiful “Gardening with Locally Native Plants" and Functional Garden" o o Special plants for fall: Ferns, Douglas Iris, Wild Ginger o 5-gallon Coast Live, Blue, and Valley Oaks half price o Plant holding area for your shopping convenience o Limited parking with plant-pickup loading zone available o Volunteers shuttle purchased plants to loading zone o Checks or Cash only; no credit cards Carpooling is appreciated Bring sturdy boxes for your purchases Volunteer traffic control For more information please visit our website: http://ebcnps.org THE BAY LEAF October 2009 3 MEMBERSHIP NOTES Chapter Jobs Bulletin The East Bay Chapter is in urgent need of a dedicated outreach person. He or she would be in charge of reaching out to our membership for volunteers to cover our requested tabling events throughout the year and possibly finding other ven- ues we could share in. All materials, tables, chairs, canopies, flyers etc. are readily available at our Native Here Nursery. A current membership list would be supplied as a resource for seeking volunteers. Please contact elainejx@att.net or any Board member. Membership Notes, meet Gudrun Kleist Plant Fair Co-Chair 2009 and Holding Area Guru (photo bt Dick Bush) My love for the natural world and the outdoors goes back to my childhood in Germany. Every Sunday, rain or shine, snow or sleet, the whole family was out hiking in the woods and countryside surrounding our small town. At an early age we learned the names of plants, birds and animals and their place and importance in nature. I always had a fondness for plants; a number of photos show me as a young girl holding a bouquet of wildflowers (or pine cones or just sticks, depend- ing on the season) I came to California as the wife of a US soldier, in mid July 1971. The drive from LA to our first home on the Central Coast left me in complete shock. I was not prepared for endless miles of dead, brown hills. We moved to the Bay Area in 1975, but it wasn't until we bought a house in the El Sobrante Hills in 1987 that I was able 4 to get back into exploring the outdoors on a regular basis. I finally had easy access to trails again, right from my front door. Thanks to my dog's insistence on regular walks I was soon hiking every day, rain or shine. By now I had learned to appreciate the rhythm of California's seasons and the hills were no longer brown, but golden, in the summer. I bought field guides to help me identify plants and birds. After reading an article in the paper about a Native Plant course offered by Diablo Valley College I immediately signed up. It was actually a series of camping field trips to various regions of California and Stew Winchester was a most enthu- siastic instructor. In the course of a couple of years I learned a great deal about the California flora and finally discovered a practical use for my high school Latin. In order to pass the course I needed to join a conservation organization and the California Native Plant Society was the most logical choice for me. The Bay Leaf became one of my favorite publications. I discovered the Plant Sale and soon was one of those crazy people lining up with my boxes at least an hour before the sale. As soon as the plant location list was handed out (usually by Wayne Roderick) I was carefully strategizing the optimal route for scoring the choice plants on my list for my expand- ing native garden. Eventually I started volunteering at the Plant Sale to sell plants, but Shirley really needed help with the holding area. I discovered that organizing the holding area was the perfect job for me and have been doing it ever since. After Native Here was established, Charli Danielson was looking for volunteers to collect seeds. This proved to be a great way for me to help out, since my daily walks made it easy to keep an eye on seed development of the many native plants that grow on Sobrante Ridge. Now that I am retired I look forward to spending more time at Native Here and in my garden. And yes, I plan to be at the Plant Fair holding area with the rest of the crew, handing out stickers, lugging boxes and trying hard to keep everyone's plants safe. Hope to see you there! Gudrun Kleist Think Globally, Volunteer Locally Mark your calendars for our Native Plant Fair 2009, Saturday, October 10, 10 am - 3 pm Sunday, October 11, Noon - 3 pm 101 Golf Course Drive, Tilden Park Berkeley THE BAY LEAF October 2009 (Across the street from Tilden Golf Course Parking lot) Volunteers needed for this fun event, contact elainejx@att. net Martinez— Native Plant Garden and Strentzel Meadow lo- cated at the John Muir Historical Site in Martinez, ongoing weeding, planting, & learning about our local environment. Contact Elaine Jackson at 925-372-0687 or email elainejx@ att.net. Pleasant Hill— Volunteers are always welcome at the Pleasant Hill Adult Education Center Garden. Contact Monika Olsen at 925-937-1530 or email phecgarden@prodigy.net or go online to http:/ / phig.webs.com. Walnut Creek— Native demonstration garden on The Iron Horse Trail in Walnut Creek near the Walnut Creek Intermedi- ate. Contact Judy Adler, jadlermtnmama@sbcglobal.net. Do you have or know of a local event coming up in your CONSERVATION ANALYST AP By now you should have received the 2009-2010 Conservation Fund Appeal in the mail. The money collected supports our invaluable Conservation Analyst Lech Naumovich, pictured at right. Lech has been four years on the job. We need $40,000 each year for salary and associated expenses. We have about 1200 members in our chapter. We had about 10% response from the membership last year. Please be as generous as you can. Delia Barnes Taylor EBCNPS President ACTIVITIES OF OTHERS Friends of Sausal Creek Native Plant Sale. Please help support our ongoing stream restoration and environmental education efforts by coming to our fall Native Plant Sale at the Joaquin Miller Park Native Plant Nursery, 3594 Sanborn Road, Oakland, on Saturday, October 17, 10 am to 3 pm. For more information, visit www.sausalcreek.org, email coordinator@sausalcreek.org, or call 510- 501-3672. Courses by Glenn Keator Botanizing California: the series This fall features two local trips to wonderfully diverse but different areas: Salt Point on the northern Sonoma coast, and Oathill Mine Road near Mt. St. Helena at the head of the Napa Valley. Salt Point is a weekend trip, October 3 and 4 to an area of bishop pine and redwood forests with a pygmy forest, coastal bluffs, coastal prairie, and sand dunes. Oathill Mine Road is a Saturday trip, October 24, with a round-trip hike of neighborhood that would be a good location for CNPS to have a display table? You can host it. Come on up to our Native Here Nursery (during business hours) and pick up supplies to pass out. Call us with any questions. New Members Please join us in welcoming those who joined in the dur- ing July and August. Paula DeFelice, Nina Egert, Carole K. Fitzgerald, Robert Flannery, Robert MacDonald, & Tyson Schwertner. Please let me know if I have missed you on this list. Many thanks to all of you that have renewed your member- ship throughout the year. May you enjoy many more years with EBCNPS. Elaine Jackson and Carol Castro 6 to 8 miles in the Palisades area to the east of Mt. St. Helena. It features oak woodland, mixed-evergreen forest, chaparral, and grassland in a striking setting. To sign up: contact John Rusk at john@rusk.com. Edible Plants of the Bay Area: Identification and Preparation Methods co-taught with Tellur Fenner. This two-day workshop, November 14 and 15 at Heather Farms in Walnut Creek, introduces you to the world of edible native plants. We will start with a field trip to show methods of gathering and identifying the right plants, then follow with a hands-on workshop to prepare these foods in a way palat- able to our own cultural tastes. Class meets from 10 am to 4 pm both days. To sign up phone 925 947-1678 or go online to gardenshf.org. THE BAY LEAF October 2009 5 UPDATE ON THE PROPOSED CASINO AT POINT MOLATE IN RICHMOND Our Conservation Analyst, Lech Naumovich, has been dig- ging deep into the EIS/EIR issued for the proposed casino at Point Molate and found it sorely lacking in disclosure of impacts. The project is extremely complex, and after a lengthy discussion at the chapter board meeting in September, the board voted to reaffirm that Point Molate is an essential part of the North Richmond Priority Plant Protection Area and that the EIS/EIR is inadequate. Given the degree of impact to the area's unique coastal strand and coastal bluff, upland habitat (including rare coastal prairie), and to fragile and extensive eelgrass beds, a massive development such as the casino/ hotel/ ferry terminal/ housing complex proposed is unacceptable. In addition to the impacts to the native plant and wildlife, there are a host of other major impacts to the area. These include huge traffic problems: currently, the only road into the area is Western Avenue which has a narrow, dangerous entrance to 580 just east of the toll plaza. Traffic snarls along both sides of the Richmond-San Rafael bridge are expected. In addition, noise, 24-hour a day lighting, destruction of scenic views, and the increased risk of major fire all compound the impacts to this beautiful site. The project will require major sources of water and energy and will contribute stormwater run-off into the bay where eelgrass beds lie. Many hurdles face the project proponent, including the need for a decision by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to grant the Guidiville Band of Porno Indians reservation status at the point and for approval by the Governor. Currently, the land is slated to be transferred from the City to the developer once the environmental review is completed. The developer has made many financial promises to the City and to other groups that have agreed not to oppose the EIR/EIS. We believe that these promises constitute an unacceptable level of financial risk since some of them will not be fulfilled if the project en- counters financial problems. Please do your part to oppose massive development: we will be organizing letter-writing campaigns to key governmental officials and will need your help. Some folks consider the casino a done deal— we do not. Please remind others of the rare and important resources at Point Molate and that the best alternative there is parkland. Visit our conservation blog site for periodic updates. Laura Baker Photos by Janice Bray, from the CD East Bay Na- tive Plants , Photos and Descriptions of Plants Native to Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, by Janice Bray, Charli Danielsen, Gregg Weber and the Volunteers at EBCNPS Native Here Nursery. The CD is available at Native Here. 6 THE BAY LEAF October 2009 Chapter Directory Officers President and Chapter Council Delegate Delia Barnes Taylor 510-527-3912 deliataylor@mac.com Vice President Carol Castro 510-352-2382 ca ro 1 1 bcastro@ h otm a i I . com Recording Secretary Barbara Leitner 925-253-8300 bleitner@pacbell.net Corresponding Secre- tary Janet Gawthrop janetgawthrop47@gmail. com Treasurer Holly Forbes hforbes@berkeley.edu h 510-234-2913 w 510-643-8040 Assistant Treasurer (not an officer) David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Committees Bayleaf Newsletter Bay Leaf Editor and Web- master Joe Willingham, Chair 510-841-4681 pepel 066@comcast.net Bay Leaf Assistant Editor David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Mailing Holly Forbes Conservation Laura Baker, Chair 510-849-1409 Lbake66@aol.com Conservation analyst Lech Naumovich conservation@ebcnps.org Field Trips Janet Gawthrop, Chair Funds Development Carol Castro, Chair Grant Management Sally de Becker 510-841-6613 sallydebecker@comcast. net Horticulture Planning Sue Rosenthal, Chair 510-496-6016 rosacalifornica@earthlink. net Information Infrastruc- ture Peter Rauch, Chair peterar@berkeley.edu Membership Elaine Jackson, Carol Castro Co-Chairs Volunteer coordinator Delia Taylor volunteer@ebcnps.org Programs Sue Rosenthal, Chair Publicity Dinah Russell, Chair 510-528-0547 maphappy@sonic.net Rare Plants Heath Bartosh, Chair 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology. com Unusual Plants Dianne Lake, Chair 510-741-8066 diannelake@yahoo.com Vegetation Erin McDermott, Chair erinmcd2004@yahoo.com EBCNPS Sponsored Activities Book & Poster Sales Joanne Orengo greentheglobe@juno.com Grant Awards Sandy McCoy sandymccoy@mindspring. com Native Here Nursery 510-549-0211 Manager — Charli Dan- ielsen nativehere@ebcnps.org Sales — Margot Cunning- ham bunchgrassmarg@gmail. com Seed Collection — Gregg Weber 510-223-3310 Plant Fair Gudrun Kleist 510-222-2320 gkleist@sbcglobal.net and Charli Danielsen Coordinators Restoration Projects Leaders: Huckleberry — Janet Gawthrop Point Isabel — Tom and Jane Kelly 510-704-8628 (w) 510-684-6484 (c) kyotousa@sbcglobal.net Strawberry Creek — Tom and Jane Kelly Officers and Committee Chairs serve on the Board. Committees are formed based on chapter needs and the interests of volunteers. Proposals for committees and projects are welcome and will be considered by the Board. JOIN THE CHAPTER ANNOUNCEMENTS LIST To join the East Bay Chapter's announcements-only mailing list, visit: http:/ / groups.google.com/group/ ebcnps and sign up. Alternately, you can also join by emailing a request to chhaprahiya@yahoo.com with the subject line: "Add me to EBCNPS mailing list". I cannot see what flowers are at my feet, Nor what soft incense hangs upon the houghs, But, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet Wherewith the seasonable month endows The grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild; White hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine; Fast-fading violets covered up in leaves; And mid-May's eldest child, The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine, The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves. John Keats, "Ode to a Nightingale" We are looking for a volunteer who can post announcements from The Bay Leaf to this mailing list on a weekly basis. This task is estimated to take about an hour a month. If you are interested, contact deliataylor@mac.com. I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. William Wordsworth The mind, in Metaphysics at a loss, May wander in a wilderness of Moss; Alexander Pope, The Dunciad THE BAY LEAF October 2009 7 California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter P.O. Box 5597, Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Oakland, CA Permit No. 2018 Time Value October 2009 issue CALENDAR OF EVENTS Membership Meeting: Wednesday, October 28, 7:30 pm. Garden Room, Orinda Public Library; Ted Kipping speaks about Wild River Botanizing. See page 1. November meeting: Wednesday, November 18, Garden Room, Orinda Public Library Jerry Powell speaks on Native moth and butterfly larvae that feed on native plants Native Here open for business and volunteer help: Fridays 9 am - 12 pm (except October 9, when nursery will be closed for plant fair set up), Saturdays 10 am to 2 pm, and Tuesdays 12 pm - 3pm. See page 2. Native Here Seed Collecting: Thursdays, meet at 9 am at the nursery. See page 2. Plant Fair Work Parties at Native Here: Tuesday Oct 6, 12-3; Fridays Oct 2 & 9, 9-noon; Saturday October 3, 10-2. October 9, all day set up. October 12-13, clean up help needed. Native Plant Fair: Saturday, October 10, 10 am - 3 pm, Sun- day, October 11, 12 pm - 3 pm. See pages 1, 2 and 3. Board of Directors' meeting, Wednesday, October 21, 6:30 pm, home of Barbara Leitner. 2 Parkway Court, Orinda. Take main Orinda exit, go right at signal, Camino Pablo turns into Moraga Way, after 1.75 miles, turn L at signal, Glorietta Blvd (sign for Casa Vieja is to right). At 0.7 miles, turn R on Parkway Court, just before second stop sign. House is first one facing Parkway Court on R side, lots of natives in yard. Membership Application Name Address Zip Telephone I wish to affiliate with: East Bay Chapter (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) Other Membership category: Individual, $45 Family, Library, Group or International, $75 Plant Lover, $100.00 Plant lover, $100 Patron, $300 Benefactor, $600 E-mail Mariposa Lily, $1500 Limited Income or student, $25.00 Other Mail application and check to: California Native Plant Society, 2707 K Street, Suite 1 , Sacramento CA 95816