Strawberry Creek is a natural feature of the UC Berkeley campus and is one of the primary reasons the site was selected in 1860. In addition to the natural beauty of the Creek, which was named for the wild strawberries that once lined its banks, it is home to a variety of species of wildlife, which provide a valuable resource for education and research.
Since 1987, the campus has undertaken a significant restoration effort to return the creek to its natural condition. Restoration activities include ongoing monitoring of water quality, bi-annual cleanups, the re-introduction of native fish and insects, and the installation of native plant life.
Cleanups are held twice annually in the spring and the fall. Volunteers are equipped with gloves and trash bags, and typically bag around 1,000 lbs of trash per cleanup. Along with the cleanup activity, public outreach programs are oriented towards educating the student community to be more diligent in properly disposing of their trash rather than allowing it to soil the campus environment.
2. Strawberry Creek
“Strawberry Creek is a major landscape feature of the
University of California, Berkeley, and was one of the primary
reasons the site was chosen in 1860 as the location for the
campus.
Strawberry Creek is home to a growing number of native
animals and plants due to a restoration project started in 1987.
Fish, newts, egrets, banana slugs, crayfish, and small creatures
such as mayflies, water striders, and snails are now common.”
Strawberry Creek Web site:
http://strawberrycreek.berkeley.edu/index.html
3. Strawberry Creek
Strawberry Creek is a natural and important Bay Area
resource, which members of the University’s Environment,
Health & Safety (EH&S) Environmental Protection Team try to
keep clean and free of debris by hosting a semi-annual clean-
up.
In September 2007, the Office of Marketing & Business
Outreach (OMBO) supported the EH&S team’s efforts in
helping to publicize the event and coordinating participation
by first time Strawberry Creek Clean-up sponsor, Teva. The
event was a success, with many bags of trash and debris
collected by campus volunteers.
4. Strawberry Creek Clean-up
On Tuesday, September 18,
2007, UC Berkeley students,
faculty, and staff had the
opportunity to help clean up
Strawberry Creek.
Teva, BayKeeper, and Lonely
Planet joined the campus in
supporting this event.
5. Strawberry Creek Clean-up
Tim Pine and Rebecca Anderson, members of EH&S’ Environmental Protection
Team, greet clean-up volunteers
7. Strawberry Creek Clean-up
Not only did the clean-up remove
litter and trash from Strawberry
Creek, it helped to lessen the impact of
trash washing into the Bay during the
next storm.
To learn more about Bay Area waters
and how they are affected by
pollution, visit
http://www.baykeeper.org/.
Bags filled with trash from the creek.
Thank you, Volunteers!
8. Strawberry Creek Clean-up
EH&S, Teva, Lonely Planet, and Baykeeper provided information
about their ongoing “green” efforts as well as thank you gifts to
the volunteers. Volunteers received mugs, including a few made
from corn, CDs, and other rewards for their efforts. Four
volunteers, who participated in a drawing for Teva shoe gift
certificates, were the lucky winners.
Volunteers and the campus community
were treated to a concert by Jay Nash
9. Strawberry Creek Clean-up
Acknowledgements:
Environment, Health & Safety and the Office of Marketing & Business
Outreach would like to thank the following groups for their participation
in the September 18, 2007, Strawberry Creek Clean-up
Professor William Berry
Teva
Lonely Planet
BayKeeper
Jay Nash
Our “Clean up” Volunteers
Credits
Photos – EH&S website and Sandra Scoggins
10. UC Berkeley Sustainabilty Efforts
The Strawberry Creek Clean-up is only one of many
sustainability efforts taking place at UC Berkeley. To learn
more about sustainability efforts at the University or how you
can help in keeping the campus and other environs green,
visit these helpful sites:
http://ehs.berkeley.edu/
http://sustainability.berkeley.edu/
http://bie.berkeley.edu/
Join us in the spring for our next clean-up event.
Remember: Blue + Gold = GREEN!
Copyright 2007 UC Regents
