Annual Creek Cleanup

Saturday May 12
Meet at 8:45 in Civic Park

Join us for the 23rd Annual Creek Cleanup on Saturday, May 12.  Meet at the gazebo in Civic Park at the corner of Broadway and Civic Drive in downtown Walnut Creek.

Continental breakfast at 8:45.  Registration at 9:00.

ALL PARTICIPANTS must have a waiver form.  Click here to download a form and get more details about the cleanup.

Photos of the 2011 creek cleanup are available here.  Photos from this year's cleanup will be posted approximately a week after the cleanup.

The Creek Walk Is Expanded

The first section of the Creek Walk included interpretive panels, picnic tables, realignment of the trail farther away from the creek, a new pedestrian-only trail, and replanting of the project area with plants native to the Walnut Creek vicinity.  It was opened to the public in May, 2011.

During the summer, the plants filled out and flowered, providing food for pollinators.  Where the native grass seed was allowed to fall, there are new seedlings around the parent plants, as intended.  To the east of the planted area, City staff pruned up the trees and removed underbrush to give the area a more open feeling.  As a result of all the improvements, the public is making greater use of the area.

On the first Community Service Day in October 2011, Gardens at Heather Farm and Friends of the Creeks volunteers combined to plant an IPM demonstration garden under the oaks at the east end of the Creek Walk.  (IPM stands for Integrated Pest Management, which is a set of techniques for managing a garden with little or no use of pesticides.)  The new garden showcases a selection of horticultural and native plants suitable for growing under oaks as an inspiration to gardeners to make the most of the native oaks that may be in their yards.

New Clean Water Permit

The bioassessment program has come to an end with changes in the clean water permit.  Water quality assessment has shifted back toward chemical analysis which must be done in labs.  The major focus for this permit cycle is on trash elimination and reduction.

Fish Sampling

In August 2010 we began a new program – gathering data on the fish in Walnut Creek just below the drop structure near the Willows Shopping Center.  This location is the farthest upstream that steelhead and salmon can come to spawn.  We are attempting to document their success by sampling several times over the course of a year to see what species are present in the creek in each season.

We returned to the area a couple of times in December to look for salmon.  We found a few the first time, none the second.  However, there were lots of signs of otters.

Removing a shopping cart from the creek in Civic Park, 2011

The new IPM garden as it appeared in March, 2012.  It is planted with species suitable for growing under native oaks.  There is an informal seating area in the middle.

 
People explore the Creek Walk after the dedication