New Leaf Begins Riparian Restoration

Many people can agree that Martinez is home to significant natural sites which not only give our city historic value, but open space for anyone to explore and discover from. Yet, one of Martinez’s most important natural areas, the Alhambra Creek, has been neglected for a number of years. Our creek is a valuable part of our city as it makes a great habitat for the surrounding biodiversity. However, with the effects of urbanization and development, our creek has gone through severe changes over a short period of time. Housing developments and native plant removal has caused the soil to erode, turning the creeks natural U shape form to a V-like shape, which increases erosion potential and decreased habitat. Nonetheless, on Oct. 17, New Leaf: A Sustainable Living Collaborative students started working on a section of the creek to restore the area back to a more natural state. This section of the creek is part of the property owned by private land owners called the Alhambra Valley Creek Coalition which is by John Muir’s Grave site.

Two weeks before, students from New Leaf’s restoration team began to prepare for the project. The restoration team is facilitated by Dr. Rona Zollinger, and focuses on the care and health of our local land and creek. We work with community members in efforts to restore, establish, and maintain a sustainable eco-system. These students learn about riparian restoration and earn science credit through hands on learning. Riparian restoration refers to restoring an area of land near a body of water or waterway, such as a river or creek, to a healthier state. Students analyzed methods and techniques used in this process, and understand what it takes to complete this project. This year, students were then introduced to Jeff Alverez, an expert biologist, who has initiated many restoration and biological assessment projects throughout California. After a brief look at the schedule for this project, the team headed out to the site and got the project under way.

The first step was to conduct an analysis of the location. This included taking a count of the native plants, trees and their size, and the overall dimensions of the site. Once the data was recorded and studied, the first process, and easily the most tedious, was to get rid of the surrounding poison oak and Himalayan Blackberry patches. Both of these invasive plants have overtaken, not only this part of the site, but most of the entire Creek, wiping out diverse habitats in the process. Removing these plants was an essential part of the project. Through the student’s team work, the task was taken care of in less time than presumed. Afterwards, in order to prevent any flooding issues, some of the dense rows of trees were pruned or cut down, which allows more sunlight to reach the soil and smaller plants.

            While I was working on parts of the project such as identification of native plants, removal of invasive plants, and study of the biodiversity, I wondered about the populations of plants and wildlife that creates a balanced eco-system and the ratios that make this possible. In a riparian setting, the vegetation varies and is often dominated by conifers, which limits the amount of sunlight that reaches the soil (Gilpin and Dobson 21). Calculating the exact populations of plants and wildlife of an area can seem almost impossible, unless the ranges of organisms are immobile. Therefore, an easier way to calculate the population size is to estimate by counting a small portion of the area and using that amount to compute and assessment of the total biodiversity (Postlethwait and Hopson 381).

            After the invasive plant removal, the next step is to lay down erosion control fabric which provides a solid foundation to prevent more of the soil from eroding back into the creek. Finally, planting native plants back to the creek then ensures that the soil has good support and that the local animals can re-create their habitats. Although our creek will take years to simply begin changing back to its natural state, it’s still possible so long as we understand how important it is to preserve it. Like all the sites in Martinez, our creek needs to be maintained and we need to ensure that it’s not overtaken with invasive plants or continues to erode. Everyone can also help out by doing small things such as keeping our creek clean from pollution, not only for ourselves, but for the plants and animals that live here too.