Helping creeks, watersheds, and nature in the city

Sign up here for email notices on volunteering with F5C or others (through our monthly e-news) or locations for our every-Tuesday "Weekday Weed Warriors.

F5C information sheets

Pollution and helping creeks 

• Who'Ya Gonna Call about Water Pollution?
• Five Things You Can Do for Creeks
  En Español (PDF)
  Simplified and Traditional Chinese (PDF)
• De-clutter the environmental way (PDF)
• F5C's native-plant signs, available to all (PDF; see first-page instructions for viewing as slide show)

Climate change, water conservation

• Saving Water Rain and Shine
• Global warming basics for the Bay Area -- how global warming may affect the Bay Area, and what you can do.

Finding the benefits of nature

• Nature Treasure Hunt, for kids of all ages, designed for lower Codornices and Cerrito Creeks but adaptable elsewhere
• Creekside walks in the Berkeley/Albany/El Cerrito/Kensington area
• Places to experience nature in Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, and Kensington
• Citizen Science -- learning and enjoying while adding to knowledge
• California wildlife and nature web cams
• Codornices Creek "nature cards" -- nuggets of nature and things to look for along Codornices Creek from Sixth to Eighth Streets.

Plants and gardening

• Garden with nature -- Online info 
• Native Creekside Plants for the East Bay
• Edible and useful wild plants and weeds for our area (PDF)
• Invasive Plants along Codornices Creek from 6th to 8th (may be helpful for other urban creeks)
• Gourmet Eating Meets the Weed Wars: Fennel Pollen Recipes (PDF)

East Bay groups dealing with specific creeks and watersheds (west of hills)

• Alameda Creek Alliance
• Pinole Creek Watershed, Friends of
• San Leandro Creek, Friends of
• San Pablo Watershed Neighbors Education and Restoration Society (SPAWNERS)
• Sausal Creek, Friends of
• Strawberry Creek, University of California at Berkeley

Bay Area activist organizations dealing with watershed issues

• San Francisco Baykeeper
• California Invasive Plant Council
• California Native Grasslands Association
• California Native Plant Society – East Bay Chapter
• Citizens for East Shore Parks
• Golden Gate Chapter, Audubon Society
• Greenbelt Alliance
• Restore the Delta
• Save the Bay
• Sierra Club, San Francisco Bay Chapter
• Lagunitas Creek, Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN)
• The Watershed Project

Agencies with creek- and watershed-related purposes or information

• Alameda Countywide Clean Water Program
• Alameda County Stopwaste – information on Bay Friendly gardening, recycling, composting, etc.
• The California Coastal Commission
• Contra Costa Clean Water Program
• San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board and statewide list of reasons why specific water bodies are considered "impaired."
• San Francisco Estuary Institute
• San Francisco Bay Joint Venture including West Nile Virus Resources and Your Wetlands, info on wetland restoration.
• U. S. Environmental Protection Agency – River Corridor and Wetland Restoration
• California Coastal Conservancy, Bay Area information

Other groups and sites with nature-related purposes or information

• ​Bay Nature Magazine (with event calendar)
• Berkeley Creeks - A Geographic / Photographic Database
• Berkeley Garden Club
• Bio-Integral Resource Center information on least-toxic pest management
• BlueGreenBldg.org – Out of date but still useful site showcasing creek- and Bay-friendly, low-impact developments that reduce pollution and destruction from urban runoff in the East Bay
• Berkeley Partners for Parks
• Berkeley Path Wanderers Association
• Berkeley Historical Plaque Project
• BugPeople
• CalFlora Database – information on wild California plants for conservation, education, and appreciation.
• The California Watershed Assessment Manual
• Conservation Lands Network – information about which Bay Area lands we need to protect to keep our vibrant and varied nature, agriculture and local food, water quality, opportunities for outdoor recreation, and native plants and animals.
• El Cerrito Trail Trekkers
• Friends of the Fountain and Walk
• Oakland Museum Guide to San Francisco Bay Area creeks
• San Francisco Bay Wildlife – information for wildlife watching and appreciation