Earth Day at East Bay Parks
Earth Day, the annual worldwide rededication to preserving and enhancing our planetary environment, falls on Saturday, April 22 this year, and a variety of programs are planned in the East Bay Regional Parks in observance of the occasion.
One such Earth Day program to protect parks is shoreline cleanup. You can volunteer to help pick up trash and debris at regional park locations throughout the District. Parks where the shoreline cleanup will take place are Point Pinole in Richmond, Hayward Shoreline, Tidewater Boating Center in Oakland, MLK Shoreline in Oakland (two locations), and Crown Beach in Alameda (two locations). At these parklands, both registrants and walkups will be welcome. There is also an Earth Day volunteer project planned at Lake Chabot Regional Park in Castro Valley, for which registration is required. For information on these projects and how to register, visit www.ebparks.org and click on “Earth Day Cleanup Events” on the home page.
Earth Day will be celebrated at Del Valle Regional Park south of Livermore with a scavenger hunt, a craft-making session, animal specimens and a guided walk on the East Shore Trail. Activities will continue from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., centered on the Arroyo Mocho picnic area, with the interpretive staff presiding. Children must be accompanied by adults. The park has been closed because of storm damage, but reopening is scheduled for Earth Day. Before you go, check “Alerts and Closures” on www.ebparks.org to be sure that the park is open and the program will take place. Del Valle Regional Park is at 7000 Del Valle Road off Mines Road, about nine miles south of Livermore. There’s a parking fee of $6 per vehicle; the visitor center programs are free. For information, call 510-544-3146.
An American Sign Language (ASL) Earth Day walk with naturalist Erica Stephens and two ASL interpreters is planned from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, at Sunol Regional Wilderness in southern Alameda County. The group will start at the Sunol Visitor Center, follow the Valley Floor Trail, and continue onto Camp Ohlone Road. The walk is for ages four and older; parent participation is required. It’s free and registration is not necessary. There is no WIFI or running water in the park. Bring all the drinking water you will need. Sunol Regional Wilderness is at the end of Geary Road off Calaveras Road, about five miles south of I-680 and the town of Sunol. Landslides have blocked Geary Road several times, so before you go, check to be certain that the park is open and the program will proceed. For information, call 510-544-3249.
Bees are the focus of an “Earth Day for the Bees” program from 10 to 11 a.m. on Earth Day at Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont with naturalist Erin Blackwood. The group will meet in the park’s Nectar Garden to learn about the importance of bees and other pollinators and take home a native bee-friendly plant to continue a community science project at home or school. This is a free, drop-in program for all ages. It is wheelchair accessible. No registration is needed; parent participation is required. Coyote Hills is located at the end of Patterson Ranch Road off Paseo Padre Parkway. There’s a parking fee of $5 per vehicle. For information, call 510-544-3220.
At Tilden Nature Area in the Berkeley Hills, naturalist Anthony Fisher will lead another of his “Insects (And Other Curious Phenomena)” nature walks from 2 to 3:30 p.m. on Earth Day. This is a casual, exploratory walk. Some organisms will be brought back for microscopic examination before release. Registration is not necessary. Meet Anthony at Tilden’s Environmental Education Center, which is at the north end of Central Park Drive, accessible via Canon Drive from Grizzly Peak Boulevard in Berkeley. For information, call 510-544-2233.
And there’s a John Muir Birthday—Earth Day celebration planned at the National Park Service’s John Muir National Historic Site, 4202 Alhambra Avenue, Martinez. The Park District’s Mobile Visitor Center will be there. The event is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, celebrating Muir’s 185th birthday and the National Park Service centennial. Admission and parking are free. For more information, call 925-228-8860 or visit: johnmuirassociation.org.
These are just a few of the programs planned in coming days in the East Bay Regional Park District. For full information, visit www.ebparks.org/things-to-do. At the website, always check “Alerts & Closures” to be sure that the park you plan to visit is open and the program is proceeding. “Alerts & Closures” is in the drop-down menu under “Visit a Park” at the top of the home page. And you can read the Park District’s latest Regional In Nature (RIN) Activity Guide at www.ebparks.org/RIN.