Berkeley’s Shorebird Park

On the sheltered south shore of Berkeley’s marina peninsula, Shorebird Park shares the Bay shoreline with Adventure Playground, where kids build fantasy structures from scrap materials. Docks and volunteer-run clus offer low-cost motor-free enjoyment on the water. The park, with beach, picnic tables, and play structure, is heavily used by families and busy year round with nature-study programs and summer and holiday camps for children. lA straw-bale headquarters and “green” classroom showcase sustainable materials.

By the early 2000s, a 400-foot-long thicket of invasive French broom had walled off the beach from the rest of the park — making a mockery of signs saying “naturẹ study area.” Thistles, fennel, blackberry, and other dense weeds made significant areas unusable.

Beginning in 2007, Friends of Five Creeks’ volunteers from elementary-school up, plus our Weekday Weed Warriors, levered out the 400′ wall of French broom that blocked Bay views. We also gradually removed dense thistles, thorny blackberry, and other weeds throughout the park.

We planted tough natives including mugwort, California sage, and lizard tail, covered in yellow flowers in spring. Creeping wildrye (Elymus triticoides), ferny yarrow, and clouds of Spanish clover (Acmispon glaber)– already on the site — came back in force once the broom was gone.

Berkeley Parks Supervising Gardener Jacob Several worked with and Eagle Scout candidate to re-establish low growing wildflowers that draw native butterflies and bees. Friends of Five Creeks developed small interpretive signs, introducing the plants to park visitors.

Maintenance is generally light now, but no project is ever finished. Broom seeds can sprout after decades. Volunteers still search for returnees each spring — especially on the slope near University Avenue. We discourage thistles and thorny blackberry and keep an eye out for new problems.

Our shorebird story in a dozen photos — click photo for larger image