Pollinator Project
In an effort to do our part to help the California Monarch butterfly–and pollinators in general–FOPCW applied for and was granted a California Monarch and Pollinator Habitat Kit through the Xerces Society in 2022 and again in 2023. These kits contained 175 woody and herbaceous transplants (including milkweed) native bunch grasses, and creek-friendly trees. FoPCW, in partnership with Earth Team, the Contra Costa RCD, and East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), has planted and is maintaining the plantings in the upper Pinole Creek watershed.
A lot has happened in the Pollinator Project in 2023, thanks to a dedicated and wonderful group of volunteers. We have now planted three large areas with over 175 nectar and larval plants in all. For the latest planting – over five work days of 1-3 hours each – our hard working teams spread cardboard and mulch, dug holes, mapped the sites, and planted, caged and labeled the new plants! We will water as needed and monitor the plants through the winter and look forward to healthy new growth in the coming year.
Many thanks to EBMUD for the use of the site, Grifols Diagnostic Solutions for their donation, Pinole High School Swim Team for their fundraiser, EarthTeam interns for their enthusiastic support, and the many volunteers that have gone above and beyond on this project.
Total monarchs reported and number of overwintering sites monitored for the Western Monarch Thanksgiving count from 1997 to 2023. Click here for more information about the Western Monarch Count.
Image credit: Xerces Society
File name: 2024_WMC_Graph_English_c.XercesSociety
Coming Up & How You Can Help
Spring 2024 Watering
Two water storage tanks were purchased and are filled as needed with non-potable water, thanks to EBMUD. The native plants will need to be hand watered through the first three growing seasons to help ensure their survival. In the spring, the weeds go crazy!
We could use all hands on deck to weed around the plants and give them a good shot at survival. Just click the contact us button to sign up for our email to be notified of our next work day and join a dynamic team doing this good work.
For more info please contact us:
Update from Earth Team Intern, Nicole Castillo:
The Pollinator Garden is a private area where Friends of Pinole Creek Watershed was given the opportunity to plant California native pollinator plants to give monarch butterflies a resting space while migrating and to stimulate their reproduction to increase their population! The garden, in the upper watershed, is vast and beautiful and separated into three sections — Perfect Picnic, Holy Cow!, and Athletics Field (named for their characteristics) — with a group of interns responsible for their respective areas. My peers and I work on Perfect Picnic — open, grassy, and the ideal sun-to-shade ratio— the recipe for a perfect picnic. Each area holds a variety of CA native plants — lovingly planted by volunteers —and our garden has proven to be resilient, many surviving through recent weather conditions and hungry deer. How do we know? We often visit the Pollinator Garden for maintenance and data collection.
Want to know more? Please see the full story as reported by Earth Team Intern Nicole Castillo in the Friends of Pinole Creek Summer 2022 Newsletter HERE
Many thanks to those terrific 2022-2023 Earth Team Interns for their creativity and beautiful artwork about native plants. They’re bee-utiful!
Angella Dayrit, Carl Lawrence Rimando, Derek Manahan, Elizabeth Duarte, Maddox Krashna, Melanie Saenz, Natalie Szumlas, Nicole Castillo, Jordan Le, Randy Snook, Samantha Zapanta, Simran Gurung, Vannapa Douangphrachanh
