By Heather Kelly-Cavanaugh:
Our first lab session, on September 1st, consisted of our entire class going out to Copeland Creek with professor Wendy St John. It runs through the back of Sonoma State University, which surprisingly not many students know it even exists. As we walked up and down the creek we looked at different species and what possible restoration ideas could be set in place. The goal was to not only see the beautiful nature around us, but to also dive in and take a closer look at what we could do to improve the landscape.
Copeland Creek is 9 miles long, perennial, and completely human made. It comes down from Sonoma Mountain which is the home of Fairfield Osborn Preserve and runs through campus. Prehistorically this creek helped supply the Coast Miwok, Wappo and Pomo peoples before the European settlers arrived in the early 19th century The creek not only provides habitat for salmon and other aquatic animals, but it houses many terrestrial and riparian species. As the years go on there are noticeable environmental issues that have risen. Bank erosion, invasive grasses and reduced populations of amphibians are just some examples of a larger list waiting to be addressed.
While on our walk along the creek, we talked about various reptiles and amphibians living there, as well as identifying native and non-native species. There are several oaks along the creek as well such as the willow, the big leaf maple and the cork oak which is an ornamental tree. A major non-native invasive species on the creek is the Himalayan Blackberry. It has taken over the landscape and reduced other species around it. The university has taken measures to eradicate the invasive species, however they are starting to grow back. We will continue efforts to keep the species at bay and convert the invasive species to the native California Blackberry. Other interesting species we identified while walking along the creek were: Buckeye, Poisoned Hemlock, California Grape, Black Walnut, Oregon Ash, and Coyote Bush.
When we finished out walk along the Creek, we came back to the classroom and focused on possible restoration ideas for the creek as a whole and the in invasive species. We also discussed starting up a club to help restoration of the creek. Gaining new members and helping to restore the environment around us is something we all agreed on. We are all looking towards a brighter future for the creek.
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