Please join us!
To find out how you can help, please email [email protected].
And, if you're on Facebook, please check out our FCC group here.
Because our creeks could use more friends.
To find out how you can help, please email [email protected].
And, if you're on Facebook, please check out our FCC group here.
Because our creeks could use more friends.
Friends of Concord Creeks is an all-volunteer group dedicated to stewarding waterways and natural spaces throughout the City of Concord, California.
Our creeks are the life’s blood of our watersheds. Creeks and their banks are home to a vast variety of plants, animals, fungi, and microbes that interact in unimaginably complex ways as part of the great Web of Life. We all depend on this Web for our very lives, so it’s crucially important to protect and nurture it.
Here are some of the ways we Friends of Concord Creeks are doing just that.
Our creeks are the life’s blood of our watersheds. Creeks and their banks are home to a vast variety of plants, animals, fungi, and microbes that interact in unimaginably complex ways as part of the great Web of Life. We all depend on this Web for our very lives, so it’s crucially important to protect and nurture it.
Here are some of the ways we Friends of Concord Creeks are doing just that.
Removing trash from our creeks
The trash in our creeks isn’t just unsightly–it affects water quality and endangers animals and plants. Plastic waste is especially concerning. Rather than biodegrading, it breaks down into tiny bits called microplastics, which are nearly impossible to clean up once they are in the environment. When microplastics are ingested by aquatic animals or absorbed by plants, the toxic chemicals they contain can make their way up the food chain.
Working with the City of Concord, we organize several creek cleanups each year.
The trash in our creeks isn’t just unsightly–it affects water quality and endangers animals and plants. Plastic waste is especially concerning. Rather than biodegrading, it breaks down into tiny bits called microplastics, which are nearly impossible to clean up once they are in the environment. When microplastics are ingested by aquatic animals or absorbed by plants, the toxic chemicals they contain can make their way up the food chain.
Working with the City of Concord, we organize several creek cleanups each year.
Monitoring water quality
With support from The Watershed Project, our Water Quality Monitoring team makes monthly visits to seven sites along Mt Diablo Creek, Galindo Creek, and Holbrook Channel. We measure key indicators of creek health, including pH, temperature, oxygen saturation, and conductivity.
This information about water quality is important for identifying problems as they arise. For example, a sudden increase in conductivity could mean that excessive amounts of herbicides have been applied to a golf course that drains into a creek.
The data we collect is reported to CEDEN–the California Environmental Data Exchange Network–and appears on The Watershed Project’s website here.
With support from The Watershed Project, our Water Quality Monitoring team makes monthly visits to seven sites along Mt Diablo Creek, Galindo Creek, and Holbrook Channel. We measure key indicators of creek health, including pH, temperature, oxygen saturation, and conductivity.
This information about water quality is important for identifying problems as they arise. For example, a sudden increase in conductivity could mean that excessive amounts of herbicides have been applied to a golf course that drains into a creek.
The data we collect is reported to CEDEN–the California Environmental Data Exchange Network–and appears on The Watershed Project’s website here.
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Removing Arundo donax from streambanks
Arundo donax, a highly invasive bamboo-like reed, poses a serious threat to the health of our watershed. It grows to 30 feet and spreads rapidly, killing the native plants and destroying ecosystems. It can completely take over a creek and cause flooding. Its towering stalks are highly flammable all year round, posing a fire hazard to neighboring buildings. And it’s found along Galindo Creek and other waterways in our city. Removing Arundo and preventing regrowth is a big job, but we’ve taken it on with the support of the experienced Arundo killers with Friends of San Ramon Creeks. |
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Planting locally native plants
With the support of the City of Concord and California's Wildlife Conservation Board — and a grant of 90 native shrubs, trees, and forbs from the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation — we started a 4,000-square-foot garden in Willow Pass Community Park. We’ve also planted native sedges, grasses, and elderberry trees in Hillcrest Community Park.
Why plant only native species? Over many thousands of years, these plants have co-evolved with insects and other organisms to create a functioning local ecosystem. Plants from other parts of the world generally don’t contribute much to ecosystem health, while natives provide food and habitat. And invasive plants like privets, Himalayan blackberry, and English ivy crowd out natives and destroy the ecosystem.
With the support of the City of Concord and California's Wildlife Conservation Board — and a grant of 90 native shrubs, trees, and forbs from the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation — we started a 4,000-square-foot garden in Willow Pass Community Park. We’ve also planted native sedges, grasses, and elderberry trees in Hillcrest Community Park.
Why plant only native species? Over many thousands of years, these plants have co-evolved with insects and other organisms to create a functioning local ecosystem. Plants from other parts of the world generally don’t contribute much to ecosystem health, while natives provide food and habitat. And invasive plants like privets, Himalayan blackberry, and English ivy crowd out natives and destroy the ecosystem.
The map above is from the Contra Costa County Watershed Atlas. Highlighting and watershed names have been added.
Which Creeks Flow Through Concord?
- Walnut Creek is the main stem of the Walnut Creek Watershed, bordering the Iron Horse Trail as it passes through the northwest corner of Concord before draining to Suisun Bay.
- Pine Creek is a major tributary of Walnut Creek. On its way through the southwestern portion of Concord, it passes by Meadow Homes Park and Lime Ridge Open Space before joining the main stem just north of the Six Flags Hurricane Harbor water park.
- Galindo Creek is another major tributary of Walnut Creek. Traversing the south-central part of Concord, it passes through Newhall Community Park and Markham Nature Park before joining with Pine Creek just north of Meadow Homes Park.
- Mount Diablo Creek is the main stem of the Mount Diablo Creek Watershed, passing through Brazil Quarry Park and Thurgood Marshall Regional Park (not yet open to the public) in the northeastern part of Concord.
- Holbrook Channel flows through Willow Pass Community Park and parallels Olivera Road to Hillcrest Community Park before joining Walnut Creek in the northwest corner of Concord.
Concord Creeks, as with most urban creeks, provide essential water, food, and shelter for many types of wildlife. Here are some of the species we've encountered in Concord.
