Landscape elements of Strawberry Creek Park

Lately I’ve been hanging around Strawberry Creek Park - working with Affordable Housing Associates and scoping out a route and sponsors for the Berkeley Partners for Parks Spring event “Walk Bike Westbrae/ West Berkeley” sponsored with the Hidden Gems Tour and Berkeley Path Wanderers Association. You will recall that I’ve been on the Hidden Gems Tour. The Walk Bike event is planned for Saturday, May 10 with the walk portion starting at the Albany border and the bike portion starting at San Pablo Park, both at 10 a.m.

Looking north and south

So, I’ve been walking around and through the park and observing berms, swales, and desire paths. The berms and mid-park depression form a bowl for water retention. The berms on the northern side also provide privacy from Addison Street. The berms on the northeast and the south are heavily planted with trees providing two mini-woodlands/ groves. There is a bench beneath the northeast berm which provides prospect over the park, pictured below.

A swale runs along the eastern edge of the park (below). Although I did not see a storm drain at its end, I assume the swale captures, slows, and possibly cleans stormwater runoff before it reaches the creek for which the park is named.

The park features an element that was not designed: desire paths, pictured below. I noticed two, both on the southern edge of park, coming off the asphalt park below the southern berms and north of the creek bank.

See the Friends of Strawberry Creek website for information about creek segments.