PAST NEWS

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On Saturday, September 19 an enthusiastic group of volunteers (40-45 individuals ranging from 12 years to 80) under the direction of Friends of Orinda Creeks (FOC) could be seen picking up trash and clearing brush along San Pablo Creek in downtown Orinda. This section of creek, from Chevron to B of A, is notorious for illegal trash dumping and littering. FOC announced a staggered work shift program which began at 9 AM and finished at noon. Volunteers arrived at 9, 10 or 11 and worked for an hour or more along the creek. The staggered shifts were designed to emphasize social distancing. Masks were mandatory. Volunteers included FOC Board members, Next Door Orindans, and male and female Scouts from Orinda Troops 303B and 303G. Leaders and parents from the Troops were also there to help. 

Huge piles of trash, debris, brush, one chair, a printer, and one car bumper were brought up from the creek and piled up for pick-up by the City of Orinda on the following Monday. FOC would like to thank all of the Coastal Clean-up Day participants and Orinda staff Scott Christie, Public Works/Engineering and Steve Ecklund, City Maintenance Supervisor for coordinating the pickup and removal of debris. 

We are sad to report that Maya Fay Rappaport passed away on June 8, 2021, after 13-years of navigating early-onset Alzheimer's. She passed peacefully in the arms of her daughter, Shana.

Maya was born on December 19, 1952 in Los Angeles. She majored in Environmental Studies at UCSF and completed one of the first masters programs in environmental management in Sweden. She later spent a year as a nanny in Paris, thus learning French as well as a bit of Swedish. She married the love of her life, Ben Rappaport, and raised two children, Shana and Amon, both of whom carry on her legacy as stewards of a better, brighter world for all.

In 1993, the Rappaports moved to Orinda and joined Friends of Orinda Creeks. Maya was a remarkable volunteer, dedicated to our creeks and the community as a whole. She served on our Board of Directors for almost 20 years and organized many creek clean up events for the community, until her illness prevented her from continuing.

Maya had a passion for nature and art and was an accomplished pianist and painter, though her greatest passion was always as a steward of planet Earth. She became FOC's vivacious President and inspired some very talented people to join our Board of Directors. At about the same time, she was hired by the City as their “Clean Water” person, overseeing storm water discharges and other tasks.  This overlapped with the creek clean-ups she helped run.  

The Rappaport family suggests donations can be made to Friends of Orinda Creeks, in recognition of the countless hours Maya spent caring for our watersheds and educating the public to appreciate the value of our creeks

Click here to read FOC's Cinda MacKinnon's tribute to her close friend and colleague Maya.

August, 2019

Caleb Elkind's A Fish Tale , a short documentary about restoring trout to the San Pablo Watershed, won "Best Short Documentary Film by a Middle School Student" at the Lamorinda ShortDocs Film Fest.  Learn a little about the natural history of our creek from FOC's Brian Waters and Toris Jaeger.  Nice Job Caleb!!

Click here to watch A Fish Tale.

June 2019 

Board members from Friends of Orinda Creeks – Leesa Evans, David Hop, Tom Morehouse and Bob Stoops – joined members of the Watershed Project (http://thewatershedproject.org/), led by Helen Fitanides, in surveying the tiny macroinvertebrates living in San Pablo Creek. The survey was conducted in the area between the Miner Road bridge upstream to the 1920 bridge at the end of Orinda Village.

Controlled sampling of these tiny bugs took place in clearly flagged 25-foot sections all along the creek. In addition to the samples, the team measured stream width and average depths of the creek. We hope to have the results of the survey in the next couple of months once they return from the lab. We will post the data on the web site.

December, 2016

It has been many years since rainbow trout were spotted in San Pablo Creek in Orinda – until last week.  For over ten years, Fisheries biologist Brain Waters and Wildlife biologist Professor Reg Barrett have maintained that San Pablo Creek in Orinda is potential habitat for rainbow trout. They were proved right after EBMUD reported over 100 trout ranging in length from 10-14 inches near the Orinda Filter Plant.   This occurred shortly after EBMUD cleared root wads and other debris and removed the metal obstructions in the sluice gate opening of the small (12-foot high) dam (SP201) just upstream of Bear Creek Road - in time for rainbow trout to swim upstream for spawning season.

 Besides the pleasure of seeing these large fish swimming in our creeks, they are one of the best indicators of creek health.  Friends of Orinda Creeks (FOC) has been in negotiation with EBMUD for many years to see this happen and pressed for providing an opening for fish and regular maintenance of the dam. 

October 2017

Restoring Creeks in Difficult Urban Sites: Options for Orinda 

Wednesday, October 4th, 2017 at 6:30 PM Orinda Library Garden Room 

The restoration of San Pablo Creek as it flows through Orinda Village is a key component of the Downtown Revitalization plan. Imagine a naturalized creek complete with a pedestrian path and even a restaurant (or two) with creekside dining. Come learn more about what this project entails and its many benefits from an expert in the field, Dr. Ann Riley. Dr. Ann Riley is the executive director of the Waterways Restoration Institute, and watershed and river restoration advisor for the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. Her work in river restoration has been nationally recognized by numerous awards.