nature – Alameda Point Environmental Report

Student volunteers lead litter cleanup around Seaplane Lagoon

Picking up litter year-round, not just on Earth Day, is an ongoing effort for some. On Saturday, April 12, dozens of students showed up at Seaplane Promenade Park at Alameda Point to pick up litter and trash from around the lagoon.

“We do these events once a month, every second Saturday,” said Patrick Hirsch, an Alameda high school student and one of the organizers of the event who works with two of the cleanup co-sponsors Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda (CASA) and Alameda Point business DOER Marine. “We supply the buckets and pickers.”

Artistic Natural Landscapes Seldom Noticed at Alameda Point

The natural world is a living art gallery. To appreciate the often intricate colorations that evolved in many cases over millions of years requires slowing down, way down, and stopping. It may even require the aid of a magnifying glass or a camera lens. Sometimes it just means being aware at certain times of the year when flowers bloom.

One of the most fascinating, common, but little appreciated, life forms are lichens, shown here in five images. With the naked eye, the details in the “Lichen Galaxy” image, for example, go unnoticed. Yet, there on the blue rock ‘sky’ of the shoreline boulder are yellow, orange, cream, and mushroom-colored lichens.

Public Works cleans up storm debris at Alameda Point

On Thursday, December 19, 2024, a crew from Alameda’s Public Works Department was out in force at Alameda Point to clean up debris hurled onshore by recent storms.

Six workers brought plenty of equipment to remove the plastic-and-Styrofoam-laced debris along the Seaplane Lagoon shoreline near the ferry terminal.

Unnatural disaster from King Tide storms at Alameda Point

A deluge of plastic trash, including Styrofoam pellets, was heaved onshore at Alameda Point during high-tide storms.

On Saturday and Sunday, December 14 and 15, King Tide storms managed to flush huge amounts of plastic pollution out of the Bay and onto land. In some areas, such as along the paved trails on the ferry terminal side of the Seaplane Lagoon at Alameda Point, the storm reminded us that we have a huge plastic pollution problem right here in San Francisco Bay.

Possibly the worst plastic contaminant of all is polystyrene, commonly referred to by the trade name Styrofoam. Styrofoam breaks down into microplastics that do not biodegrade and can be ingested by marine life.

The sheer scale of the pernicious problem of degrading Styrofoam products in our waterways was displayed like a communique from Mother Nature saying, “Here’s your garbage back.” It will likely require a vacuum truck to suck it all up before it ends up back in the water.

City applies for $2.4 million De-Pave Park grant

On October 4, 2024, the City of Alameda submitted a grant application to the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority for $2.4 million. The purpose of the grant is to advance the level of detail in the De-Pave Park design drawings to support regional and local permit applications.

“The City plans to complete 60% design and apply for regional permits by early 2026, and complete 90% design and be shovel ready by the end of 2026,” states the application. “Concurrently, the City will be identifying and securing construction funding.”

Harbor seal molting and mating behavior up close

Shedding and replacing fur coats

Every summer, and even into the fall, harbor seals go through a biological process known as molting, in which they shed their fur and grow a new layer to keep their fur healthy. You can tell when they are molting by the patchy appearance of their fur.

Bogus recycled water signs at Alameda Landing

The extensive landscaping at the recently-completed Bohol Circle Immigrant Park and the Pulte Homes condominiums at Alameda Landing is a beautiful sight to behold. And hats off to the city and Pulte Homes for installing recycled water pipes during construction.

The only thing wrong with the landscaping are the signs that say that the plants are irrigated with recycled water from East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD). This is not true, according to EDMUD Public Information Representative Christopher Tritto.