Berkeley Meadow Restoration - Phase III

On June 17, 2009, the East Bay Regional Park District Board of Directors approved construction of the third and final phase of the Berkeley Meadow Restoration Project at Eastshore Park in Berkeley.  This $2,000,000 project will begin construction in early July.  The project will create seasonal wetlands, coastal prairie and coastal scrub atop an old landfill.  The 72-acre Meadow is being restored in three phases over five years in order to minimize impacts to wildlife and to create a diverse and thriving habitat for plants and animals in this urban area. 

About 30 acres of the Meadow Phase III area will be cleared of non-native vegetation and debris, and capped with about 28,000 cubic yards of clean imported soil.  This will create a new barrier to isolate landfill garbage from wildlife that uses the restored habitat.  The soil will be contoured to provide a more natural looking surface and planted with native vegetation.  Special measures will be taken to protect an additional 7 acres of existing wetlands and a nesting location for the northern harrier, also know as the marsh hawk. 

The Meadow restoration enjoys strong community support.  The public has had a hands-on involvement in its restoration.  The Park District in conjunction with Friends of Five Creeks and other organizations have hosted several community stewardship events in previously completed phases in the Meadow restoration.  The events have provided the opportunity for the public, in particular school groups, to learn about the history of the Meadow and to make a personal connection with the environment.  More community stewardship events will be scheduled over the coming years to help assure the success of this important restoration project.

During project construction the trails through the interior of the Meadow will be closed.  The purpose of these closures is to protect the public from construction equipment operating adjacent to the trails and to make some needed repairs to the trails.  The public can still use the perimeter trails to watch project construction.  Major project construction activities should be concluded by the end of October and the trails will be reopened.

The 37-acre Phase III project is funded primarily through a $1,400,000 grant from the California Coastal Conservancy.  The Park District is providing $200,000 in Measure AA funds and the City of Berkeley is contributing $100,000.  Knapp excavators also donated about $300,000 in soil for the project.  The cost for restoring the entire 72-acre Meadow is about $6,000,000.

Resources 

> Berkeley Meadow Restoration - Fact Sheet (200KB, PDF) 

> Detail map of Berkeley Meadow - Phase III (340KB, PDF)

> Berkeley Meadow Aerial View - Phases I - III (2MB, PDF)

Video

Back to Top