Grinnel Natural Area Native BiodiversityRestoration Project

Areas of natural beauty such as these can feel so effortless. A number of native species are growing together around the creek. The Grinnel Natural Area Native Biodiversity Restoration project, started in 2008, has removed invasive species such as English ivy and Periwinkle and has planted around 1,300 plants of about 60 different native species in this habitat. This was a large scale, multiyear project that incorporated students from local elementary, middle, and high schools as well as UC Berkeley students to help restore this ecosystem to one closer to what it may have looked like before Berkeley’s urbanization. Covering over 3,600 square feet, this project was meant to be very visible and provide a “green gateway” at the Oxford Street entrance to campus. The project introduced over 500 students from different ages to land stewardship and hopefully inspired other students to continue to work to maintain the campus’ ecosystems.