Strawberry Creek begins high in the Berkeley hills and flows westward through campus, eventually emptying into the Bay. There are stories of Big Game barbecues in the 30's behind the Alumni House during which 40-pound salmon were pulled from Strawberry Creek and thrown on the grill. Today, after leaving campus the creek has been directed underground, beneath the city's streets and buildings.

Currently, most of Strawberry Creek is kept underground in a culvert. Culverts, usually arrow-straight underground tunnels of metal or concrete, prevent the formation of pools, ripples, or meandering banks. These areas of slower flow and gravel accumulation provide habitat for a cornucopia of stream life. The straightened creek flows faster and stronger, causing heightened erosion and water quality problems downstream. Underground, the creek has no chance to grow vegetation, and the creek becomes completely impassable for fish or amphibians travelling upstream.

The City of Berkeley is considering a downtown revitalization project that includes making Center Street between Oxford and Shattuck a pedestrian walkway and "daylighting" (resurfacing) the creek, which runs underneath the thick blue line that currently winds along this stretch of roadway. Yet in doing so, many competing opinions and sensitive issues must be considered in order to satisfy everyone involved.

Culverts do not last forever; they often fail, rot away, or collapse, which can be hazardous to downstream environments, and can be costly to fix or replace.

Daylighting Strawberry Creek would offer a unique opportunity to help restore the native vegetation to the area, and to provide a habitat for fish, birds, insects, amphibians, and mammals. The creekside vegetation will slow down the water, decreasing erosion problems downstream, and its roots will work in conjunction with algae and bacteria to filter out and remove toxins and pollutants such as oils and metals from the roadway. Small creeks like Strawberry Creek, when open, are more effective than large streams at filtering out inorganic nitrogen and removing pollutants from the water. The vegetation will also add oxygen into the urban air while filtering out the carbon dioxide. With the creek open, it will be easier to monitor the water for contaminants. We would be able to detect and fix sewer leakages and spikes in pollutant levels in a more timely fashion.

An open creek in the middle of downtown Berkeley would be a wonderful way for the public to connect with Strawberry Creek's history, ecology, and living health, as well as that of the local watershed. The creek could be used as an instructional tool and lab area for Berkeley High, located only blocks away. It would also be a scenic place to visit, offering a location for recreation and serving as a public amenity, a happily welcomed aesthetic and relaxing escape from expansive concrete and buildings built on right angles.

The process of daylighting Strawberry Creek will take much time, negotiation, funding, and energy. Competing opinions will have to be considered when making many of the decisions regarding the future layout of Center Street. However, when the project is finished, the open creek will be a benefit to the entire community.

Do you live in the Strawberry Creek watershed? See the Oakland Museum of California's Creek and Watershed Information Source.