Explore the East Bay | Bay Day 2022
30 Days of the Bay starts now! Whether you are traversing 30 miles of the San Francisco Bay Trail or completing 10 Bay-related activities, here is your guide to taking on the Bay Day Challenge in the East Bay. Check back every week for other Bay Area regional spotlights on new trails, key partners, and inspiring projects – discover what makes our region so special, and get motivated to explore.
Once you’ve hit the Bay Trail or engaged outdoors, submit your miles and activities to the Bay Day RunSignUp portal. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and share your adventure with #BayDayChallenge #SFBayDay and tag @saveSFbay for the chance to win a $50 Sports Basement gift card every week.
Bay Day Regional Spotlight
Discovery Guide
Trails
This 12 mile walking and biking trail begins at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters and ends at the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center. Along the way you will find Coyote Hills Regional Park and a Visitor Center filled with wildlife and wetland display exhibits. Pass by Eden Landing Ecological Reserve where you can find fishing ponds and picnic sites. →
Begin this 15.3 mile trail at the Port of Oakland and visit Portview Park and Middle Harbor Shoreline Park for views of the Bay Bridge and San Francisco skyline. Head north and pass through the Emeryville City Marina and McLaughlin Eastshore State Park, named for Save The Bay co-founder Sylvia McLaughlin! The trail ends at the Albany Mudflats Ecological Reserve where you can find the Albany Bulb and beautiful Bay views. →
Activities
Check out our OLO Ecosystem Explorer video to learn how to identify and explore different types of ecosystems around San Francisco Bay. →
Download our Ecosystem Explorer Guide and explore an open space near you. Use this activity worksheet to make observations, collect evidence of biotic and abiotic factors, and create your own guide.
Participate in a Clean Up
Pollution prevention is one way we can help conserve and restore the Bay. Join us throughout the East Bay to help remove trash before it ends up in our waterways, Bay, and ocean.
Coastal Clean Up Day: September 17
- Save The Bay, MLK Jr. Regional Shoreline in Oakland →
- Creek to Bay Day, City-sponsored clean up sites throughout Oakland →
Bay Day Bash: October 1
- Save The Bay, MLK Jr. Regional Shoreline in Oakland and sponsored by Meta →
Climate Resilience in Oakland and Beyond
The City of Oakland is currently updating its General Plan, a blueprint that will guide the City’s development in the coming decades. Over the past months, Save The Bay has been advocating for climate resilience to be prioritized in the General Plan Update process. This has included meeting with City staff and community stakeholders, as well as attending outreach events and submitting comments on the General Plan elements.
One major milestone in our Oakland General Plan work was the passage of a citywide resolution incorporating climate resilience and adaptation measures into the General Plan update. This resolution, sponsored by Councilmember Dan Kalb and President Pro Tempore Sheng Thao, called for the General Plan to work towards “healthy, resilient communities that are equipped to thrive in the face of climate hazards.” It directs City staff to prioritize environmental justice outcomes for frontline communities, and requires climate resilience to be incorporated into housing, infrastructure, and other related issues.
This Oakland resolution will help ensure that the city is resilient to climate impacts in the coming decades. It also serves as a model of climate resilience planning throughout the Bay Area. If cities across our region incorporate resilience into their planning processes, it will move us towards a safer and more environmentally just Bay Area.
A Decade of Habitat Restoration at Eden Landing
Eden Landing Ecological Reserve (ELER) is one of our staff members’ favorite sites for viewing wildlife, exploring transition zone habitats, and witnessing change on the landscape. This 6,400-acre reserve of restored salt ponds, marshes, and upland habitats has been a restoration location for Save The Bay for over a decade. We partner with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to complete this work and have successfully restored 8 transition zone sites, totaling over 6 acres.
In the spring of this year, we launched into work on our ninth site! A new site begins with plenty of weeding: removing species that grow quickly and take over the landscape to make more room for natives. With the help of volunteers, we removed over two tons of weeds from our new site this spring. As the (hopefully) rainy season approaches, we will begin planting a diverse selection of native species, creating habitat for wildlife, and providing many additional ecosystem services.
If you head out to Eden Landing this month, walk along the road from the parking lot toward the kayak launch. The left side of the trail is a site we restored ten years ago. The right side is our new site. Take your time to observe the similarities and differences between the two. Send us any questions that come up as you explore. Enjoy!