Past Projects

Raise the Roof Fund

Work is already underway with our roof replacement. We are working in stages with a helpful roofing company that is enabling us to get the most out of our current roof before having to fully replace it. In 2018, we repaired compromised parts of the roof and this year we have painted flashing and made structural repairs to windows and a leaky vestibule door. There’s more to do, but with your help, we will raise our new roof!

In 2018, we held a Raise the Roof Concert featuring Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Barbara Higbie and award-winning electric cellist, Jami Sieber. This well-attended event raised just over $6200 for our new roof.

Strawberry Creek Watershed Fund

The Strawberry Creek Project was born out of a desire to help offer the wider community a peek into the history of West Berkeley and to honor the land, which was sacred to the indigenous peoples who lived here for centuries. The area around Poet’s Corner is rich with natural and social history that many community members may not be aware of. Strawberry Creek is a year-round creek that flows from the Berkeley Hills to the San Francisco Bay. Because of the powerful springs from which it arises, it provided sustenance for the many plants, trees, and animals, including bears and eagles, which thrived here for thousands of years. The neighborhood was once the home of Ohlone people who lived on the banks of the creek for at least 5000 years. Strawberry Creek, which is now hidden beneath culverts and concrete, once rushed through the neighborhood filled with salmon—and with so many shell fish that huge shell mounds, made of shells discarded by the native peoples, abounded in the area. The area was strongly affected by the gold rush in the mid-1800s, and home to a thriving Finnish community in the first part of the 1900s. The political debate between the socialist and communist factions of the Finnish community contributed to Berkeley’s long and enduring reputation as a place of social debate and discussion.

In collaboration with BASE Landscape Architecture and other community groups, we researched the history of the land and the creek, and constructed a 36” by 24” informational placard, which is now affixed to the side of the Sacred Stream Center. You can view the placard here.