Oak grove slumber party/vigil Tuesday night, Berkeley

The Issues: The Coast Live Oak grove needs to be protected from misguided development plans by UC Berkeley. There was a hearing in Alameda County Court today in Hayward, and the judge is taking more time than expected to evaluate the data. At least four organizations have brought lawsuits to the court to prevent the university from rushing into a development plan with unintended consequences. There are going to be seismic geology tests to determine the level of hazard from the earthquake faults in the area. There is also more data coming in from the College of Natural Resources on the unique wildlife dependencies in the area. The judge will be making a ruling soon, perhaps Monday. There are two alternative building sites, so the university can easily make a plan to protect the oaks. In the meantime, to protect the oaks from uninformed cutters, there continues to be an ongoing treesit (currently seven) and supporting ground crew.

Location: Oak grove, on the east side of Piedmont Ave, just north of Bancroft, Berkeley. Just north of the International House at the end of Bancroft. Just west of the Memorial Stadium.

More info: saveoaks.com.

-- The Chantrelle mushroom has a symbiotic relationship to Oak trees and fruits it's edible mushrooms in the rainy winters in rich oak duff in old oak groves, in the Bay Area and beyond.