Recent Posts

A few weeks ago my parents told me about the hundreds of acorns dropping onto their back patio in Sacramento. As an amateur forager, I asked if they would gather some I could make into acorn flour. "If it's a hassle, no problem," I said, "I do live in a place called oak-land, I'm sure I can find some."

That, it turns out, was a lie. I couldn't think of a single oak tree in my neighborhood and, according to the Oakland Public Tree Map, that's nearly correct – there are only three recorded Coast Live Oaks in walking distance of my apartment, the closest of which is in Bushrod community garden.

So, what happened?

Prior to colonization, much of the East Bay was a dense Coast Live Oak woodland (likely the largest in California!) shared by a huge diversity of creatures and the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people. In 1820, the Spanish governor granted the land to Don Luís María Peralta in recognition of his longtime service to the Spanish military. His four sons lived on the land, clearing many resident oaks to create pasture for cattle and horses. As the area urbanized over the next two centuries, nearly all remaining oak trees were felled to make way for railroads and shipping infrastructure, followed by houses, roads, and restaurants. This infrastructure concentrated in the flats, which today means fewer trees in less wealthy areas of the city. As of February 2026, our district's tree cover is highest in the hills (62%) and lowest in Longfellow (8%), correlating with well-known patterns of disinvestment in Black communities and urban redlining.

While oaks are rarely used as street trees, they are on Oakland's list of approved varieties. As drought resistant, hardy native species, I wonder if planting oaks in tree-deprived areas could play a small part in supporting an ecologically healthier, more equitably tree-shaded Oakland.

If interested, you can:

• Support Alameda Native History Project's acorn harvest (training on Oct. 16th!)
• Plant oak trees with California Releaf or Trees for Oakland
• Tell Zac (our city council member) you want more street oaks!

But, before you do that, go find an oak tree near you. Enjoy its beauty and its shade, notice all the amazing life it supports, and think of what this land was, what it is, and what it could be in the future.

Trying something new this time. I always include a selection of events in the paper form of the zine, but somehow hadn't been including them on the website... which just doesn't make sense. So here we are! I will eventually start making this cleaner and more interactive, but here's some links for now:

• Community Resilience Assembly (4PM at Bushrod Park): Building a united front against ICE and other threats to community safety, with an orientation towards building communal relationships and building skills.
• Women of Color Open Mic (7:30PM at La Peña): Featuring WOC artists; all welcome.
• Grand Opening Party!!! (12PM-10PM at Good Times Oakland): New wine/beer/cider spot on Telegraph. Nice people, go support their new space!
• Bay Area Aerial Exhibition (6PM at Local Economy): Featuring history podcast host from East Bay Yesterday. Cool third space!
• Pho for the People (10AM at Monster Pho): A little far from Bushrod Park, but check this out: pho, beats, rap, toy drive. Very awesome mix by great people who really care about community – should be good.
• Thanksgiving Meal (10:30AM at College Ave Presbyterian Church): All welcome! In case you need a place.

Crazy, cruel times we're living in when the basic right to not be hungry is being held back by the federal government. Even still, I've been encouraged to see so many people organize to make sure our neighbors don't go hungry, many of whom have been doing the work far before this dark chapter. I've heard of a couple different food distributions and grocery share programs happening, so I'm compiling them here in case it's helpful to anyone.

A few highlights nearby:

• Self-Help Hunger Program Distribution: Driver Plaza (Adeline x 61st) on Tuesday afternoons
• Friday Night Meal: College Ave Presbyterian Church, 6-7PM
• Mandela Food Coop CSA Box: $1.50 / box if on SNAP. Pickup Wednesdays at Re-up on College

Our incredible Bushrod Rec Center director, George Henderson, hosted a community meeting in late October to talk about how we can make the park better. That whole thing was a cute story for another time, but the one big takeaway was this: the grass needs time to rest in the winter, which means that the Bushrod Athletic Fields (Racine side) are going to be closed for a few months.

For those who have been around for awhile, this shouldn't come as a surprise at all; the fields are closed every winter for the same reason. A lot of parks in San Francisco do the same thing, and kids, dogs, athletes, and other park-goers would find new places to hang out for a few months. In the past few years here, we've had people defy the closure by cutting bolts or holes in the fence... which is honestly not good for anyone (replacing those things is expensive, which takes away from the park's already slim budget for recreational activities and maintenance).

Here are a couple good reasons to give the fields a break this winter...

• The fields get easily damaged when wet. Heavy activity (from dogs, people, etc running around) basically reduces the fields to a muddy mess.
• It's good for the park's natural ecosystem! There are a bunch of migrating birds that come this way during the winter months that use the park to roost. Their grazing and fertilization also makes the grass healthier.
• It gives us better athletic fields. Having a rest period gives the little league volunteers more time to prepare the fields for the spring, and rewards their excellent work during the on-season. These are important fields that used to host the A's, and they still support thousands of people every year – let's treat them with care!

So, from one neighbor to another: let's give the fields a break until March! In the meantime, explore another local park like Dover, Hardy/Frog, or even just the other (non-athletic) side of Bushrod Park.

...at least that's the word on the block!, but there is no website or email address for our specific park that I know of (maybe that should change?). Email CommunityGardens@oaklandca.gov or maybe George at ghenderson@oaklandca.gov.

It's true! The area between 56th and 58th St (Idora Park / where the cute little storybook houses are) used to be a huge amusement park with rides like the "Barrel of Fun" and a Pennsylvania coal mining exhibit. Over 2M people would visit each year.

It was eventually razed to the ground in 1929, hit by economic woes and the removal of streetcar lines in the area. (More pictures are online @ www.theflyer.org.)

Read more: LocalWiki

Sometime in the middle of last month I dragged a couple chairs, a box of pizza, and some watermelon to the park to hang out and talk about the park! I got a lot of responses on the survey (responses are here), but I had truly zero idea how many people would show up.

Thankfully, I was not alone by any means. Three neighbors (most of whom had never met before) sat and chatted for a few hours about our personal histories, our local environment, the abandoned school building, and more. A couple other neighbors in the park popped by to join in every now and then.

From both that lovely conversation and the survey results (left QR code), there's a lot we could do:

• There is a lot that we all agree would improve the park right now, like a better playground or just cleaning up trash. K & J are thinking about hosting a cleanup day soon; send me a note if you're into that and let's make it happen!
• We have to treat the park's environment with care. Did you know the park is an important roosting site for some local birds? Or that J has been patching up the parts of the field that have eroded away? I did not!
• Dogs are loved, but we agreed the park is for people first and foremost. We can do better to make sure the park is clean, kids are safe, and athletes can practice undisturbed. Good ideas came up to manage that better.
• The abandoned building (a preschool, apparently) on the NE corner is an opportunity. It would be complicated and expensive to clean it up and transfer the property, but that site could be much more.

Anyway, lots to talk about! The councilmember's office is interested in helping improve the park too, so I'm thinking of organizing another park conversation. If you're interested, please subscribe through the usual link.

Just a few wholesome snapshots in the neighborhood from the last few days:

Lovely neighbor decided to take it upon themselves to repaint the sign! Thank you! 🌸

Trombone concert at Nick's Pizza. Apparently the band (Trombonga) are longtime fans of Nick's!

I got a lot of responses from folks who were all interested in improving Bushrod Park. Here were some of the most interesting comments:

• "A pedestrian crossing right in front of the park, on the Shattuck side"
• "Would be great to remove those new locks on the doors between the west side of the park and the fields on the east side for easier movement."
• "A cafe on shattuck and 60th st in the little stretch of stores. The pickleballers would buy so many drinks!"

Of everything, it people seem somewhat uncertain about how dogs should be in the park. Some people think they should have full reign, while others think they should at least have a separate area so that they don't disturb the sports players or endanger children. For sure, it goes against the old rules of the park (see the scratched-out "No Dogs" signs on all the fences), but maybe it's time for a new policy that works for everyone.

In any case, a lot of people want to make the park better! I'm going to host a little meetup on Tues 8/19 to discuss! Sign up here.

August means "back to school" for a lot of the families in the neighborhood! I don't have kids (much less kids in school), but the general sentiment from the parents I know is "thank goodness". For me, what it mostly means is that there will be a parade of kids marching down Alcatraz every weekday morning – a bit of entertainment before my morning run.

It's pretty evident that the public school system is facing a lot of challenges, both here and around the country. Oakland Unified School District in particular ended the last school year with a couple different issues; a threatening budget deficit and lead in the water systems were at the top of the list (though both Sankofa and Peralta had negligble levels, so little to worry about here). After-school reading programs were nearly slashed until parents and community organizations stepped in to get that decision reversed. Teachers were on a strike for a day before reaching concessions.

With all that happening, it's important that we figure out how to support the families and teachers heading back! Send me ideas if you have them and I'll get back to everyone:

• If you know a teacher, they might still be crowdfunding for materials in their classroom!
• There's a Board of Education meeting on August 13. Our representative is Rachel Latta – she is also the board director. Honestly, the OUSD website has a bunch of out of date info, so I would just email rachel.latta@ousd.org if you're interested in attending.
• Healthy Black Families is organizing the Village Cultural Academy for middle school students to strengthen literacy and personal expression skills. Look it up if interested.

Also, if you are a student or have a student at home, know that there are free tickets to a Roots game up for grabs if you have perfect attendance for the first two weeks of school 👀