REDSTARTstudio

This timelapse video was recorded on Saturday November 1, 2008 from a camera in the head house at Blake Garden. It shows a daylighted portion of El Cerrito Creek that is being impacted by rainwater runoff. This was the first substantial accumulation of the rainy season. A total of 2.5 inches of rain fell on Blake Garden.

Note: 3 surges occur at 11:21am, 1:56pm and just before dusk at 5:26pm. A white and red surveying stick marked with 1 foot increments was positioned on the creek bed. At surges level rises nearly one foot.

This past weekend 2.5 inches of rain fell on Blake Garden., most of it coming on Saturday November 1. On Sunday Lauri measured the rain, and I documented the process. The annual rainfall at Blake has been recorded for over 20 years.

Last winter I helped Kristen Podolak, PHD candidate in Environmental Planning at UC Berkeley, install a 200 gallon cistern behind the head house at Blake Garden. By connecting the cistern to the roof gutter, the intention was to collect rainwater during the rainy season to water the greenhouse. On Friday night (10/4/08) .37 inches of rain fell on Blake Garden and this filled the cistern with approximately 90 gallons of water. The water is rust colored from the tree duff on the roof, but still quite suitable for watering plants. Lauri Twitchell, Blake Garden Manager, decided to “supersaturate” the tropical plants in the greenhouse with the water.

Kristen Podolak and Jessica Ludy spent last winter investigating creek restoration and rainwater collection at Blake Garden. Their paper & findings Restoration With Reference: Rediscovering Cerrito Creek in Blake Garden is available on-line.