Celebrating MLK Jr. Day at MLK Jr. Shoreline
By Ilana DeBare
Golden Gate Bird Alliance celebrated the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in a fitting way at a most fitting location — a day of community service at the Oakland shoreline park that bears his name.
GGBA joined with about 40 volunteers from Outdoor Afro on Monday January 19 for a morning of planting native seedlings, removing shoreline trash, and learning about the birds of this beautiful shoreline park.
Outdoor Afro is a national organization dedicated to strengthening African-Americans’ connection to nature and outdoor recreation. Over the past few years, GGBA has developed a strong partnership with the young and growing group, including serving as its fiscal sponsor.
“One thing that is very important about this place is that it is home to some very endangered species,” Outdoor Afro founder Rue Mapp said as she welcomed the crowd. “It’s no coincidence that it is also next to some communities that are also threatened. The Wilderness Act and the Civil Rights Act were both signed 50 years ago…. We have an opportunity to make connections between vulnerable people and vulnerable places.”
The vulnerability of nature was tragically and ironically evident along the East Bay shoreline on Monday, as hundreds of seabirds turned up weakened and dying from an unidentified sticky substance that was not petroleum. Experts from International Bird Rescue hurtled into action, aided by volunteers who spotted and reported ailing birds. As of Tuesday morning, IBR had rescued more than 300 birds but government investigators had not yet figured out the nature and source of the contamination.
The contamination news didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of Monday’s Outdoor Afro and GGBA volunteers. Some knelt in the dirt to plant seedlings or used long poles to pull trash out of the water. Many tried out binoculars for the first time and were rewarded with views of Snowy Egrets, Willets, and a Northern Harrier hunting over the marsh. A few even caught a glimpse of an endangered Ridgway’s Rail darting through the reeds at high tide. And when the work was done, everyone joined in a picnic lunch of six-foot-long Subway sandwiches.
The MLK Shoreline day of service, co-sponsored with the East Bay Regional Park District, capped a long history of civic involvement with this beautiful shoreline area. In the 1980s and 90s, Golden Gate Bird Alliance took the lead in challenging plans by the Port of Oakland to develop the area for industrial uses. Our legal efforts led to preservation of Arrowhead Marsh, important habitat for the Ridgway’s Rail and other species.
Now GGBA continues to lead restoration efforts near the marsh — both through monthly volunteer work days, and with children from nearby Oakland elementary schools in our Eco-Education program. MLK Shoreline becomes a living classroom for the Eco-Ed students. And they in turn nurture the shoreline, weeding and planting as they learn about ecosystems.
On MLK Day, Outdoor Afro volunteers filled in rows of native grasses that had been started by Eco-Ed children. They were laying the groundwork — literally — for future generations of wildlife and people to enjoy the shoreline.
Further down the shoreline, International Bird Rescue staff and volunteers were trying to save birds’ lives in an immediate crisis.
Responding to crises as they happen — and laying the groundwork for humans and wildlife to flourish in the future. Both are necessary.
Both initiatives would have made Dr. King proud.
“Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.” — The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
