Alhambra Creek is a stream in Contra Costa County, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. Alhambra Creek drains into the Carquinez Strait at Martinez, via the historical Arroyo del Hambre. Alhambra Creek and its valley take their name from Cañada del Hambre, Spanish for "valley of hunger," apparently because of some unknown incident involving starving Spanish soldiers. The name appears on diseños repeatedly and appears on an 1842 land grant, Rancho Cañada del Hambre y Las Bolsas. Although technically Alhambra Creek only refers to the upper section of 2 miles, and the United States Board on Geographic Names in 1943 confirmed Arroyo del Hambre as the name for the lower creek, Mrs. John Strentzel, John Muir's mother-in-law, did not like the name and renamed the lower creek also as Alhambra Creek. Currently, the entire creek is commonly called Alhambra Creek, and Arroyo del Hambre Creek and Franklin Creek are considered its two tributaries.
Visit the gardens created by volunteers from Friends of Alhambra Creek and the California Native Plant Society to get ideas for your very own California native garden at home!
The goal of the Alhambra Native Plant Trail is not only to educate residents about our native flora, but also to create a wildlife corridor through Martinez for birds, butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects.
The Alhambra Watershed Council (AWC) is a stakeholder group that was established in 1997 to produce the Alhambra Creek Watershed Management Plan (2001). The group’s mission is to protect and enhance the health of the Alhambra Creek Watershed by educating the public about the watershed, providing a forum for new ideas and projects, and acting as a community resource.
By representing diverse stakeholder interests and promoting healthy natural systems, the AWC aims to support the health and vitality of the entire watershed community. Contra Costa County, Friends of Alhambra Creek, National Park Service, New Leaf Collaborative, Mt. View Sanitary District, and residents are among the active participants. Past projects include the Alhambra Creek Watershed Map and Festival and the Strentzel Lane Flood Reduction Project. The AWC receives coordinator support from the CCRCD.
Meetings are currently held on the first Tuesday of every month (excluding August) at 6:30pm, on Zoom. Interested community members are welcome to attend AWC meetings. Come and share your ideas!
AWC Meeting dates for 2023 are listed below. If you would like to join a meeting and are not yet on the AWC email list, please contact Victoria Woolfolk for the meeting access info.
January3, February 7, March 7, April 4, May 2, June 6, July 4, September 5, October 3,November 7, December 5
Established in 1991, Friends of Alhambra Creek is a volunteer group that brings people and Alhambra Creek together to protect the health of the creek and its surrounding community. They have collaborated with other people and agencies to participate in, and carry out, a wide range of projects.
The group meets at 6pm on the third Tuesday of each month. These meetings are currently held on Zoom. Meeting agendas are uploaded to the Friends of Alhambra Creek Facebook Page and a Google Drive folder a few days prior to each meeting. To view the agendas, please click this Google Drive Folder Link.
If you have any questions, or would like to join a meeting, please contact the Friends of Alhambra Creek at foac@ccrcd.org.
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The Mt. View Sanitary District (MVSD) provides wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal services for the northeasterly portion of the City of Martinez and adjacent unincorporated lands to the northeast. Their wetlands and pond restoration projects are one of a kind and provide both habitat and wastewater filtration. Tours of their beautiful site are available to the public.
The New Leaf Collaborative is a 501c3 non-profit corporation based out of Martinez, CA. They support learners in the following ways:
Since 1916, the National Park Service has been entrusted with the care of our national parks. With the help of volunteers and partners, we safeguard these special places and share their stories with more than 275 million visitors every year. NPS is the local steward of the John Muir Historical Site and Strentzel Meadow.
Skills: Environmental education, community engagement, research processes, insect identification, report writing.
Fun Fact: Victoria competes in triathlons and will hike or bike up any hill/mountain she can get her feet or wheels on. She summited Haleakalā in Maui, HI on bike in the summer of 2021. Her next challenge is pending. Victoria also loves to cook and create random dishes from available seasonal produce.
Victoria (she/her) is from Orange County, CA. She graduated in 2021 from University of California, Davis with a BS in Environmental Science and Management with an emphasis in Natural Resource Management and a minor in Insect Biology. She participated in a research lab at UC Davis exploring the impacts of human development on insect/plant relationships over time. Following this, she worked as an environmental consultant to identify and resolve soil and/or groundwater contamination to protect water resources throughout the Bay Area.
Victoria grew up helping her dad weed and tend to his extensive vegetable and fruit tree garden and spent many family vacations camping in various national parks. Victoria considers herself very lucky to have grown up with access and connections to the outdoors and wildlife. She understands the importance of access to healthy, natural places for individual and community wellbeing. Victoria is excited to work with CCRCD and partners to help achieve more safe, accessible, sustainable, and functional natural areas regardless of community wealth, race, or composition.
The Mission of the Contra Costa Resource Conservation District is to Facilitate Conservation and Stewardship of the Natural Resources in Contra Costa County.
