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Stulsaft Park is one of Redwood City’s most special parks – a haven of secluded woodland with a creek running right through the park. Learn more about Stulsaft Park and the work Grassroots Ecology is doing to keep it beautiful.
About Stulsaft Park
Stulsaft Park is a hidden gem; those who never venture beyond the playground area on Farm Hill Boulevard are missing out on its 42 acres of oak and bay laurel woodland threaded with hiking trails. Local dog owners also enjoy dogs being allowed off-leash on the trails south of the creek (Arroyo Ojo de Agua). The park is home to serpentine soils which foster springtime blooms of native wildflowers. There are even three different threatened and endangered plants at Stulsaft – Franciscan onion, Marin dwarf flax, and Crystal Springs fountain thistle (a plant found only in San Mateo County).
But the native plant habitat at Stulsaft, like elsewhere, is threatened by invasive species. That’s why the Grassroots Ecology team has been working here since 2007 to help control the invasive plants that could otherwise drive out the native species.
Restoration efforts
Some non-native plants, when introduced to a new area, spread quickly and outcompete plants that are native to the area. This can result in a monoculture of invasive plants, meaning that not only do we lose the biodiversity of our native plant palette, but local native insects can be starved of the plants they need for food, with cascading effects on the entire ecosystem. So, one of the most important ways to protect endangered plant species is to remove invasive weeds.
One of the invasive plants Grassroots Ecology is targeting is cotoneaster (pronounced coe-TONE-ee-ass-ter), a shrub that pushes out native plants like toyon. Cotoneaster is actually sold in nurseries, but please do not plant it in your garden since it can easily spread into habitat areas. If you’re looking for a tall shrub with bright red berries, why not plant native toyon instead, so your garden can feed birds instead of harming them? Grassroots Ecology’s native plant nursery carries several sizes of toyon, all grown from local native seed.
What can you do to help Stulsaft Park’s native habitat?
Grassroots Ecology leads volunteer programs at Stulsaft Park. The Youth Stewardship Program is open to high school students, and spots are still available in the Winter 2024 session starting in January. Regular volunteer days are also open to everyone – check the volunteer calendar for upcoming dates.
But you can help the native plant habitat at Stulsaft even without pulling any weeds. Here’s what you can do to be a responsible visitor to Stulsaft Park:
Keep dogs on leash when not in the officially designated off-leash area. Dogs can damage newly planted shrubs by digging, trampling them or urinating on them. Also, you are still responsible for picking up and disposing of your dog’s waste in the off-leash area. Fecal matter can wash into and contaminate the creek, and none of the hardworking Grassroots Ecology team – or the youth stewards who volunteer their time – really wants to step in your dog’s poop. Here are Redwood City’s rules for allowing dogs off-leash at Stulsaft
Stay on the trail. There are plenty of trails in Stulsaft Park for visitors to enjoy – there’s no need to go trampling through the underbrush. As mentioned, there are at least three documented threatened and endangered plants at Stulsaft – who knows whether you might not be crushing the last population of an endangered plant underfoot if you go off the trail? Please help protect these rare plants by staying on the trail.
Redwood City residents are lucky to have this hidden gem of a park right here to enjoy. The next time you’re in the park, if you see a group of folks working, thank them for helping make the park beautiful!
