City of Oakland police Officer John Grubensky was killed as he tried to evacuate a family from their home during the deadly Oakland Hills Fire on October 20, 1991.  When his body was found he was laying on top of a woman’s body whom he was trying to rescue. The firestorm was due to an […]

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North Hills Community Association is acknowledging and commending BrightView Landscape Services and the personal commitment of Mr. Jeroen Wright and staff to enhance our NHCA Gateway Garden Pavilion. Read Full Statement here

Dear North Hills Neighbors, As you drive along Caldecott Lane and turn onto Tunnel Road, you are greeted by the beautiful Gateway Gardens & Pavilion which both serves as a grand entrance to our homes but also a reminder of the grave responsibility we have in living in these hills. The Gateway Gardens are maintained by us, […]

Just ask the Goats, Garden Volunteers and the BrightView Landscaping team. Over the past few months, the Gateway Garden Committee has solicited these services to remove the garden’s invasive grasses and plants. The garden is in great shape for the North Hills Community volunteers to maintain the Gateway Garden moving forward. Join us each Friday […]

Location – Hiller Drive & Tunnel Road Activity – Weeding and mulching What to bring? Gloves, weeding tools, clippers Bring your friends and spread the word! The Gateway Gardens is a wonderful North Hills asset and Gardening Friday’s are a wonderful way to get some fresh air, a little exercise, and to meet new and […]

The Berkeley Project Team strikes again! The week started with everyone carefully studying the weather. Should we, or shouldn’t we? California hasn’t received much rain all year, but with a 90% chance of rain in Berkeley on Saturday, we weren’t sure if we could pull this off considering it could turn out to be a […]

“This website documents wildlife and wild plants found in the hills on the border between Oakland and Berkeley, California. The area covered is roughly bounded by Tunnel Road, Domingo Avenue, Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve, and Grizzly Peak Blvd., with emphasis on Claremont Canyon and the surrounding hillsides” Check it out here

On a beautiful sunny day, Saturday, March 12, about 20 UC Berkeley volunteers helped with weeding in the Demonstration Garden on Old Tunnel Road. The North Hills community Association garden committee, led by Celine Gyger, organized the event. It was a great success as the students are very energetic and bagged several dozen giant green […]

Read the article in the East Bay Times here. originally published september 15

Scouts Complete Repair of 62 Steps at Gateway Fire Resistant Demonstration Garden Mason Chen, an Eagle Scout candidate from Piedmont Boy Scouts Troop 15, led a major effort over the spring and summer to replace a number of deteriorated steps in the garden. He and his team added Trex decking boards to the top of […]

Over the past few weeks, scouts from Piedmont Boy Scouts Troop 15 helped Eagle Scout candidate Nathan Catalano install Trex edging along the sidewalk on Hiller to retain the soil from the Firestorm Memorial Garden. As part of his project, Nate had to measure sections to determine how much Trex was needed.  Using donated Trex […]

On Thursday, May 27, Oakland Fire Fighters, Councilmember Dan Kalb, and local residents joined the North Hills Community Association in rededicating a granite bench to the memory of OFD Battalion Chief James M. Riley, Jr. who died saving a fleeing resident during the 1991 Firestorm. His widow, Christine Riley thanked everyone for keeping her husband’s […]

Eagle Scout Candidate Nico Laub-Sabater (Piedmont Boy Scout Troop 15) has led a multi-work-day project to beautify the Gateway Fire Resistant Garden over the last few months in coordination with the NHCA Garden Committee. Scouts weeded near the exhibit center and then planted succulent cuttings. The Gateway Fire Resistant Garden shows local residents how they […]

NHCA Committee Chair Sue Piper and her husband Gordon, chair of the Oakland Landscape Committee, shared their 50th Anniversary with volunteers at Gateway. Many thanks to Mary Alice Rathburn for picking up the trash (she does so every week); and to volunteers Lia Turk, Laura Escobosa and Carolyn Burgess for weeding in the garden. It […]

As of January 2018, the responsibility for the preservation and care of both the Firestorm Memorial Garden and the Gateway Emergency Preparedness Exhibit Center will fall to the North Hills Community Association. Since these gardens are not just oases of beauty, but of education essential to the safety of the North Hills neighborhood, our new […]