Save the Pipevine
The Issue
A long established California pipevine habitat along Strawberry Creek at UC Berkeley may soon be impacted by the UC Berkeley Clean Energy Campus Utility Improvement Project, a major infrastructure project involving underground thermal distribution piping, utility upgrades, and surface restoration across campus.
What's a Pipevine?
The California pipevine (Aristolochia californica) is the sole host plant for the pipevine swallowtail butterfly. Without pipevine, the butterflies cannot reproduce. Over many years, this habitat has become an important refuge for pipevine swallowtails and other native insects within the campus riparian corridor.
Our Project
The project documents recognize Strawberry Creek and adjacent riparian zones as sensitive ecological areas and state that development encroaching on creek channels and riparian zones should be avoided. However, the currently established pipevine swallowtail habitat does not appear to have been specifically identified or analyzed in the biological review documents.
What we are asking for
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Protect existing pipevine habitat
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Avoid utility routing through established habitat adjacent to Strawberry Creek
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Replace invasive ivy with native pipevine plantings
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Expand additional pipevine habitat corridors across campus
Help Us Save the Pipevine!
Pipevine can take many years to establish, and it is difficult to predict where it will thrive long term. Protecting existing mature habitat while creating many additional planting sites is essential for the long term survival of the pipevine swallowtail on campus.
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​You can help by documenting butterflies and caterpillars, sharing photos and observations, volunteering for habitat restoration, and supporting expansion of native pipevine plantings throughout Berkeley.
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To share observations, photos, or get involved, contact us at