images of the week

The underground critters are harvesting the blue wild rye

while I harvest ripe deerweed

and manzanita berries, pajaro and hookers mainly

meanwhile the chamise is still in beautiful bloom

and the acorns are green

The bark of the manzanita is peeling

the flowers of the golden yarrow have tiny insects on them

the coyote scratches its chin

and the clarkia punches bright through the browns and the greens of Summer.

Save The Bay visits the Slough

Save The Bay came to visit! Well, just the restoration crew, who are awesome! We hosted an enrichment day for the group that involved Carla Fresquez explaining some of her ecotone salt addition experiments. Andrea sharing history and place and more ecotone experiments. Other ESNERR staff shared what they did and why it matters. Basically we all shared!

I have a soft spot for STB because I used to be employed there (and I'm still a member). It is an ambitious and strong organization that continues to grow and change. It seems that the restoration team is getting even more focused on science and research while beefing up the education component so it can be effectively interpreted for the general public.

I really enjoyed meeting the new faces and was so thrilled to be with everyone I had worked with. Sharing is such an important part of what we do as restorationists. Especially when others are doing something similar enough but not quite the same. We take each other further. And that's what it's all about. Or is the hokey pokey really what it's all about (wink wink Wainer).

harvesting native plants

What role has harvesting plants played in the development of our California landscape? This may be simple I know,  but I know how much I eat and how much food it takes for me to live. We have enough information to know that people before me harvested a lot of local plant material to sustain a family for a year.

This does have a connection to stewardship now. Land management has changed. Previous burning helped maintain productivity, cleared bugs, and fertilized the soil. It is very difficult to pull off a fire at the Reserve these days with so many permanent houses next door. It's dangerous. We're not into endangering life and property. Yet I am compelled to integrate the harvest into my management strategy. It's just a concept at this point and I'm not sure how it will all play out.

In our rich Central Coast history, we have moved from relying on local plants and animals to importing from far away. We're moving to a more "buy local" economy in some circles, but we aren't eating local. What if we started to eat REALLY local. We may not have enough to go around, but what if we farmed red maid seeds? Miner's lettuce?

Let's not limit it to natives. I just sent out the word to local herbalists that if they want to come help reduce the seed source of one of our least-wanted invasives (milk thistle), they can come gather seeds and cut down the plants.

Let's get out of the box. It's a new world.

solid stewardship

I've been collecting seeds with volunteers, watering planting sites, weeding, and prepping for next year plantings and sites. And of course running the nursery, which could very well take up all my time, but it can't because I only have so much time.

The regular and late rains made it difficult to keep up on the ambitious restoration schedule I laid out for myself this season. So I retreat back to a consistent, solid routine that gets the job done. To sustain the momentum, I keep in mind (among other things) the spiders that hang on the Nassella.

economics of restoration

I like reading this kind of morning news!

"Restoring lost and damaged ecosystems--from forests and freshwaters to mangroves and wetlands--can trigger multi-million dollar returns, generate jobs and combat poverty according to a new report compiled by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

. . .Wetlands, half of which have been drained over the past century often for agriculture, provide annual services of near $7 trillion.

Forested wetlands treat more wastewater per unit of energy and have up to 22 fold higher cost-benefit ratios than traditional sand filtration in treatment plants.

Coastal wetlands in the United States, which among other services provide storm protection, have been valued at $23 billion annually.

In India, mangroves serving as storm barriers have been noted to reduce individual household damages from $153 per household to an average of $33 per household in areas with intact mangroves.

Pollination from bees and other insects provide services boosting agricultural production worth at least $153 billion annually.

Ecosystems are also central in natural pest control, indeed, many of the world's key crops such as coffee, tea and mangoes are dependent on the pollination and pest control services of birds and insects."

From sustainablebusiness.com
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/20440

barn swallows fledge again

Last year it was July 16. This year, the first date I saw the young barn swallow emerge from their nest was June 4. Four small birds, although they don't look small when they all crowd back into the nest.

weeds

For me, this weed season has been overwhelming. I have been pushed around and beat up by the invasives. Battling them all just isn't feasible. I have to pick my battles. Of course we do this as land managers. We prioritize. But even those prioritized sites and weeds got away this year.

Shifts take place. Dominant species change ranks. Areas that I knew 20 years ago dominated by mustard are now dominated by Italian thistle.

It's interesting how weeds show themselves in patterns. Rows of radish, rows of mustard, and rows of hemlock.

We have nine acres of Vinca.

Eucalyptus, cape ivy, English ivy, veldt grass, vinca, thistle, hemlock. Sometimes it's really hard for me not to get totally overwhelmed.