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).

Women Growing Natives

On Saturday, ten women who grow California native plants and run nurseries from Marin to Carmel, gathered at the Acterra nursery in Palo Alto to connect and share experiences.

 

We talked about soil, shadehouses, propagation, mother beds. . . 

 

Perhaps the first of many gatherings. We were inspired and connected. These are the people who speak the same language as me.

Carr Lake and the connection to Elkhorn Slough

Return of the Natives is one of the greatest grassroots environmental organizations of the Monterey Bay area. "Bringing people closer to nature and nature closer to people through hands-on participation in restoring habitats." I volunteered Saturday at Upper Carr Lake in Salinas for the 4th annual bird count and clean-up sponsored by Return of the Natives, a project of the Watershed Institute, CSUMB.

As a land steward, I feel I need to participate in local environmental events and stay connected to the heart and soul of this community.

We counted 69 species and hundreds of individual birds. We walked a stretch of Natividad Creek, down to where the water is held in a wetland called Upper Carr Lake.

Along the creek trail, we came across this nest, partially made of green plastic used as erosion control along the creek side.

This erosion control mat was supposed to have biodegraded but has remained intact in many places for over 15 years.

The future is on the other side of Laurel Drive where the dream of restoring the historic Carr Lake is visioned. The Gabilan, Sanborn, and Natividad Creeks drain into the "rec ditch" that flow through Castroville, the Tembladero, Moro Coho, and eventually to the bay. The same Upper Carr Lake water mingles with the waters of the Elkhorn Slough. The system is connected. We need places like Upper Carr Lake and the future Carr Lake restoration to hold water and filter out pollutants and sediment as water continues the journey from the Gabilan mountains to the Monterey Bay.

An event to celebrate the Gabilan watershed opens February 5th at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas. I proudly contributed to this exhibit and can't wait to celebrate with others.

Central California Invasive Weed Symposium part 2

Last Friday, people gathered at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds to learn about invasive non-native plants. The theme was fire, water, action. Jon Keeley was the keynote and the evaluations said he was fantastic. (I was dealing with a coffee crisis so I didn't get to hear his talk.) We had some time for laws and regs so folks could get continuing education units.

Tool tailgate.

 

complete with goats

 

and a hydro-obliterator, but no picture of that. Apparently the obliterator can cut down a small tree with a fast stream of water. Good for cape ivy. Can be dangerous of not used properly.

We tried to green the event as much as we could, serving mostly local and organic food, composting, and recycling.

And we had wonderful sponsors; Cal-IPC, CHCF, Elkhorn Slough Foundation, Target Specialty, Big Sur Land Trust, CNPS, and so many more.

Thankfully, a good percentage of people filled out and turned in evaluations so we can make next year even better. The number one most favorite thing about the event - the chance to get together with others in the field, collaborating, and connecting.

Saturday was a field trip to Watsonville Wetlands Watch, High Ground Organics farm, and Ellicott Slough. It was fantastic. Such a great opportunity to see projects in action and talk about methods in the field.

women growing natives

A few weeks back I threatened myself to start up a group of women who grow native plants for restoration. I was just getting a group like this together in the San Francisco Bay Area before I left and moved back here. Well lo an behold I sent out the word, it has spread like wildfire, and we have a substantial group very excited to get together. So the dream is happening. We have a location, a list of people, a couple of items to chat about, and I know we'll have good food.

This is about collaboration and sharing information. The nursery trade can be a bit lonely, and honestly, I think we like it like that. However, all of us collectively hold a vast amount of information and knowledge learned over many years of trial and error, and if we can share that with one another, we can be that much more effective in our work to restore function in habitats.

resources and links

I am updating all the great web resources that exist for us as restoration folk and native plant enthusiasts. The list to the right isn't even the half of it. These are my favorites (although not nearly all) and I would expect that if I asked a colleague, she might give me an entirely different list. Next will be a list of hard copy resources that I can actually dog ear and get coffee stains on.

As the blog grows and changes, it becomes a resource for me. I would love for it to become more of a collective, or to change and morph it into something more collective and collaborative. Or create something new that is collective??? I'm open to ideas. . . .