Publications 2

 

 

http://watershed.csumb.edu/ron/  

 

A Program of the Watershed Institute, California State University Monterey Bay

RON Highlights

•                     Winter 2008 Weekend Events

•                     RON Partnerships

•                     Spring 2008 Workshops focus on Gardens

•                     Carr Lake Project

•                     Planting with RON-Mitigating for Global Climate Change?

 

Winter Saturdays in 2008: Great times for planting natives with RON

*Jan. 19th @ Upper Carr Lake 8-10 Winter Bird Count 10-1pm planting and clean up *Jan. 26th @ Fort Ord Dunes State Park 10-1pm planting *Feb. 2nd @ Fort Ord BLM Public Lands 10-1pm planting *Feb. 9th @ NCP 10-1pm clean up and planting *Feb. 16th @ Fort Ord Dunes State Park 10-1pm planting *Feb. 23rd @ Carmel River

Lagoon 10-1pm planting *March 1st @ Upper Carr Lake 10-1pm planting and clean up *March 8th @ Carmel River Lagoon 10-1pm planting *March 15th @ Upper Carr Lake 10-1pm planting and clean up *March 22nd @ Natividad Creek Park 10-1pm planting, clean up and Eco Egg Hunt *April 19th @ Natividad Creek Park 10-2 Earth Day Celebration!!!

Third Annual Winter Bird Count at Upper Carr Lake

Beginner and veteran birders are invited to come out on Saturday, January 19 from 8­10 am to monitor bird life in Salinas’ beautiful wetland! The January 2007 total was 56 species including an uncommon falcon, a merlin, and huge white pelicans.

Bullets to Butterflies with Ft. Ord Dunes State Park Restoration

Come help restore the dunes! The new Fort Ord Dunes State Park is scheduled to open to the public this January. It is

seen by millions of people as they drive by on State Highway One, but it has been closed to the pubic for decades. The vegetation is dominated by African ice-plant, yet the area is highly valued for its habitat for endangered species such as the Smith’s Blue Butterfly, the Snowy Plover and the Monterey Spine Flower. There is a commonly shared vision that the park can become an area of outstanding environmental quality, available for all to enjoy. Exotic plants, abandoned buildings, and contaminated soil are not problems we should dread to face but challenges we are anxious to tackle and overcome. The establishment of Fort Ord State Park represents the public's commitment to the environment, to our quality of life, and to our faith in ourselves and the future. RON will host two public restoration events on the dunes this winter, Saturday, January 26th and Saturday,

February 16th, 2008. Come join the community from 10­1pm for live music and native plant restoration fun!

BLM Public Lands-Ft Ord Planting Event

RON has been planting native plants on Ft. Ord with Bruce Delgado and the BLM for 11 years. Come on out to this beautiful spot, listen to music and meet new and old friends. February 2, 2008 10am-1 pm!

Lagoon Restoration Beautiful and Challenging

Weekend volunteers are needed from 10-1pm on Feb 23rd and March 8th to plant natives on the Carmel River Lagoon—just south of the Carmel River Bridge on Hwy One! This is a RON-CA State Parks partnership.

RON Partners with Environmental Planning Firm

RON Greenhouse and Restoration Coordinator, Christina Mcknew has been working closely with Denise Duffy and Associates, a local firm on their native plant projects on public lands. CSUMB SEP faculty Suzy Worcester and Jon Detka have been contributing to these projects which may provide new possibilities for RON!

RON Survives on Partnerships and Grants

RON continues to exist on a shoestring budget depending on receiving grants to fund our many partnership projects. Friends of RON are asked to keep your fingers crossed for us as we compete in 2008 for monies from NOAA-BWET,

CA Coastal Commission, EPA and CA River Parkways.

Fabulous Website for Natividad Creek Park

Check it out!!!!! http://watershed.csumb.edu/ron/ht ml/sub3/ncpwebsite/index.html.

RON Partnership with City of Salinas Deepens

Working under a contract with the City of Salinas and a Whale Tail grant, RON continues to host bi-monthly weekend events in the Creeks of Salinas. We are actively recruiting high school volunteers who want to work on their community service hours. On December 8, 2007 fifty (50) students from six area high schools wacked weeds and cleared Natividad Creek of trash. Then, everyone rocked to the music of the hip-hop band—Para La Gente who volunteered to come to the Park to promote peace amongst the youth of Salinas. We hope that they will return to another planting event in the spring of 2008.

Ray’s Corner

Ray Villaneuva, RON’s Natividad Creek Steward was recognized by Salinas’ City Council for all that he does for the City. Besides being a wonderful presence in the Park, Ray also visits classrooms with Save the Whales and coordinates storm drain stenciling all around the City!! Congratulations Ray! Ray is hoping that his nomination of the native shrub, Ceanothus, commonly known as the California Lilac is selected as Salinas’ Official Flowering Plant! Ray will

also accept donations of redwood trees used as “living Christmas trees” for the Park’s redwood grove.

RON Partners with Exploring New Horizons

This year Return of the Natives has partnered with Exploring New Horizons (ENH) Outdoor School! ENH is a nonprofit specializing in environmental education and dedicated to enriching the lives of students through hands-on and activity-based learning. Students will attend 4 to 5 days of science camp learning about and exploring the different habitats of central California. To follow up their experience each of the seven Salinas schools will attend a field trip to either Natividad Creek Park or Upper Carr Lake to participate in hands on habitat restoration through planting native plants, litter pick ups and invasive weed removal. We are excited for this new partnership and to provide more opportunities to “bring students closer to nature and nature closer to students”!

School Garden Grants

Did your school receive a garden grant? Having trouble getting started? Let the experienced staff at Return of the Natives and the MC Farm to School Partnership help! RON and FTS staff can offer garden consultations for $100, including a site analysis with you school team, garden sketch, suggested plant and/or vegetable list and 10 native plants. As well, we can offer garden training/maintenance at

your school site. Two of our experienced work staff will come to your garden area and get to work while training your school staff and students in garden basics such as planting, harvest, pruning, watering, pest management etc. Fee: $60 per hour *does not include supplies. Contact Emily Smith - RON School Programs Coordinator (831) 582-3687 or

emily_smith@csumb.edu

Native Plant Garden Featured Plant DEER GRASS

Muhlenbergia rigens

Deer are not known to like this grass, but gardeners treasure it for its striking appearance and easy maintenance needs. Its gray green shoots can grow up to 5 feet tall and 3 to 6 feet wide. The leaves bend outward, creating a fountain-like appearance. The flower heads do not drupe like other grasses, but stand stiffly erect. All this grass needs to keep its awesome year-round look is sunshine and moderate watering. Although deer grass can handle drier conditions our greenhouse manager, Christina McKnew, recommends you keep this plant watered for it to grow to its full dramatic size. Deer grass’s tough nature and large size lend well to garden corners and edges where it can protect more delicate plants from foot traffic. Just make sure to give this grass plenty of growing room so it doesn’t crowd anything else out. The genus Muhlenbergia is named after Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg (1753­

1815), a Lutheran minister and botany hobbyist. Other grasses in this genus grow across the United States and in Asia. The species name, rigens, means rigid or stiff.

Spring 2008 Professional Development Opportunities to Focus on School Gardens

Since so many schools have received school gardening grants, and because finally educators on all levels are realizing the importance of outdoor learning, RON’s professional development offerings for educators this spring will focus on making school gardens and outdoor areas successful. The Saturday schedule: February 2 9am-4pm Composting, Vermiculture, and Waste Reduction at the Monterey Regional Waste Management District Facility in Marina February 23 9am-4pm GLOBE soils and Budburst­

garden based science. March 8 9am-4pm Creating and Sustaining Your School Garden (see below) April 5 9am-4pm Writing Grants for Your Garden

School Garden Coordinator Certificates in the Works

RON, Farm to School, CAFF, MCOE and the Monterey County Health Department are working on establishing a 20 hour/2 CEU School Garden Coordinator Certificate. Though not yet solidified, should an educator participate in all four of the above workshops they could receive one of the first School Garden

Coordinator Certificates. Another 20 hour/2 CEU certificate in “Schoolyard and Community Restoration” may also be unveiled in the fall of 2008.

Environmental Education and Service Certificate Highlights

Eighteen (18) dedicated educators from across the Monterey Bay Area are enrolled in the Watershed Institute’s EE/ES Certificate Program. This 100 hour/10 CEU program focuses on six learning outcomes which challenge participants to grow in diverse areas such as technology, fundraising, multi-cultural connections and pedagogy---all related to environmental stewardship themes. Michelle Micalizio of Gonzales High School is the latest teacher to complete the program while educators, Kimberly Herring, now an educator with the Monterey Regional Waste Management District, and Suzanne Laurens, now the Alisal District’s Garden Coordinator, both credit their new jobs to skills they gained as members of the EE/ES Certificate Program. If you want to take on this several year personal growth project call 582-3689 or Laura_Lienk@csumb.edu to arrange for a personalized consultation to enter the program.

Creating and Sustaining Your School Garden Workshop-March 8, 2008

Return of the Natives and the Monterey County Farm to School Partnership combined efforts this past November to

offer a Creating and Sustaining Your School Garden workshop. The workshop covered school gardens from planning to planting and harvest to maintenance and all the way through to teamwork and patience! Thirty plus wonderful teachers and school garden community supporters attended and we had a great day! The workshop went so well that we have decided to offer another on Saturday, March 8th from 9-4pm. Please contact Kathryn Spencer at (831)582-5115 or

Kathryn_spencer@csumb.edu

for more information.

Harden Gardens Receive Care and Love

Harden Special Education Teacher, Chris Carrier has been creating beautiful gardens across campus. This year he is being assisted by CSUMB capstone student, Rebecca Mailo is planning to become a special ed teacher. Rebecca is an essential member of the Watershed Institute’s greenhouse crew.

"Used" soil available!

Every year at the RON greenhouses thousands of plants are planted and transplanted for our multiple restoration projects. For every hundred or so plants that live there are at least a few that don't make it. These dead plants are dumped into our "used" soil pile. All of this "used" potting soil is unusable for our purposes here at the greenhouses but is ideal as a soil amendment for your garden or soil for your planter box. If you are interested in

some soil for your school garden project please contact RON Greenhouse Coordinator, Christina McKnew at 582-3326.

Aaron Fox-Americorps Promise Fellow

The RON and Farm to School programs have been blessed this year to be able to share the wonderful presence and expert knowledge of our program’s first fulltime Americorps volunteer, Aaron Fox. Aaron, a graduate of Tulane University brings experience from Rodale’s Organic Research Program and the Presidio of San Francisco’s native plant greenhouse! Plus he is a fluent Spanish speaker. Aaron’s many projects include focusing on school gardens especially that at Los Arboles Middle School in Marina. In three short months, Aaron has become an integral part of the RON/Farm to School team. Aaron can be reached at Aaron_F_Fox@csumb.edu

Planting With RON and Global Climate Change

Over the past few months, Aaron Fox (see above) has been researching available literature to find out how the restoration work of RON fits in with mitigating the effects of human inputs to our planet’s changing climate. The carbon and other greenhouse gasses we are emitting by driving our cars and using electricity are helping cause global climate change. How severely are you contributing to global warming? Trees absorb and sequester the carbon in the atmosphere. If it takes between 13 and 15 trees to sequester 1 ton of carbon. How many trees would you have to plant to make up for your

carbon emissions each year? In a preliminary run of the calculator, RON Director, Laura Lee Lienk, who leads a relatively ecological lifestyle, brought in all her household data and the calculation told her that she would have to plant 2,000 trees each year to sequester enough carbon to mitigate for her carbon footprint. As an organization, RON has partnered with the Monterey Music Summit to offer carbon offsets for parts of their concert program and we are open to talking with others who want to decrease their carbon footprint while supporting RON’s programs. Though restoration and tree planting is great for creating habitat, cleaning polluted water, and preventing erosion, more actions on each of our parts is necessary in this time of ecological crisis. Check out the RON website in coming months and find RON’s carbon footprint calculator.

Service/Youth Groups ­Creeks of Salinas

RON wants to partner with local service, church, youth and community groups in all our restoration projects. Plan ahead and bring your groups to our weekend plantings. We can even arrange for after-school planting events too. Contact Emily_Smith @csumb or 582-3687

Watch the Local Newspapers for Carr Lake News! Or, contact

Gary_Shallcross@csumb. edu 582-3323

Contacting RON: Return of the Natives, 100 Campus Center, Seaside, CA 93955 TEL: 582-3686 FAX 582-3691

Laura_Lienk@CSUMB.edu

watershed.csumb.edu/ron