We have all been gripped by the weather this past month with hurricanes causing extreme flooding on the Gulf Coast and wind damage in the Caribbean. Right here at home in California many are in harm's way of unprecedented wildfires, watching them burn right through their neighborhoods and much-loved wild places. These types of extreme weather and changes in temperature, precipitation levels, and soil moisture are consistent with what scientists predict to occur under climate change. While it's difficult to parse out the various causes of any specific storm or fire, these types of extreme events have and will continue to become both more likely and more severe by mid-century as the global rate of fossil fuel consumption continues to climb exponentially.
In response, California Naturalist is developing an advanced training on climate change with a focus on local civic engagement. We want to share the most recent science on the topic with the growing naturalist community and others as well as discuss ways to communicate effectively about the subject and take concrete action. New information on climate change is coming out all the time, so the goal is to learn what we can together and continue to stay in touch and share the latest science, best practices, inspirational stories, and opportunities to engage through our CalNat community.
Many of you are already making changes to help reduce your carbon footprint, working with your community to adapt to ongoing and anticipated change, or making preparations to minimize your vulnerability to change and maximize your ability to bounce back when changes do occur. Maybe you have made changes to your commute, diet, residence, gardening or landscaping practices, purchasing or consumption habits, job, or how you volunteer. Please take a few minutes to tell us your story!
UC California Naturalist is working with the Governor's Office of Planning and Research to help populate the new Climate Adaptation Clearinghouse by capturing authentic experiences of all Californians as they deal with a changing climate. We hope to share the diversity of people, places, and their own personal responses – no matter how large or small – that make climate stories inherently unique and at the same time universal.
Each story answers three simple questions:
1) What motivated you to act?
2) What was your individual or group action/response or change in behavior/practice? and
3) What has your experience been since initiating this change?
In exchange for logging at least 40 service hours in the 2017 calendar year, certified California Naturalists will receive a beautiful 18k gold and enamel pin service pin as our thank you. The link to the volunteer portal will always be available on the top yellow menu of our home page under “Record Service Hours.”
We love the Splendid Mariposa Lily (Calochortussplendens) that was chosen from 2016 nominations!
Want to start collecting the CalNat Annual Service Pins?
Step 1) log your 2017 hours into the Volunteer Portal by January 22. Here's a guide that explains the categories of service and how to log your volunteer hours.
Step 2) update your capstone project title and mailing address in the "Edit your profile" section of the volunteer portal.
Step 3) This year, we will contact everyone who entered 40+ hours and ask them to OPT IN and fill out a very short survey to receive a pin. We'll send everyone the survey link a few times. You'll choose a location at an organization near you to pick up your pin at your convenience OR pay a small shipping fee to receive the pin at your doorstep.
Why the change of pin protocol? 1- We have over 1800 naturalists in our community now and we've outgrown the system of automatically sending everyone pins. 2- We had a glitch last year that we hope to remedy by implementing the new opt-in system. This way if we missed you last year, you can get both pins this year (sorry to those individuals that were affected!) and 3- and perhaps most importantly, by opting in and picking your pin up, we will save an incredible amount in shipping, packing materials, etc thus making the whole process more environmentally friendly.
Why log hours? Our community of over 1800 certified California Naturalists has volunteered over 103,000 hours in five years! We suspect that is a HUGE under representation of the time you actually spend volunteering. And we understand- logging in and reporting isn't likely your motivation or the most rewarding part of your efforts. But the bottom line is that when you report your activities, we have a metric we can share with our colleagues at UC and the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, our partnering organizations, and beyond that demonstrates that our collective efforts are making a significant impact in this state. That metric eventually translates into allocations of resources from collaborators and sponsors to keep offering and expanding programming (like the Statewide Conference that ALL Naturalists received a discount and/or scholarship to attend!) that will keep our network growing, connected, and learning together. You are part of a larger, longer UC legacy of stewardship. Please help us measure your impact!
What are the rules for volunteer hours? Volunteer hours are defined as any time spent for which you are not paid tending nature, teaching others, doing environmental science, or taking action on behalf of conservation. Volunteer hours should take place in California and fall into the four categories of restoration/conservation, education/interpretation, citizen science, or program support. Hours also need to be attributed to an institution- please choose your organization in the drop down menu of partner institutions that offer the course, or specify “other” institution. Your 8+ Capstone Project volunteer hours should be logged and will count toward the pin, however class time doesn't! Here's a guide that explains the categories of service and how to log your volunteer hours. We offer a new pin design every year to qualifying Naturalists, so if you can't make it to 40 hours this year, you'll have future opportunities!
Need help? Issues gaining access to the site or logging hours? Here's a guide that explains the categories of service and how to log your volunteer hours. Please e-mail canaturalist@ucanr.edu for further troubleshooting. We can re-send your portal invitation or help if you're having trouble gaining access. We'll be on vacation but please be patient and we'll get you the help you need!
We look forward to celebrating your service and sending your new pins in March!
Thanks for all you do!
Citizen Science Day is April 14.
"There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew" - Marshall McLuhan.
Scientists with the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Centerreleased their report on Lake Tahoe's average water clarity for 2017. Their finding of an average of 59.7 feet depth of clarity is the lowest since they began taking measurements in the 1960s. TERC's scientists think the recent historic drought and the following record-breaking rain and snow caused the downturn in clarity, with the warming of the Lake's water playing a role.
Climate scientists expect extreme weather fluctuations like these to become more common. And in the past four years, Lake Tahoe's water has been warming at 10 times its historic trend. While Lake Tahoe has shown it has the ability to be resilient to threats, global warming puts unprecedented pressures on the Lake's fragile ecology.
Time is running out to register for the new Sagehen Creek Field Station course! You won't want to miss a week of incredible experts in the fields of geology, hydrology, botany, and more in this unbeatable location. Nestled in the Sierra just outside of Truckee, students in this week-long course will have room and board covered while exploring the stunning features of the field station and surrounding North Shore of Lake Tahoe. Register by June 30, course dates are July 15-21!
New UC Berkeley research on 62 species across six continents looked for global shifts in the timing of daily activity of mammals in response to humans. On average, mammals were 1.36 times more nocturnal in response to human disturbance.
Urban sprawl in Southern California is reflecting more of the sun's heat, dissipating the clouds that shade coastal Southern California in the summer, according to a new study by UC Santa Barbara researchers.
The Save the Redwoods League just purchased the largest remaining old-growth redwood forest in private ownership from the Oregon border to Big Sur! Located near Cazadero in Sonoma County, the forest features the McApin Tree, a 1,640 year old (!), 19 ft diameter redwood. Congrats to our friends at the Save the Redwoods League and thank you to the Richardson Family. Just 5 percent of the original coast redwood range remains. Since their founding in 1918, Save the Redwoods League has protected more than 200,000 acres of redwood forests and helped create 66 redwood parks and reserves. Read about it here.
Mountain yellow-legged frogs (Rana muscosa) were once found in abundance in the streams of the San Gabriel, San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains in Southern California. Over the past few decades, their numbers decreased significantly due to various reasons from fungal infections to nonnative predators. Only a few hundred were thought to exist today. Now, hundred of tadpoles raised at the LA Zoo are being reintroduced and released into the San Gabriels thanks to a collaborative effort between zoos and agencies. Read about it here.
Congratulations to the newly certified naturalists from Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History! Students were immersed in the natural history of the Monterey Peninsula through a combination of guest presenters from California State University, Monterey Bay, Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the museum staff. They put their knowledge into practice during field trips to view the unique plants at former military site Fort Ord National Monument, explore the tidal marshes of Elkhorn Slough, tour Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, and practice the scientific protocols of LiMPETS Monitoring at the tide pools. No small feat for these #CalNat grads. Welcome!
Join Santa Barbara Botanic Garden's California Naturalist Open House event on Wednesday, July 18, from 5:30-7:00p as they showcase their California Naturalist course. Enjoy refreshments with some of the local expert instructors and course graduates. Explore the broad overview of regional and California natural history the course provides to long-time residents, newcomers, and participants at all levels of expertise. Register for the free event!
The inaugural Audubon Canyon Ranch Martin Griffin Preserve autumn/winter CalNat course in Stinson Beach is accepting application for registration! ACR has been offering a highly regarded docent training for decades- and just last year they started offering the CalNat certification as an enhancement. The training is hosted by ACR's 1,000 acre Martin Griffin Preserve, home to more than twenty-five species of mammals, over ninety species of landbirds, thirteen species of reptile, and eight species of amphibian. Mixed evergreen forests blanket slopes overlooking the Bolinas Lagoon. Open hillsides support grasslands and coastal scrub, while freshwater habitats nestle in canyon floors. Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m.– 2:00 p.m. September 5, 2018 through March 6, 2019 (holiday exceptions). Trainees also observe experienced docents on the trails and in the classroom. http://calnat.ucanr.edu/Take_a_class/ARC/
The search for urban wildlife in So. L.A. continues as the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County partners with community scientists to survey in September 2018! "The data collected the first year was eye-opening. We not only documented bats in every backyard but in most backyards we detected bats that are California Species of Special Concern (identified as vulnerable, but not yet classified as Threatened or Endangered). These bats are uncommon to the area, and we had previously thought that they were too urban sensitive to use urban neighborhoods or possibly required habitat that didn't exist in the L.A. area." If you want to be immersed in urban wildlife discovery and you live south of the 10 Freeway, between I-405/Hawthorne Blvd. and the 710 to the beach, contact the museum.
Dr. Walt Koenig (author of the annual (since 1980!) California Acorn Report) and California Naturalist Kate Marianchild (author of the book Secrets of the Oak Woodlands) share fun acorn woodpecker facts in this KQED Science article.
