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?
Sierra Streams Institute in Nevada City is taking their much-loved California Naturalist class to the next level! This fall, Sierra Streams will be offering the California Naturalist advanced training course: Salmon and Steelhead in the Sierra. The course will run for three weeks this fall. To register go HERE. Download a flier HERE.
The course will take you on a journey from the spawning tributaries of Nevada County to the efforts to conserve local runs on the Yuba River to the regional scale efforts to protect these species from extinction. The course will be three evenings of fascinating presentations from experts working locally on conservation efforts to visionaries attempting to protect these species on a global scale.
Two weekend field trips will cap off this extraordinary opportunity to learn from the experts while observing the local Chinook spawning run in person. Field trips include SYRCL's Salmon Tour experience where participants will raft down the lower Yuba River, with raft guides from Environmental Traveling Companions (ETC), to experience all of the salmon spawning action firsthand. In addition, Sierra Foothill Research Station will provide an opportunity for a walking tour of an actual salmon and steelhead spawning restoration site with local experts that take you through the on-the-ground efforts being put forth to conserve our last remaining anadramous fish.
Dates for the class are Wednesday evenings, October 25th and November 1st & 4th, and field experiences are on Sunday, October 29th and Saturday, November 4th.
Payment for the course is $250 for California Naturalist Alumni and $275 for the general public. This fee includes the $55 fee for the SYRCL led salmon tour.
To register for the course go HERE. For more information about Sierra Streams California Naturalist courses go to our website www.cnssi.wordpress.com. The course is capped at 20 students and it will fill up quickly, so sign up soon!
*Please note that this is not the certificated California Naturalist class that is offered in the spring that runs for 10 weeks. This course is open to anyone (ages 18+) with interest in naturalist history and ecology – previous California Naturalist is not required.
Are you attending the October 8 CalNat Regional Rendezvous? Sign up to present a lightning talk now through September 8!
We hope you will take advantage of this fun and lively forum for attendees to inspire and discuss your California Naturalist experience and volunteer efforts. Please sign up to share your efforts to connect with nature and community! To learn more and sign up to speak, visit http://calnat.ucanr.edu/RR2017/lt17/. Details are also below. We look forward to hearing your story.
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What is a Lightning Talk?
A lighting talk is a low pressure review of important highlights of your naturalist experience. It provides a fun and lively forum for attendees to inspire and discuss their California Naturalist programs and volunteer efforts. Speakers are given five minutes each to formally present their key ideas and results (slides are optional, but no more than 5 slides per talk). Time is allotted at the end of the lightning talk sessions to interact with those interested in learning more about the information presented. Certified naturalists are great at giving a 5 minute talks after the experience of presenting a capstone project. Sample topics include capstone projects, interpretive work, results from a citizen science project, a technical skill/tool/new perspectives about the environment. See some example presentations and videos from CalNat2016 here.
How Do I Participate?
Please prepare a short summary of your topic, not to exceed 1,500 characters (approximately 200 words), including spaces. Begin with a clear statement of the topic or objectives, give brief methods or activities performed, describe what resulted for people and or the environment, and end with a conclusion or lessons learned. It is the responsibility of the author to verify the information submitted and to correct any errors or omissions before the submission deadline.
Important Dates:
· Submit your lightning talk title and short summary by Friday, September 8.
· We will confirm your participation no later than Friday, September 15.
· Send in your slides, if using them, by Monday, September 25. More to come on the website about submission details.
Schedule:
Naturalists will be split into one of two lightning talk sessions (AM/PM) depending on which excursion is chosen (AM/PM). Further scheduling details will be provided closer to the event.
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Please let Marisa Rodriguez know if you have any questions (myrodrig@ucanr.edu).
Thank you,
CalNat Regional Rendezvous Organizing Team
- Author: Brook Gamble
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
For the first time ever, anyone with an interest in gardening is invited to attend the UC Master Gardener Conference. Participants can learn the latest in home horticulture and share gardening stories with other gardening enthusiasts. The 2017 UC Master Gardener Conference will be held Aug. 22-25 at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach.
“Due to our spacious conference location and increased number of sessions, we have the capacity to include more people who want to learn about gardening,” said Missy Gable, director of UC Master Gardener Program.
Participants can choose from 58 sessions to learn a wide variety of subjects such as training fruit trees, pruning grapevines or roses, managing garden pests from aphids to mountain lions, selecting low-water-use plants, diagnosing plant problems and many more.
Adam Schwerner, Disneyland Resort director of horticulture and resort enhancement, and Allan Armitage, University of Georgia professor emeritus will be the keynote speakers.
Four optional tours are available -- the Huntington Botanical Gardens, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens, Dramatic Gardens from the Desert to the Sea and Los Angeles Farm and Garden History.
Registration is $295 (actual value $466) and closes Aug. 7. To register, visit http://ucanr.edu/sites/2017MGConference/Register. Book rooms at the Hyatt Regency by July 31 for the conference rate.
For more information, visit the conference website at http://ucanr.edu/sites/2017MGConference.
The UC California Naturalist Program is pleased to announce the new Volunteer Portal (VMS 3.1) has arrived! Did you know that California Naturalists have logged over 99,000 volunteer hours? Thank you for your efforts! 2016 service pins were sent out over the last 2 weeks.
Over the last few months a small number of California Naturalist programs have been using the new version of the Volunteer Portal on a limited scale. Later this month, the program will go live for all California Naturalist programs around the state. This announcement provides you with important information to help you prepare for the new release.
- On July 12 (Wednesday) starting at 10:00 AM a 30 minute webinar will introduce you to the new Volunteer Portal and provide you with an opportunity ask questions. This will be followed at 10:30 by a similar 30 minute webinar for instructors/administrators only. To log-in to the webinar use the link below (suggested method for following along with the demonstration). If you do not have a computer, you can use the telephone to listen in:
- Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android to view the demonstration (you'll need a speaker to listen to the audio and a mic to make comments. If you don't have a mic you can type your questions into the chat): https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/5307501265
- Or, listen in on the telephone (US Toll): Dial: +1 646 558 8656 or +1 408 638 0968; Meeting ID: 530 750 1265
- We hope you will join us for this live webinar, but if you cannot, it will be recorded and made available with our other VMS help resources online.
- That same day, a new Help Page will be released at http://calnat.ucanr.edu/Resources/VP_Help/providing PowerPoint and video tutorials for common tasks in the new Volunteer Portal such as updating your profile, entering hours, and viewing your hours. Instructors and Administrators will have tutorials on loading a roster, graduating a course and sending Email.
- On July 17 (Monday) the new Volunteer Portal will go live for all users. When you log-in on the 17thyou will automatically be in the new system. We recommend that you review and update your profile and preferences at that time.