Other trails are being built by developers. This is occurring on former privately owned parcels whose boundaries took in the wetlands. When the developers purchased these lands, the City assumed ownership of the sloughs proper; it also brokered a deal that the developers would build sections of the trail system. Some of the most active slough stewards are residents of these new housing developments.

A small nature center, open to the public weekends only, sits at one trailhead in Ramsay Park, off Main Street. It includes displays in both English and Spanish on wetland creatures and their habitat. Each Sunday at 1:30 a nature walk leaves from there--binoculars provided. Every second and fourth Saturday, restoration work parties sally forth--this time, gloves, tools, and a snack are provided--to perform various tasks, such as planting native grasses, sedges, and rushes, erecting wood fences, or removing non-native species.

Education is a key activity in spreading awareness, one in which the City has invested fully. Two full-time staff members, Michelle Templeton and the City's environmental education coordinator, Tami Stolzenthaler, work tirelessly to teach both young and old about these valuable lands and the natural processes that keep them healthy. In 2005, 2,604 local upper elementary school children (representing 114 classrooms) participated, along with their teachers and parents, in 142 classroom presentations and 108 field trips. The material covered ranged from bird and plant identification to water conservation, watershed protection, and waste reduction and recycling. First- through third-graders aren't left out: they get to play with worms (red wigglers: nature's recyclers)!

In addition, every Wednesday is devoted to some sort of adult outreach--presentations to the Rotary Club and other civic groups.

The day we went for a stroll along the Upper Struve Slough Trail, I was struck by the abundance of bird life. Just a couple of minutes after we hit the path, our eyes were drawn by a fat streak of green and rust flying low over the water, trailed by bright orange feet. The bird landed next to a stand of reeds and immediately vanished from sight, perfectly camouflaged. "What was that?" I asked. My husband already had the binoculars to his eyes, and after some searching succeeded in finding the stock-still bird. "It looks like a heron. I think it's a green-backed." A second flash of gray and rust and bright orange flew, then blended in a little farther off. (It turns out their legs are usually dull yellow, but in males they turn bright orange in high breeding plumage. Two males. Where were the girls? Sitting on nests?)

Although we didn't see any nesting herons, we did spy a coot sitting on a nest of dried reeds about half a foot above the surface of the water. Nearby, a young coot dived and surfaced, dived and surfaced. Farther on, we watched some starlings feed their chicks.