California Coast & Ocean

Working Together
Sue relies on a small staff, but she couldn’t have accomplished anywhere near as much without a large and diverse group of volunteers, ranging from small schoolchildren to local neighbors. “In areas like this where you have such sensitive species,” said Sue, “historically the emphasis, in terms of protection, has been to fence them off and keep people out. But we really believe that the only way to protect these areas is to engage people in stewardship.”

Fortunately, the local community has leapt enthusiastically to work, participating in clean-ups, salvaging native wetland plants from construction areas, removing nonnative plants and planting new natives in their place, and collecting native plant seeds to support future restoration efforts. They also assisted with the installation of 1,300 feet of protective fencing along sensitive habitat areas.

Eighty-five to 90 percent of volunteer support comes from schoolchildren. Programs are designed by a GGNPC education staff member and an ecology/science staff member, working together “to make sure that what’s done will actually help the area.” Teachers give input as well, “so we can tie in with what’s going on in the classroom.” Outreach staff and interns conduct three to four programs a week with local schools, and Sue has maintained partnerships with Oceana High School and City College of San Francisco that go back 14 years. “At City College,” Sue said, “students taking biology often are taking it in a vacuum because the school is so urban.” Here, with an hour-long lesson on such subjects as island biogeography and how species become endangered, and two hours of field work--removing invasive species, say, or planting natives--they can connect with the land and natural processes.

At Oceana High School, students must do 100 hours of community service. There, Sue helped establish a small native plant nursery, which students maintain; then every Wednesday there’s a work day, when they come out to plant--”so they get to see the whole cycle.” Altogether they’ve grown about 6,000 plants, and a local nursery donated another 10,000, “so we’ve been planting frantically”--as myriad red flags stuck in the ground confirm.

Even small children get hands-on experience at Mori Point. “Believe it or not,” said Sue, in invasive plant eradication efforts “we try to save the ice plant”--but only until a young school group comes along. Then children who can’t do much more get an important job all their own: pulling it out. They also assist in the once- or twice-a-month cleanup of a culvert outflow area--a trash magnet--at one entrance to the park. As Sue observed, “It’s a little disheartening to see a frog--and this is the threatened red-legged frog--sitting on a piece of trash.” Here, the kids use grabbers to pick up trash. “It’s a really tangible thing to do. They almost always get to see the frogs, and then there’s the garbage. It’s kind of instant gratification.”

As Sue and I leave the park by this entrance, we peer into the shallow water near the culvert. Yes, there are a couple of pieces of trash. But there, nestled up against a stick, is the pointed head of a frog. We look a little harder and spot the hindquarters and legs of another one. The sight is gratifying.

Anne Canright’s last article for Coast & Ocean was “Ants!” in the Winter 2007-08 issue.