Events & views - March 2009
In This Edition
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March 2009 Newsletter |
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For the Love of Clapper Rails
by Allan Berkowitz, Executive Director
It is not very graceful. |
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Construction on our new home in the Palo Alto Baylands has stopped for a few weeks so that we can be respectful of the Clapper Rail, an endangered species that lives in the bay marshes. This planned shut-down is to allow biological monitors to survey for breeding pairs of Clapper Rails near the construction site. If found, then our construction process might be delayed until the end of breeding season. Have the Clapper Rails found true love near our new home? Is it true that this ungraceful, chicken-like bird breeds for longer than you can imagine? For the answers to these and other Clapper Rail love facts, check out the FAQs below. Clapper Rail FAQs Q: I heard a rumor that clapper Rails are quite amorous. Is this true? A: It may walk like a chicken and dress in bland colors, but the California Clapper Rail breeds for 8 months of the year (it must rely on its great personality). February through September is breeding season. Q: How was the biological monitoring conducted? Q: Have the Clapper Rails found true love near our new home? Results of Survey #1: It was a clear and crisp morning in early February. 48 degrees, no wind, and just before sunrise. A beautiful day for Clapper Rail romance. And yes, there were several Clapper Rails. Approximately 900' away, 9 Rail calls were heard. We can only presume they were looking for love in all the marshy places. Results of Survey #2: Again it was a clear and crisp morning just before sunrise in mid-February. Another beautiful day for Clapper Rail's in love. 13 Rail calls were heard far off in the distance. But it is a cruel world out there and on this day, a Red-tail Hawk attacked a juvenile Northern Harrier (using our roof for its feast!). But the amorous Clapper Rails remained focused on love. Q: What Does All This Mean For Construction? All this talk about Clapper Rail romance inspires me to want to learn more. Where can I learn more about the life and habits of Clapper Rails? Cornell Lab of Ornithology Save The Bay |
Training Update - It's Not Too Late
by Brittany Sabol, Education & Training Director
In addition to finishing our first Field Trip training module, the last training session of the year begins this month. We would be happy to send information about Explorations in Ecology to anyone you think might be interested in joining the E.V. We hope to have a great group of new volunteers start with this class. Current EVs are welcome to attend one or more days of training as well, as long as your paperwork is up to date. The full schedule of training is below. RSVP to Brittany to attend. |
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Field Trip Training This module is designed to give trainees more than just an introduction to the individual trails. We will learn about how to work with kids in the field and fun games to play with your groups. We will also spend more time learning how to identify the plants, animals, tracks, and rocks that are encountered. Schedule: Explorations in Ecology Learn all about the amazing variety of ecology that is right here in the bay area. Schedule: |
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Camp News
by Vandy Shrader, Summer Programs Coordinator
It may seem like a long time until summer, but for me, summer has already begun! I've been having a good time planning the 2009 S.N.A.K.E. Camp and Explore! Programs, and I'm ready to share our exciting plans. But first, the rest of the staff and I have some exciting news for you... Summer Fun Coupon How to give it: The "greenest" way to give the coupon is to send the link to someone as an email attachment. They can open the link, read the coupon and use the code. You could also just tell them the code, but that's not as much fun as receiving a cool coupon! You could also print out the coupon and present it to someone on paper, but that uses trees. Please give only one coupon per EV. |
Summer Plans |
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Also in 2009, we will have 2 sessions of Explore!, for our 6th through 8th graders: - Session 1 is July 20-24 and the theme is EcoPalooza!, explorations of the Bay Area's ecosystems. For more information about both of our summer programs, please see our web page: www.evols.org/summer.htm I will be telling you more as summer approaches, especially where you can get involved. I'm looking forward to seeing you when summer's here! Cheers, |
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School Services Update
by Anita Rodriguez, Program Services Coordinator
Thanks again for another successful month of services. We have not had to cancel any services for lack of volunteers. That is an indication of all your commitment, day after day, to our school programs. We have just 3 months to go! Soon, I will start signing up teachers participating in Educate for Depth, and then we will invite all other teachers to sign up online. We do not have a date yet, but we will let you know soon. Thanks for your fantastic efforts! |
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Here are some comments we have received from Teachers: "Excellent docents - students enjoyed the activities very much." "This is just a fantastic presentation, so hands-on, so informative." "We all greatly enjoyed the lessons. We still have our posters on the wall and the children gaze at them to remember the good times." "Wonderful volunteers and activities, thank you." "Luckily I have been able to have an EV service each year from 2001 when I came to work at this school to the present. I think Las Lomitas has been signing up for EV long before I arrived. We love it!" Here are the statistics for January and February services: |
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Who's News: Davy Davidson
by Jan Whitmer
Our new Board member, Davy Davidson, took the fall training in 2007 and jumped in right away to help with the Birds and Blooms fundraiser last year. A lifelong environmental activist, Davy has served on the boards of many organizations fighting to preserve and protect the natural environment. While on the EV Board, she will focus on fundraising, something she is passionate and enthusiastic about where the environment is concerned. Davy believes that her love of the natural world comes from her upbringing. |
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Raised in New Jersey, Davy always felt at home in the outdoors. Her mother's garden was also an inspiration, with its unstructured, natural look. Interested in spiritual development, Davy feels that her inner life is fully supported when she is out in nature. Davy works hard at leaving a low carbon footprint and has been a vegetarian for 34 years and a vegan for 17 years. Before coming to California a decade ago, Davy lived in New York City for 19 years where she had an acting career. A single parent to son Ben, she acted, as she puts it, "off-off-off Broadway", but was forced to take TV commercial and soap opera jobs to make ends meet, so left the business. She became a communications consultant for McKinsey & Company, teaching executives how to deliver press messages. Her work took her all over the world, an opportunity of which she took full advantage. One of her most vivid experiences was in India on an adventure tracking tigers. Davy is never happier than when she is close to the wildness of nature. Davy's move to California came because she wanted to open an organic, vegetarian restaurant and felt the population in San Francisco would support a health-oriented venture. Unfortunately, her restaurant became a casualty of the dot-com bust. Four years ago, Davy moved to the Peninsula to be with her partner Al Whaley. Recreational activities for Davy include gardening, hiking, and eco-travel. She recently visited Costa Rica where she was awakened by howler monkeys at 4:00 AM and watched whales breaching. It doesn't get any better than that for Davy! She also loves food and cooking, trying different combinations, colors, and textures and, especially, eating from her own garden. We salute, you, Davy, for your passion and commitment. |
Wild Crush 2009 Gala and Raffle Tickets Available!
by Sue Trautmant, Executive Assistant
Capture a chance for an aerial Bay tour in a 1954 E-model Beechcraft Bonanza piloted by Brittany Sabol's flying partner; stroll in the lovely outdoor plaza to the sounds of live music as you sample wines from local vintners and show your guests some of the EV activities on display; and, enjoy dinner among friends and bid on exciting and unique auction items. These experiences will be yours at: Wild Crush 2009 Enter the raffle, even if you can't come to the event, and secure a chance (or many chances with many tickets) to win a 4-day Sierra exploration, guided by one of EV's favorite naturalists, Diane West-Bourke.
You can purchase event tickets and raffle tickets online by clicking here. |
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May I borrow your burrow?
By Esperanza Sanz Escudero
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"Did you see the owl sitting on the white sand patch? "-- Asked Phillip. The characteristics of those raptors are: yellow eyes, short body, able to live 9 |
years in the wild and around 10 in captivity, with reversed-size dimorphism (male is slightly larger than the female; normally in other raptors is the opposite), accustomed to living close to humans, hunting from the air or by foot, day or night. Burrowing owls are one of the smallest owls in the world (a little bit larger than an American Robin). They are the only ones that live underground, taking over burrows from other animals like ground squirrels. They are also the only owl that eats fruits and some seeds, and lays more eggs that any other bird of prey (12 to 13 compared to 1 to 6 for other raptors.) Protecting the owls, as everything in life, is not that simple. Many consider ground squirrels pests, but they construct the burrows that this little cute owl uses. Similarly, prairie dogs can damage farm crops, so programs have been created to eradicate them. But these programs are harming the owls too, due to the fact that prairie dogs live side by side with burrowing owls, and owls benefit by taking the burrow that prairie dogs build. Taking care of one species requires thinking about the other species we impact. What would happen if we remove one of the pieces of this complex puzzle? Only then, we will understand that we are included in that puzzle. If we take care of everything in our environment, from the prairie dog, to the ground squirrel, to the burrowing owl, we take care of ourselves too. Picture: Yamil Saenz |
Shell Game - Materials Request
By Brittany Sabol, Education & Training Director
We are still looking for more shells for the drilling activity in the Early California Indians subject area. In the past, the best contacts have been at local fish or seafood restaurants. I will happily accept contact information for potential shell sources as well. A personal contact usually works better than a cold call! Contact Brittany for more details. |
Photo Credits
For EV and student photos: Leonard Brzezinski, Judy Kramer
For Clapper Rail, flower and owl: Wikipedia
Other pictures provided by subjects