From our blogs

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer Opportunities: Fall 2016 at the Environmental Education Center (Alviso, California).

If you have an interest in wildlife and their conservation, enjoy working with people, and are enthusiastic and dependable, the Environmental Education Center’s Volunteer Program is for you! As a volunteer, you’ll receive on-the-job training from staff and other volunteers in the project area you choose.

Project areas are: restoration projects, information desk on weekends, interpretive programs, school field trips, and citizen science/community service.

Prior to volunteering at the Environmental Education Center, you must attend a Volunteer Orientation. You can also attend the orientation just to see what opportunities there are, and if it is the right fit for you.

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge presents Coastal Cleanup Day at the Dumbarton Fishing Pier Parking Lot, Marshlands Rd, Fremont on Saturday, September 17, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Do you want to help wildlife and the environment? Join the thousands of people around the world for International Coastal Cleanup Day. At Don Edwards SF Bay NWR you can remove invasive weeds or pick up trash along the parking lot and trails. We’ll supply plastic gloves (or bring your own) and trash and recycling bags. You supply energy, sturdy shoes, sun protection, and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Bring a reusable water bottle.

Volunteers can choose to be shuttled to areas along the Shoreline Trail to reach areas farther away. For more information, call 510-792-0222, ext. 362 for the Visitor Services Intern or Paul Mueller at ext. 361. No reservations necessary.

Children under age 18 must have parental approval. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. To expedite the registration process, log on to http://www.fws.gov/refuge/don_edwards_san_francisco_bay to download the forms and bring to the registration table. Forms are also available at the registration table.

by Roy Sasai, San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society Volunteer and San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex Docent.

Exploring Our Baylands by Diane R. Conradson, Ph.D. is a well-written, concise book (only 69 pages) packed with information regarding the history and ecology of the San Francisco Bay Area. The book begins with the formation of the San Francisco Bay through seismic and glacier activity. The bay has gone through several transformations and the bay we see today is only 2,000 years old. At one time, the California coastline was west of the Farallon Islands. That’s 30 miles out in the ocean from today’s coastline!

Conradson then delves into the plants and animals around the bay, how the presence of certain plant communities indicate the different tidal zones identified by scientists, and how these plants have adapted to the harsh, salty environment. Conradson also reveals that there are two different species of the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse in the Bay Area due to being isolated by rising bay waters from long ago.

Hundreds of feet underground lies a massive and mysterious natural resource that we depend on greatly — but barely ever think about.

Learn about aquifers and understand California’s groundwater management system through Stanford University's Water In The West series.