From our blogs

Celebrate the inaugural #BlackBirdersWeek from May 31st-June 5th to celebrate black birders and nature explorers everywhere!

Use social media hashtags to participate and follow along in many inspiring stories straight from black birders and outdoor enthusiasts, while learning some exciting bird science:

Sunday, May 31: Kick off Black Birders Week with the hashtag #BlackInNature to celebrate black nature enthusiasts everywhere, showing what you love about nature and how you were introduced to it.

Monday, June 1: Participate in the #PostABird challenge. Include a fun fact about the bird you post. Your fact can range from folklore to weird biology!

Tuesday, June 2: Got a question about birds? #AskABlackBirder during a 2 hour Question & Answer session between 4 pm and 6 pm PST on Twitter.

Thursday, June 4: Get involved in a livestream discussion on Facebook at 9 am and 4 pm PST. There will be two candid conversations with a group of today's young black birdwatchers and special guests Christian Cooper and J. Drew Lanham. The panelists will share their stories of discovering birds and their unique experiences of #BirdingWhileBlack in America. Viewers may ask questions of the panelists through the live Facebook chat feature or on Twitter using the #BirdingWhileBlack hashtag. Discussion hosted by Brianna Amingwa and moderated by Ana Gifty.

Friday, June 5: After the inspiring events earlier in the week, you can continue to celebrate diversity in the outdoors by following #BlackWomenWhoBird.

Celebrate the anniversary of the Endangered Species Act which protects threatened and endangered species like the California tiger salamander, vernal pool tadpole shrimp, and the Contra Costa goldfield.

Learn more about one of the endangered species at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay Wildlife Refuge -- the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse, lovingly known as Salty.

Get crafty and make your own board game featuring the habitats, plants, and animals at the Refuge. Once you put your board game together, play with your family and loved ones. Send us your photos via an email to watershedwatchers@sfbws.com and we will send you a free sticker in the mail!

Note: This the fourth in our series of online interactive field trip activities to explore and discover the 5 habitats of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Teachers can send this online, interactive field trip activity to students or parents can give it to their kids.

Today we will be exploring the Mudflats habitat of the refuge, the wildlife in this habitat, and some fun facts.

Excited? Let's get started!

Step #1: ⮇ Download the PowerPoint presentation (PPT 5 MB) ⮇ or click here for Google Slides if viewing online.
The presentation has bird calls, links to videos and websites with more information.
The PowerPoint will start in presentation mode, so it is ready for you to begin the activity right away! Click with your mouse or press the space bar key to move forward through the presentation. Clicking on button links will either play a bird call, or open up a webpage.

Step #2: ⮇ Download the worksheet (PDF 184 kB) ⮇
This will be used by the students to answer questions as they come up throughout the presentation. You can fill it in on your computer or print it out.
Read the Habitat information on the worksheet once you get to the habitat slide.

Step #3: ⮇ Download the answer key (PDF 190 kB) ⮇
Check your worksheet against this answer key.

Step #4 (optional): Once you finish learning about the habitat, send us your completed worksheet via an email to watershedwatchers@sfbws.com and we will send you a free sticker in the mail!

Note: This the second in our series of online interactive field trip activities to explore and discover the 5 habitats of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Teachers can send this online, interactive field trip activity to students or parents can give it to their kids.

Today we will be exploring the Salt Pond habitat of the refuge, the wildlife in this habitat, and some fun facts.

Excited? Let's get started!

Step #1: ⮇ Download the PowerPoint presentation (PPT 4.2 MB) ⮇ or click here for Google Slides if viewing online.
The presentation has bird calls, links to videos and websites with more information.
The PowerPoint will start in presentation mode, so it is ready for you to begin the activity right away! Click with your mouse or press the space bar key to move forward through the presentation. Clicking on button links will either play a bird call, or open up a webpage.

Step #2: ⮇ Download the worksheet (PDF 170 kB) ⮇
This will be used by the students to answer questions as they come up throughout the presentation. You can fill it in on your computer or print it out.
Read the Habitat information on the worksheet once you get to the habitat slide.

Step #3: ⮇ Download the answer key (PDF 177 kB) ⮇
Check your worksheet against this answer key.

Step #4 (optional): Once you finish learning about the habitat, send us your completed worksheet via an email to watershedwatchers@sfbws.com and we will send you a free sticker in the mail!