Volunteer Newsletter of the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex
Volunteer Appreciation Banquet and Dessert Contest (pages 7-8 )
Connections to Pier Fishing (page 2)
Earth Day Events in Fremont and Alviso (page 3)
April and May 2018
Sloughs News
Photo by Melanie Mancuso
Sloughs News April and May 2018 Page 2
An introductory fishing clinic for up to 50 people
When: Saturday, June 9
Volunteer Start and End Time: 8 am to 1 pm
Event Time: 9 am to noon
Volunteer Jobs at Event: Help set up and load equipment into truck at the end of the
event
Registration Table
Teach a station: Knot tying, rigging, safety and ethics, watershed activity, reel operation (if I have enough volunteers)
Group Leaders: Lead group from station to station, assist with each station if needed, help de-tangle fishing lines
Event Photographer
Training: Can be provided Contact: Carmen Minch at 510-792-0222 ext. 476 or [email protected]
Native Plants Nursery
Work with our nursery doing weeding, pruning, and planting. Learn about restoring vegetation that is more drought resistant and better for wildlife. Your work will promote plant diversity and make the refuge more beautiful.
Questions? Please contact June Smith at [email protected]
Fremont and Alviso Page 3
Stewardship Saturday in Fremont on Earth Day April 21 and May 5
If you are interested in improving the refuge for visitors and for wildlife alike, join us at the visitor center for a
stewardship project. We will do either a trash cleanup or a planting/weeding project. Dress appropriately for the
task and for the weather. We will have gloves to lend and will provide the tools. Bring your own water bottle.
Meet in the parking lot at the visitor center. Driving an additional two and one half miles may be required since
the project may be at a different location.
Volunteering starts at around 9:30 am and finishes up by noon. Ask about flexible starting and end times to fit your schedule
needs.
Questions? Please contact Paul Mueller at 510-792-0222 ext. 361 or [email protected]
Warm Springs Tour (A Volunteer Enrichment Opportunity)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm, Tuesday, April 3rd (Date is tentative due to weather and blooming times.)
Are you interested in seeing the flower blooms around some of the last intact vernal pools in the East Bay? This
tour provides a unique experience to see a part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay NWR in south Fremont.
The Warm Springs area is normally closed to the public. You will learn about the unique features of a vernal pool
grassland and hopefully observe the pools (variable depending on rainfall). Participants will see endangered
Contra Costa goldfields (lasthenia conjugens), as well as downingia pulchella, several plagiobothrys, and other
native vernal pool and upland species.
The tour will occur at the Warm Springs Unit of the refuge. The walking tour will last about 1.5 to 2 hours. Total
walking distance will not exceed one mile, but terrain is uneven. Please wear sturdy shoes and dress according
to the weather. Heavy rain will cancel.
Please e-mail Hope Presley at [email protected] to sign up!
Restoration Work Day at the EEC in Alviso on Earth Day
Environmental Education Center, Alviso
10:00 am to noon, April 21 and May 19
Are you interested in volunteering at the refuge? Come out for a Restoration Work Day. We will be working in
the butterfly garden and surrounding trails. Work will include weeding, mulching, and planting native plants. This
is a great opportunity for middle school, high school, and college students to gain volunteer hours. Great for
scout groups and families as well. All ages and skill levels are welcome to join. Gloves and tools are provided.
Bring a lunch to enjoy after. Reservations required. Visit https://restorationeec.eventbrite.com. Questions? Call
Hope at 408-262-5513 ext.104.
The Sloughs News is edited by Paul Mueller and Laura Mello. Contributions came from Colter Cook, Hope Presley,
Carmen Minch, and Paul Mueller. Any questions or comments? Call Paul Mueller at 510‐792‐0222, ext 361.
Alviso Page 5
Volunteer Opportunities:
Restoration Project Volunteers: Volunteers are needed to work on the EEC's ecotone habitat restoration project. In the fall and winter volunteers plant natives and in the spring and summer volunteers pull
various invasive species to ensure that the native plants have a chance to thrive! Training: Volunteer orientation and on the job training is provided. Questions: Please contact Hope Presley at 408-262-5513 ext. 104 or [email protected] Additional Requirements: All ages are welcome, but remember it is physical work, primarily outdoors. Hours: Work is done Tuesdays from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm. Weekend Information Desk Volunteers:
Volunteers are needed to tell our story to visitors, field questions, answer phones, and check out our discovery packs and binoculars to visitors. Training: Volunteer Orientation and a one hour information desk training is required. Questions: Please contact Hope Presley at 408-262-5513 ext. 104 or
[email protected]. Additional Requirements: Volunteers commit to two half days per month for a six month period. Hours: Shifts are from 9:45 am to 1:30 pm and 1:30 pm to 4:45 pm on Saturdays. Citizen Scientists Plant Monitoring Program:
Help us monitor plants, birds, monarchs, reptiles, and/or the weather! Dates and hours are flexible. Training: Volunteer orientation provides one hour of instruction and field training with biologists and experienced volunteers. Questions: Please contact Hope Presley at 408-262-5513 ext. 104 or
[email protected] Additional Requirements: Volunteers must be ages 15 and up and monitor one field per month.
Alviso Volunteer Requirements:
You must attend a volunteer orientation.
You must attend the scheduled trainings.
You must meet the age requirements for the program.
Volunteer applications are provided at orientation.
Alviso Page 6
EEC Volunteer Orientation
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 will receive
on-the-job training from staff and other volunteers in the project area you choose.
Volunteer orientations take place in the
auditorium of the Environmental
Education Center in Alviso from
Saturdays, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. Please
contact Hope Presley at 408-262-5513
ext. 104 or [email protected] .
You must attend a volunteer orientation.
You must attend the scheduled trainings.
You must meet the age requirements.
the Alviso Volunteer
Requirements:
Note
Volunteer Orientation Dates:
Saturdays, April 7 and May 5
11:00 am to 12 pm
Butterfly Garden Volunteers:
We need volunteers to keep the education center’s native plant demonstration garden thriving. This position will require restoration work in the garden that includes weeding, mulching, and planting.
History: Volunteers established this garden to provide critical habitat for songbirds and butterflies, and to demonstrate how to garden for wildlife using beautiful California native plants without the use of herbicides. It
contains mature specimens of Ceanothus, fuchsia-flowered gooseberry, pink flowering currant, buckwheat, toyon, and black sage in a naturalistic setting.
To Apply: Please contact Hope Presley at 408-262-5513 ext. 104 or [email protected]
Additional Requirements: One day a week for a three month commitment is required.
Hours: Hours are flexible.
Outreach Volunteers:
Help us get out into the community and spread the word about one of the bay area’s best kept secrets – the Refuge!
Training: Volunteer Orientation, outreach training and Refuge 101 training are provided.
Questions: Please contact Hope Presley at 408-262-5513 ext. 104 or [email protected]
Additional Requirements: One event per quarter or four total is required for a one-year commitment.
Hours: Hours can vary depending on the event.
Walk Among the Wildflowers at
The Volunteer Appreciation Banquet in Fremont!
The volunteers (past and current) of the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex are invited to the annual spring celebration, the Volunteer Appreciation Banquet! It will be held within sight of the beautiful Tidelands Trail at the Complex Headquarters Building in Fremont. You do not have to do a thing—just bring friends and family. We will have door prizes, take home gifts, and free food!
‘Flours’ of the Earth Dessert Contest
Quick Information When? Saturday, April 14th, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Consider entering the optional
dessert contest with a Spring time
twist! There will be prizes for nearly
everyone! Check out page 8 for more
information.
Where? At One Marshlands Road, in the
Auditorium of the Administration Building in
Fremont
Who? You, your family, and close friends!
RSVP? Please help us keep count by RSVP’ing
through Evite. Decide at the last minute if you
must!
Information? [email protected] or
510-792-0222 ext. 361
Retro Dessert Take a page from
grandma’s recipe
book. We’re looking
for the classics.
Habitat Theme Our volunteers are
experts at creating
habitat, now just do
it with dessert.
Store Bought No time to bake a
masterpiece? Fret
not because it’s
store bought.
Bear Approved Honey, berries, and
nuts. Please save the
salmon for the main
course...
Mud Seasoned Flavor your cake with
mud and by mud we
mean chocolate!
Wild Flours Think outside the
box and make a
dessert using a
non-wheat flour.
You may enter Your dessert under
one or multiple categories.
Other Categories:
Raccoon Raid:
Catch-all category
Science Experiment : Dessert with libations
Spring in Your Step: Coffee Flavored
Natural Disaster: Looks messy, tastes great