Issue 313 A Publication of the Docent Council, Martin Griffin Preserve of Audubon Canyon Ranch © December 2019 Bourne Controlled Burn on the Martin Griffin Preserve by Brian Peterson On Sunday, October 20th, partners came together from across the North Bay region to conduct a cooperative 9.5-acre timber understory burn at Audubon Canyon Ranch’s (ACR’s) Martin Griffin Preserve (MGP). This was the first burn of its kind in modern Marin County, being held on private land and led by a non-government entity. The burn was a resounding success. Our 99-years- young founder, Dr. Martin Griffin, even did us the great honor of igniting the start of our test burn; it was a reverent scene to say the least. We had representation and support from so many great partners, including:
•Marin County Fire, Golden Gate National Recreation Area Fire (GGNRA),
Founder Dr. Marty Griffin lighting off the unit with Bolinas Fire District, Central Marin Fire and Stinson Beach Volunteer Fire Fire Forward Director Sasha Berleman and Burn Department; •Crew of highly-trained wildland fire-qualified volunteers coming from a range of backgrounds including State Parks, Resource Conservation District, UC Berkeley’s Wildland Fire Science Lab and Forestry Department, San Jose State Meteorology Lab, Wildlands Conservancy, Pepperwood Preserve, private ranchers and landowners/managers; •An impressive team of ACR staff to support with logistics (including feeding of fifty people, parking, check-in, parking management, etc.) and assist on the fire line (running the pump and operating our water- pumping capable side-by-side).
— continues on pages 7, 8
A Look at What’s Inside
Reflections on the A Wild Ride to the A Closer Look at Bourne Ridge Need A Good Winter A Winter Dinner Fall Season Farallon Islands Fall Hiking Controlled Burn Read? One-dish dinners Take a look back Natasha Lekach School Program Start on the first The New Arrivals are just the thing for at the recent climbs aboard for Co-chair Jeni page and make rack in the OVC a busy holiday hiking season. an ocean Jackson recaps the sure you dive in library is full of season. adventure. latest season. for more photos interesting choices. Page 2 and info. Page 11 Page 4 Pages 5, 6 Page 11 Pages 7, 8
1 SEQUOIA CLUB Co-President’s Report By Mary Fitzpatrick and Beki Simon
This season, the effects of climate change at MGP and in our lives took center stage, at least for awhile. High winds, nearby fires, smokey air, a red flag evacuation, and extensive power outages played a role in upending our best laid plans at the Preserve resulting in several day hikes and two overnight trips being cancelled. But, undaunted, MGP docents adjusted, adapted, and carried on. As at other challenging times, you demonstrated the flexibility, commitment and cooperative spirit that makes the MGP docent community such a special one. Thank you!
“Here is….. Here is Where… Here is Where I walk” … Walt Whitman
In spite of the changes around us, 678 students walked here this season -- exploring trails, scanning tree tops, listening for hawks, holding newts, spying on spiders, and maybe wondering about the scents of fall. With their “scientific instruments” always on hand, these young “student scientists” investigated the Preserve on day hikes, overnight sessions or in special education groups. And when the season ended, 84 extraordinary MPG docents had spent over 1100 hours guiding hikes or visiting classrooms, ever ready to help our guests discover and enjoy the natural wonders of MGP. Congratulations on a very successful season!
New this season was The Video! Developed under a joint project with ACR’s Bouverie Preserve for classroom visits, the MGP version of the video shows a Preserve visit from a child’s perspective. Many docents used the new video during classroom visits this fall and we’ve heard positive reviews from teachers, docents and students alike. A few students, in fact, were heard on hikes saying things like “hey, THAT was in the video“ or “the kids in the video did THAT…” A good sign! Next steps? The MGP Video Project team, led by Karla Kelly and Natasha L, would like to evaluate its use and refine suggestions for future use. Watch for more about that soon, likely in an email or a notice in the MGP Monthly Digest. And, feel free to contact Karla, Natasha, Beki or Mary anytime with your thoughts.
Although the Fall Hiking Season has ended, there’s really not much of a break in the behind the scene’s work for docents and staff. They are already getting ready for the Spring Season and beyond!
Patty Blanton lead a docent working group on November 19th in Picher Canyon to put the Fall Kits “to bed” and start “waking up” the Spring Kits. The Fall Kits were inventoried, repair needs flagged, and some items moved to Spring Kits. The Spring Kits were also inventoried, items inspected, and repair and replacement needs prioritized. Over the next few months, work on the Spring Kits will be finished so they are ready for spring use Then, Patty will create a plan to update the Fall Kits for next September. Patty’s largely been committee of one and would welcome others who’d like to help with the seasonal Kit review. As we know, those Kits are invaluable! Contact her, Beki or Mary for more information.
After careful planning and transition, the co-chairs of the New Docent Training Committee, Phoebe Tanner, Rozelle Overmire, and Carol Campbell held the first full committee meeting on Nov 20th. They reviewed the draft schedule for about 26 sessions,identified speakers, began discussing the role of mentors, and started outlining training materials to be updated or developed. The Training Committee does an enormous amount of work to maintain this exemplary program and they welcome new members! Please feel free to contact the committee chairs, Beki or Mary if this sparks your interest!
BTW -- How do we get people interested in becoming new docents ready to be trained? Well, luckily, there is a plan for that! Lynda Pearson and Debbie Piattelli, the co-chairs of the Docent Recruitment Committee, are creating the plan, exploring new and time tested ways to reach a broad audience of potential docents. They work closely with the Training Committee and also welcome your help. Don’t hesitate to email the committee chairs, Beki or Mary if this sparks your interest.
— continues on Page 14
2 AUDUBON CANYON RANCH Nature Guide Report By Brooke Bloomquist, Nature Guide Co-President
Hello nature lovers. Rain has finally greeted us with the chilly darkening days of fall. The mosaic of colors is so beautiful. Nature is perfect at creating complimentary colors. I love the patterns of the leaves as they mulch the ground awaiting their transformation into fungi rich soil. The glistening prismatic dewdrops are a welcome sight as they promise to quench the thirsty earth. One of my favorite sights to meditate on is the glittering geometric sparkle of dew on Spiders web- Nature’s art therapy.
This season I have been thankful for my comforts and the beauty of my surroundings. After being evacuated from our home for days and left without power and water upon returning, I find it therapeutic to count my blessings. Being a part of ACR is on my list of comforts. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by nature lovers, living in a community that has tremendous power to protect our land and create change. Thank you for being a part of that!Po
There are many great perks to being a volunteer at ACR! Give yourself the gift of giving and sign up to receive access to the preserve during the off season, discounts on nature swag, access to overnights and being part of a strong community that believes in conservation.
Upcoming Events: Interpretation 101 for Nature Guides:
1/11/20 2/22/20 3/7/20
Advanced Nature Guide Training: 4/11/20 4/18/20 4/25/20
~Blue Heron Wades Through Dark Green Waters Moon-Light Dances Across Her Feathers Coy Fish, Swimming Away From Her Feet~
By Pearl Bloomquist, age 8
3 AUDUBON CANYON RANCH A Journey to the Farallon Islands by Natasha Lekach Growing up in the Outer Richmond, I rarely checked the weather. I pretty much always assumed it was going to be mostly foggy and maybe some drizzle - what my schoolmates and I called, “sweatshirt weather”. Yet some days, usually in the winter, the fog broke and we could see the ocean. On the most spectacular of days, not only was the water visible, but small land masses, almost 30 miles in the distance, made an appearance. Locals relish these days, commenting on the clarity, “It is so clear, you can see the Farallon Islands.” To me, for many years, the Farallons were simply a metric to measure the clarity of the day. Yet, after moving back to the Bay Area after a six year hiatus, this biodiversity hotspot began to creep into my conversations and life experiences, beyond just the weather: As a ranger at Point Reyes National Seashore, I lived and worked at the Point Reyes Lighthouse, the closest point in California to the islands. I watched distant blue and humpback whales surface and breach in the distant waters around the islands. I fantasized about revitalizing the submarine cable communication between the Point Reyes Light and the Farallon Light. I heard stories of vagrant Eurasian birds taking refuge on the islands and great white sharks hunting off its rocky shores.
Eventually, I met folks who shared stories of their research stints on the islands. When one of my close friends began a two month season in 2018, banding birds, counting mammals and completing shark watch, he connected me with Point Blue Conservation Science and I was placed on the waitlist to help with the Patrol Run. This is the least glamorous way to get on the island- volunteers spend hours in the grocery store, filling up multiple carts with two weeks worth of food for the researchers on the island and proceed to load the 700 pounds of food on to a boat and eventually on to the island. Yet, any job is worth it to step foot on this rugged and exclusive place.
Unfortunately, Point Blue did not have space for me in the 2018 season. So when 2019 came around, I kicked into gear and started pestering my friend to pester his boss. My nagging paid off and I secured a spot on the November 23nd Patrol run. On Friday, I arrived in Petaluma and spent the day purchasing $600 worth of groceries, trying to decipher meals out of the long list of items. I returned home and began to pack my own goods: rain gear for the ocean spray, binoculars, water, Sibley’s Guide to Birds, food (that wouldn’t make me queasy) and as I fell asleep at 8 p.m., I scribbled additional must have items on my hand. At 3:30 a.m., the alarm buzzed and I launched out of bed, no need for the snooze button this time! After grabbing the last minute items from my “handy” list, I left Inverness and met my Patrol Run partner in Petaluma to drive the food safely to San Francisco. We arrived at the SF Marina 6 a.m. to meet Starbuck, the 40 foot sailboat, her captain, John, and her two crew members, Allie and Sebastian.
—continues on Page 14
4 THE HERON Suddenly, It’s Over . . . 2019 Hiking Seasons Have Come to a Close by Jeni Jackson, School Program Co-chair
Sheesh, last article, I was welcoming everyone to the kits for both seasons done by noon! Hopefully, saving Patty beginning of the Fall Hiking Season and now, WHOOSH, a lot of time, come January and February. As you can it’s over… I’m sure you’ve already seen the stats Natasha imagine, this is an ongoing project, so we’ll be doing it in and Beki sent out regarding the Fall 2019 Season. A quick reverse after the Spring season. Many thanks to Beki, Mary recap shows the season began with 41 scheduled classes, but Lee, Karla, JeanAn, Gail B, and Mary F, for your concerted due to Power Outages, Red Flag warnings, and efforts and good cheer! (While having lunch we also came transportation problems, 27 classes actually made it to MGP. up with a great list of recommendations for movies and Those numbers include 2 overnights, 1 special education really good TV series to stream. If you ask nicely, we may day program and 24 traditional day programs, serving 678 share the list…) See what you missed? children. Yea Us! And, Yea Natasha for creating innovations and upgrades that made scheduling, refresher days, Still to complete, is a procedure for repairing or collecting info for tracking purposes, and more, easy to replacing worn, broken or lost items. In addition we negotiate. Thanks to everyone who participated in school want to support development of new activities or visits, video presentations, hiking on the trails and working updated materials. We are working to create a form behind the scenes to make it a successful season! which would track all aspects involved in creating new projects or “Major Initiatives”. At the last School Program meeting we discussed the new video. How it worked, problems, reactions from students Another task on the list is making sure that both the and teachers, as well as Docents. Overall, the response was hard copy Docent Manual and the online version match. very positive! Natasha added a question about the video to There are also items which need to be added to update the Teacher feedback forms. Some of the teachers didn’t both versions, such as “Living with Lions” and Fire think there was enough information about what the children Ecology information. We need volunteers to help with would see. Others prefer the more detailed content of the this important task, interested? slide show. We discussed the possibility of combining aspects of each. The “student scientist” concept appealed to Get ready –the first day of hiking for the spring season Docents. We are discussing a more focused meeting about begins March 17th! But in the meantime… feedback relating to the video and all its aspects. If you have comments, or suggestions, please send them to me or All best wishes for a thanks-filled Turkey Day. Enjoy the Natasha. holidays however and where ever you spend them doing just what you enjoy the most! Cheers! Checking the School Program Activities and Tasks list, I’m happy to report that we’ve been able to complete a portion of one of the biggest ongoing tasks. On November 19th, a small group of folks assembled in the OVC Library to help Patty Blanton check in the Fall kits as well as move items from Fall into the Spring kits. Patty explained the checklists in each kit, which makes it easy to inventory all the items, each item’s condition (anything needing repair or sprucing up) as well as noting any missing items or pieces. Once we finished the overall check, several activities, i.e. the Skulls, the Reptiles and Amphibians, and the Ecology puzzle were pulled out to go into the corresponding Spring kit. Since we were checking, we did the same inspection and inventory for Spring items, did the transfer of activities and had all the
5 AUDUBON CANYON RANCH Advanced Docent Training Returns in January By Jeanette Carr
Advanced Docent Training is a series of lectures whose goal is to expand our knowledge of the natural world and to tweak our curiosity of the wonders around.
The lectures are held on Wednesdays in Pitcher Canyon at 9:30 (gathering at 9). You are invited to bring a lunch and enjoy a hike around the Ranch afterwards.
There is a $10 charge per lecture payable at the door. However, because of a limit of 20 students on January 22, please prepay this lecture only. Send $10 to Jeanette Carr, 76 Bayview Ave, Belvedere, 94920.
Advanced Docent Training
January 15: The Sunflower Project: Gretchen LeBuhn is the director of the Great Sunflower Project, the largest citizen science project focused on pollinators in the world.
January 22: Forest Bathing:Joey Heusler. Loosely translated Forest Bathing means taking in the medicine of the forest: In this guided meander participants are invited to slow down and immerse themselves in nature through their senses.
January 29: The Life of an Octopus: Richard Ross, PHD Cal Academy. Richard Ross is known for the “Skeptical Reefkeeping” article series, his groundbreaking work with cephalopod husbandry and for managing the ambitious 212,000 gallon reef tank in the Steinhart Aquarium.
February 5: Twilight Zone:Deep Reefs Revealed: Bart Shepared, Senior director Steinhart Academy. The Zone is below the shallow reefs where divers can go with regular equipment and above the pitch-black water where scientists use expensive submersibles to investigate.
February 12: Does Earth have a Memory?: Don Jolley. How have Earth’s changes been identified through geologic time and what’s happening right now? Retired Bolinas middle school teacher, Don taught math and science for 30+ years.
February 19: Geomorphology of the Martin Griffin Preserve: Gwen Heistand. A look at how physical processes and human land use have shaped MGP and implications for future stewardship and programming.
This years ADT schedule is presented through the courtesy of: Bonnie Blackaller, Doug Cook, Natasha Lekach, Maureen Lynch, Laurie Riley and Jeanette Carr.
6 THE HERON Bourne Controlled Burn Continued from Page 1 This burn was first conceived in spring 2017, when burn boss Ben Jacobs and local agency partners took a walk down the Bourne Fire Rd from Bolinas ridge accompanied by Preserve Manager, Gwen Heistand, and Fire Forward Director, Sasha Berleman. What later became the Bourne Unit was identified as an ideal site for the preserve’s first controlled burn and a great anchor from which to build a future burn program on the property. In April of this year, when Martin Griffin Preserve hosted our basic wildland firefighter training, trainees used the line-cutting training as an opportunity to put in control lines for this burn. The Fire Forward team then spent the summer months working with cooperators to solidify the burn plan as well as conducting pre-treatment understory thinning and pruning of the encroached Douglas firs. The team also instated eight monitoring plots across the unit that were assessed before and after thinning and will continue being monitored over the coming months and years. The monitoring follows standard scientific protocol for the field, and includes assessments of fuel loading, herbaceous layer diversity, and forest canopy structure and health.
As recently as the 1980’s, the area all along the Bourne Fire Rd, including the site of the burn unit, was dominated by grassland, a significant portion of which was coastal prairie. Coastal prairie with its exceptionally high biodiversity was once common but has been rapidly disappearing due to development and encroachment of shrub and forest ecosystems. Historically coastal prairie habitat was maintained and kept Marin County Tam 2 Crew (14 strong) positioning at the top of open by fire and to some degree, grazing. With these forces removed, the unit. the last thirty years has seen extensive encroachment of coyote brush and Douglas fir, ecosystems historically significantly more limited in range and extent. Objectives specific to this burn included restoring -- and expanding upon -- small remaining open patches of remnant coastal prairie and reducing fuel loads in Douglas fir stands to reduce fire hazard. More generally, objectives also include returning prescribed fire as an ecosystem process, developing cooperative relationships around prescribed fire, initiating an anchor point for defense in the
event of a wildfire, and beginning a ridgeline Volunteer extraordinaire Rory Pool collecting fuels data & Fire Forward’s Jared Childress project area to reinstate the Bourne Rd as a prepping unit. fire road -- one of a very limited few access points of its kind. The Bourne Fire Rd was decommissioned as such just a few years ago due to the significant overgrowth and indefensibility of the route. This project aims to reverse that while improving ecological diversity at MGP.
Ignitions began at 10am, with Dr. Martin Griffin tipping the first torch. The unit was burned in three segments, with ignition in each segment taking about two hours to complete. Everyone involved worked beautifully together, the cooperation and attitudes were great, and fire effects could not have been more ideal. The fire burned cleanly, consuming years of accumulated leaf and needle litter, duff, branches, and twigs. Remnant native meadows recently thinned of young Douglas firs burned perfectly, and ignition techniques were used to torch individual larger trees at meadow edges to further increase meadow openings and to create intermittent high-value habitat snags along ecotype edges. The team looks forward to conducting post- burn monitoring through next spring to quantify and share fire effects across the unit as the rainy season brings green-up to the herbaceous layer and the ferns and bunchgrasses bounce back. Partners involved expressed excitement and enthusiasm for continued cooperation and we look forward to continuing this effort over the coming years to expand the work of restoring coastal prairie and the fire road access along Bourne Ridge.
7 AUDUBON CANYON RANCH Bourne Controlled Burn Continued from previous page Preserve Manager Gwen Heistand took photos of all partners trucks in Picher Canyon.
Additional photos depict aspects of the controlled burn:
Bourne Unit boundary with three segments.
Fire pruning limbs and consuming fuels in segment 1
Griffin Loop Trail between Segments 1(left) & 2 (right). Illustrating how well control lines work.
Aerial photography of Bourne Ridge showing the progression of encroachment. Divine Bench. Once a stunning vista of Bolinas Lagoon and surrounded by grasslands is now encroached by shrubs and Douglas fir. Fire will help reverse this trend.
8 THE HERON Explore The Wintry Wonderland of Offerings from the OVC Library The New Arrivals rack in the OVC library is full of spend a year traveling the world to try to see half of all birds temptations. Here are just a few: on Earth. He surpassed his goal, espying a record-setting 6,042 species of birds. This is his tale. Spineless, Portraits of Marine Invertebrates, The Backbone of Life, by Susan Middleton (2014): Middleton chaired the Bird Brain: An Exploration of Avian Intelligence by Nathan Department of Photography at the California Academy of Emery (2016): Emery, a Royal Society Research Fellow in Sciences for thirteen years and is now a research associate at the Sub-department of Animal Behavior at the University of the Academy. She has earned acclaim as a photographer, Cambridge, UK, first studied social intelligence in a variety author, and lecturer specializing in the portraits of rare and of species. In 2016, he focused his attention on birds to endangered species and cultures. Most recently, she turned produce this detailed and richly-illustrated account of the her attention to some of the tiniest creatures to inhabit the evolution of avian intelligence. Read it to decide if ocean to create exquisite depictions of her subjects. “birdbrain” is an insult or a compliment.
The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss by Beaks, Bones and Bird Songs: How the Struggle for Claire Nouvian (2007): The deep sea is the Earth’s largest Survival Has Shaped Birds and Their Behavior by Roger J. reservoir of life, occupies 85% of ocean space, and has been Lederer (2016): Lederer is an ornithologist and Professor immersed in total darkness since the dawn of time. Emeritus of Biological Sciences at Cal State, Chico, and the Nouvian set out to discover some of the denizens of this author of seven books including Pacific Coast Bird Finder. deep, and her book provides hundreds of photographs of With this latest work, he offers the reader a guided tour the odd, the ethereal, the bioluminescent, and the through the avian daily struggle to survive. Lederer writes, occasionally terrifying inhabitants of this biosphere. “Birds have to be on task all the time. They have to use their senses to find food, migrate, withstand the wether, avoid Sea Turtles: A Complete Guide to Their Biology, Behavior, predators, compete with each other and alien species, and and Conservation by James Spotily (2004): It may well be face a myriad of other trials…It is only the most that no turtle goes unnoticed in this ambitious volume. physiologically, anatomically, and behaviorally well-tuned Spotily introduces the seven swimmers, the ancient lineage, birds who successfully meet these challenges and go on to the grass eaters, the sponge eaters, the turtles equipped with the most important goal in their life, reproduction.” A book “crushing jaws” … and more. He also includes some of the to put your holiday stress in perspective. most engaging and unusual photos of sea turtles you may ever see. The Art of Tracking by Richard Vacha (2019): Vacha studied with Tom Brown, Jon Young, Mark Elbrock, James Lowery Smithsonian Ocean: Our Water, Our World, by Deborah “and anyone else . . . who knew a little more” than he did Cramer (2008): Cramer’s book has been dubbed about tracking, and he is the founder of the Marin Tracking groundbreaking and extraordinary. She has penned a Club and the Point Reyes Tracking School. This work of sweeping exploration of the ocean, its beginnings, and its literary nonfiction is a collection of essays written for a current peril, replete with riveting photographs. monthly newspaper column entitled, “Tracking Notes.” Vacha’s book is subtitled “Inner and Outer Practices of Owl, A Year in the Lives of North American Owls by Paul Nature Awareness,” and he shares his insights on things Bannick (2016): Bannick is a photographer who undertook mystical, practical, and profound. to find and photograph the nineteen species of North American owls that routinely elude the viewfinder of Cheats and Deceits: How Animals and Plants Exploit and camera-wielding admirers. Bannick hoped to get “powerful Mislead by Martin Stevens (2016): If you need to know images that could move viewers and motivate them to more about mimicry, startle displays, sensory exploitation, protect these intriguing birds.” Our take: mission camouflage, communication signals, reproduction accomplished. deceptions (!) and more, this is the book for you. Be on the lookout for the spider in ant’s clothing. Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World by Noah Strycker (2018): It may And briefly noted: if you enjoyed Laurie Riley’s August be safe to say that Mr. Strycker quite likes birds: he’s been 2018 dive into the threat posed by wildfires, note that called the “Birdman of Razzmatazz” by Newsweek, is Megafire by Michael Kodas (2017) and Firestorm: How Associate Editor of Birding magazine, guides in the polar Wildfire Will Shape Our Future by Edward Struzik (2017) are regions for Quark Expeditions, and poses with a tiny owl on on the shelves. Both books were featured in Laurie’s article. the “About” page of his website. In 2015, he undertook to
9 THE HERON
Chicken with Torn Sourdough, Sherry, Raisins & Bitter Greens
Serves 4 The flavors and texture of this dish are reminiscent of Zuni Cafe’s renowned roast chicken, but this dish goes together much more quickly than that classic — and tastes just as satisfying. Buy your most-loved loaf of sourdough bread!
Ingredients: 1½ cups sourdough bread, torn into pieces roughly 2 inches square 1 pound small waxy potatoes, scrubbed and cut into chunks 1 large onion, cut into wedges 6 thyme sprigs 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper 1 head of garlic, cloves separated but not peeled ⅓ pound pancetta or slab bacon, in one piece 8 medium sized skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, excess skin and fat neatly trimmed 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar 1 cup amontillado sherry 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper 10 thin scallions, trimmed ⅓ cup raisins ¼ pound bitter salad greens (such as radicchio, Belgian endive, frisée, or treviso)
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts Art by Laurie Riley
Preparation: Preheat oven to 400° F. Put the bread, potatoes, onion, thyme, crushed red pepper, and garlic cloves into a large roasting pan. Cut the pancetta or bacon into ½ inch chunks and add them to the pan with the chicken. Pour on the sherry vinegar, ¼ cup of the sherry, and 4 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and toss everything around with your hands, finishing with the chicken skin side up. Make sure the bread isn’t too exposed, or lying at the edges, or it will burn. Roast for 25 minutes — tossing the ingredients around once, but making sure the chicken is still skin side up — then add another ¼ cup of the sherry. Mix the scallions in a bowl with the remaining olive oil and add them to the pan, too, laying them on top of the vegetables. Return to the oven and roast for a final 15 minutes. Pour the remaining sherry into a small saucepan with the raisins and bring to just under a boil Let sit, then add them to the roasting pan 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Transfer everything to a large warmed platter or broad, shallow serving dish (unless you’re happy to take the roasting pan to the table) and mix in whichever of the greens you want to use, or just serve them on the side. Throw on the pine nuts and serve.
10 SEQUOIA CLUB Joyce’s Corner: Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Firefighters, Our Heroes By Joyce Griffin
Marty started the fire at MGP on October 20th for the controlled burn led by Fire Forward leaders Sasha Berman, Brian Peterson, and Jared Childress, and of course Gwen Heistand. Marty is not a pyro, but was honored to be selected to strike the first light. I was unable attend. Jennifer Newman drove Marty to and from (thank you, Jen); and he came home exhilarated by the remarkable team of firefighters and fine leadership of ARC Fire Forward.
For Marty, the experience of being with these seriously trained firefighters taught him much about the science of fire and far more importantly success through human spirit working together. It took the fear of fire away and gave great confidence to how important it is that we participate in using fire to protect our lands, and how efficiently our heroes work closely with fire.
Three days after the MGP controlled burn, the Kincade Fire roared through Sonoma and parts of Lake counties so rapidly it became painful to follow; it burned 77,758 acres. Frequent planned power outages serve to heighten the fear that fire is nearby, or could come at any moment. Anxiety rises and tempers readily flare. Except firefighters learn the meaning of calm as witnessed by Marty in the controlled burn.
Two new wonderful neighbors moved onto our street after losing their homes two years ago in the fire that burned Santa Rosa’s Fountain Grove. One family rebuilt a smaller house on their property only to see the Kincade fire repeat the same path, yet, fortunately, it just missed their property, thanks to firefighters, our heroes on the job. Perhaps you read as many of us did, about the astounding survival of CalFire Captain, Jason Dyer, and two other men who failed to evacuate, in an amazing fete against impossible odds in the Kincade fire, the front page story appearing in SF Chronicle Sunday, Nov 17, 2019. Fire Captain Dyer was trapped with fire all around him in the hills near ACR's Modini Preserve, when two frightened men appeared trapped in the same predicament. Dyer and the two others huddled beneath a personal one-man survival tarp along Pine Flat road, and through knowledge of courageous firefighting strategies, Dyer led all three to safety.
Long time friend Judy Johnston, who worked together with Marty and me on mutual political efforts to block an enormous sewage pipeline from Santa Rosa sewage plant to the geysers and who many of you know as Executor of the Modini estate, suffered losses in the Kincade Fire.. The Modinis trusted Judy’s assurance that their land will be held in perpetuity for their little people, and that trust helped convinced the Modinis to donate their land to Audubon Canyon Ranch. Judy owns a ranch on Pine Flat road nearly contiguous to the Modini’s. She built a handsome country home, where she generously hosted many ACR events during the early days of Modinis joining ACR. She hosted firemen at one such event years ago alerting us to the high fire risk and what we could do to help curb the danger. Shortly after the 2004 fire that burned the Modini’s barn and blackened much of the land. Firefighters, our heroes, saved the Modini house and other out-buildings on the property.
They tell of the paths that fires repeatedly follow, and we can see the evidence in the Mt. George fire of 1964, the Tubbs fire 2017, and recent Kincade fires. Judy Johnston's beautiful home burned and she chose to have fellow Pine Flat residents and dear friends who love Pine Flat Road and its legacy of wilderness and preservation to come to a reception in her remaining barn and commemorate together our "losses and our blessings". Though fire burned hers and several homes, none of the buildings on the Modini Preserve burned — only the land.
We know that next spring the wild flowers and fresh native grasses will thrive anew bringing us the beauty that Mother Nature intends in her renewal patterns.
11 THE HERON A New View By Carol Campbell, Training Committee Co-Chair, Phoebe Tanner, and Roselle Overmire
The 16 member 2020 training committee had their first organizational meeting and were inspired by all the helpful and connected thoughts of change and new learning techniques, as well as an opportunity for being strong mentors to assist new trainees. Natasha has worked tirelessly to rework the schedule, re-structure the curriculum and allow more time for mentoring and behavior education.
Being on the training committee is all about re-learning and new learning of the ever-changing nature, that brings us all together. We hope there are more who want to refresh their knowledge as a docent and more who will encourage someone they know to join the training and be a recipient of the Cal Naturalist status,
For some of us being a docent is not only an adventure with nature and children but also a surprise gift to ourselves as we experience who these new learners are. The following letter was written to one class after its hiking visit this year..
Dear Class,
First, may I say you all are so impressive with your constant questions and interest in ”who lives in this canyon”. It was a pleasure to experience your love of learning, your kindness with each other and the gentle ways of listening while we talked of all the many parts of the Martin Griffin preserve of Audubon Canyon Ranch. I hope from what you learned about nature you will continue to be small heroes who take care of the trees, the flowers, the life in the soil and much, much more.
Best wishes and Happy Holidays, From all of the docents at ACR
Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray. Rumi
12 AUDUBON CANYONE RANCHNCH Docent Recruitment Season Is Just Around the Corner by Debbie Piatelli
Recruitment for the Next Docent trainees is beginning!
We have identified some preliminary dates for orientation open houses. They are :
Saturday,. May 30 Saturday, June 13 Wednesday, June 24 Saturday, July 18 Wednesday, July 29 Saturday August 15 , After the meeting with the docent training committee some great ideas were suggested to reach out to new areas to find recruits! We will incorporate these into our approach, so stay tuned.
Remember, most recruiting happens through our personal contacts. Talk it up!
More as we go forward
Debbie Piattelli Lynda Pearson
Docent Dues are payable as of July 1 each year.
YOUR NAME: ______
ALL CONTRIBUTIONS ARE VOLUNTARY. Choose your MGP docent category if you’d like to contribute. Additional contributions to the School Program are always appreciated!
o MGP Docent o MGP Docent o MGP Docent o Additional TOTAL ENCLOSED ACTIVE ASSOCIATE SUSTAINING Contribution $25 $25 $25 $ $ —————- ——
Please make your check payable to MGP Docent Council. You can check the paid dues list at egret.org>MGP Docents>Annual Dues if you aren’t sure if you’ve paid dues this year.
CLIP AND MAIL this form and your check to: GAIL BERGER, 1355 8TH AVENUE SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122
If you’d like to add an ACR membership and take advantage of those additional benefits, please contact the ACR office or visit www.egret.org for full details.
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"1 THE HERON Co-President’s Report Continued from Page 2 Jeannette Carr, our esteemed leader of Advanced Docent Training, has scheduled 6 intriguing sessions for us on Wednesdays in January and February in Picher Canyon. Cost is $10 per session. Already scheduled are: Jan 15th, the Sunflower Project; Jan 22, Forest Bathing; Jan 29, MGP’s Hydrology and Implications for Habitats / Climate Change, and Feb 5, Aquarium Life, Twilight Zone. Watch for the full schedule and mark your calendars. You won’t want to miss these!
Reminders Visit MGP in the offseason - Email Natasha to arrange a visit. If she or Gwen are working, they’re happy to have visitors for a hike.
Volunteer Access Days - hosted by the Nature Guides for ACR volunteers, family and friends: 12/14/19; 1/11/20; 02/08/20; 03/14/20; 04/11/20
MGP Monthly Digest -- See the November Digest sent 10/31/19 for many other reminders and highlights and watch for the December Digest on the first of the month.
A Journey to the Farallon Islands Continued from Page
As a total sailing novice, I wasn’t much help in getting Starbuck rigged up to sail. So I was tasked with securing the food items safely in the quarter birth - so they wouldn’t rock about on the eight to nine foot swells. We eventually departed the dock at 9:15 a.m.. After motoring halfway from the marina to the Golden Gate Bridge, John asked me to take the helm - I sailed the boat under the bridge, through the Golden Gate and to the first buoys of the shipping channel. I was so focused on maintaining our direction, 240 degrees, that I missed the first sightings of Harbor Porpoises in our wake and Common Murres flitting above the water. Luckily, we had three more hours to go and after I relinquished control of the boat, we spotted more harbor porpoises and thousands of Murres, surf scoters, cormorants, northern fulmars, multiple gull species, mola mola (with its fins consumed, likely by sea lions), sea nettle jellyfish, and many more species of birds. At 12:30 p.m., we were close enough to see the crane on Southeast Farallon.
To get on the island, boats tie off to a buoy about 500 feet off the coast of the island and transfer all personnel and gear, in small loads, onto a small inflatable motor boat. Then the motor boat is clipped to a crane and plucked out of the water and onto the island. Every two weeks, the farallon crew goes through this process to get their food. Since we took 4.5 hours to arrive at the island, we only had about 1.5 hours to explore. After scrubbing our boots with alcohol, to reduce the chance of introducing new seeds to the island, we immediately took off for the highest point on the island, the lighthouse. Rya, one of this season’s remaining volunteer biologists guided us up the steep and winding path, past the Cassain’s and Rhinoceros Auklet nesting boxes and in between early returning Western Gulls, loudly making their presence known. As we reached the top, we could see the elephant seals tucked into little gullies, trying to gain access to the minimal amount of sandy coastline, and the California and Steller sea lions climbing on rocks and surfing in the “calmer” waters. Oodles of lichen species, many of which were completely new to me, created a gorgeous mosaic on the rocks and the walls of the remaining lighthouse structure.
It was hard to not constantly take photos, hoping to make the short trip last longer by documenting each moment. Our hour and a half felt so quick, juxtaposed with Rya’s experience on the island, 3 months, which she said felt so long. We decensend from the lighthouse and repeated all our steps in reverse: loaded up the small motorboat with trash, recycling and compost from the island and ourselves, craned down to the water and packed the Starbuck. As we sailed away the sun began to set on the horizon and it was such a clear sunset, we could even see the Farallons. ;)
14 THE HERON CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Date Day Time Event For Info/to sign up
January 2020
11 Sat 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Volunteer Access Day at MGP
13 Mon 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ACR Volunteerism Committee Meeting
14 Tue 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. MGP School Program Committee Meeting
Meeting. Order TBD MGP Docent Council Meeting
15 Wed 9:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Advanced Docent Training: The Sunflower Project RSVP to Jeanette Carr * with Gretchen LeBuhn
22 Wed 9:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Advanced Docent Training: Forest Bathing with Joey RSVP to Jeanette Carr * Heusler
29 Wed 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Advanced Docent Training: The Life of An Octopus RSVP to Jeanette Carr * with Richard Ross
February 2020
5 Wed 9:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Advanced Docent Training: Twilight Zone: Deep RSVP to Jeanette Carr * Reefs Revealed with Bart Shepared
8 Sat 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Volunteer Access Day at MGP
11 Tue 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. MGP Docent Council Meeting
Meeting. Order TBD MGP School Program Committee Meeting
12 Wed 9:00 a.m. -1:30 p.m. Advanced Docent Training: Does Earth Have a RSVP to Jeanette Carr * Memory? With Don Jolley
19 Wed 9:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Advanced Docent Training: Geomorphology of the RSVP to Jeanette Carr * Martin Griffin Preserve with Gwen Heistand
March 2020
4 Wed 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. MGP Semi-Annual Docent Meeting
9 Mon 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ACR Volunteerism Committee Meeting
14 Sat 10:00 - 4:00 p.m. MGP Volunteer Access Day
April 2020
11 Sat 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Volunteer Access Day at MGP
14 Tue 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. MGP Docent Council Meeting
Meeting. Order TBD MGP School Program Committee Meeting
15 THE HERON MGP Docent Council Committees 2018-2019
Officers Membership: Gail Berger Co-Presidents: Beki Simon & Mary Fitzpatrick Heron Newsletter: Mary Lee Bronzo, Gayle Cahill, Secretary: Laurie Riley Karla Kelly, Laurie Riley Treasurer: Eric Watterud Nominating Committee: Beverlee Johnson Osher Volunteer Center: Leslie Doughty School Program Committee Outreach and Recruitment: Lynda Pearson, Debbie Program Development and Evaluation: Piatelli Jeni Jackson and Staff Library: Anne Montgomery Overnight Program: Patti Blumin, Sharon Dado Publicity: Peter Young Scheduling: Natasha Lekach and Staff New Class Representative: Rozell Overmire Kit and Trail: Patty Blanton (Kit); Susie Nelson Heron Mailing: Lois Patton (Trail) Webmaster: TBD Docent Education and Activities New Docent Training: Carol Campbell, Rozell Overmire, Phoebe Tanner Advanced Docent Training: Jeanette Carr Nature Guide Co-Presidents: Brooke Bloomquist and Docent Continuing Education: Staff Ali Nill Long Range Planning: Joan Turner Sequoia Docent Enrichment: Jeanette Carr
☞ Next Heron Deadline: March 24, 2020
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