Issue 311 A Publication of the Docent Council, Martin Griffin Preserve of Audubon Canyon Ranch © June 2019

Graduation. New docents. Public season. Summer. The Preserve beckoning you to linger and discover more of its wonders. This sent us into the archives to bring you this excerpt from 2003. It just feels timely. Generations of a Living Landscape By Gwen Heistand The landscapes of this place are inextricably woven with human history and rich invisible signs of passing time. Redwood youth, themselves bearing scars from the last big fire in the 1940s, sprout from once-logged old growth ancestors. Coastal scrub marches over hillsides that were once grazed and planted with potatoes. Douglas firs encroach on the marching coastal scrub and, in the Dead Horse Grove, five of them mark the buried corpses of J.P., Champ, and Lady, horses on belonging to Walter McLaren, the general maintenance manager of Canyon Ranch from 1950-1975. A Miwok charmstone found in Garden Club Canyon’s stream in 2000 spans centuries and cultures as it gets passed in a circle from docent to child to docent. Trees above the Spring Trail completely engird an old boundary fence until it appears as if barbed wire grows from oak bark. And throughout Bolinas Lagoon Preserve, names of individuals who are linked to this land have been transformed into the place itself. Bourne is a ridge, a fire trail where a logging skid trail once was, where harvester ants separate chaff and false tarantulas clean their burrows after the first rains. Parsons is a pond filled with copepods, backswimmers, water boatmen, dragonfly naiads, and no small amount of mystery. Henderson sings the descending trill of an orange-crowned warbler and hosts the yellow flowers of Oregon grape while overlooking our nesting white-winged ambassadors. Zumie winds through coffeberry and sagebrush, huckleberry and bay, live oak and purple explosions of Douglas iris. Picher has a stream that spills over rocks, under which caddisfly larvae vibrate in their cases, past elk clover and liverworts and Pacific giant salamanders, and eventually flows into the old ranch yard to greet busloads of school children and weekend visitors. Miller reminds us that the waterbirds do indeed return every fall from points north to gather in the lagoon for the winter. Harwell educates us about ecotones and edges transitioning from mixed woodland to redwood forest, redwood forest to coastal scrub, coastal scrub to grassland. Fog drip collects in Schwarz, providing moisture for the tall trees through-out the dry Mediterranean summers. Griffin loops through landscapes moist and sere, gives up vistas of ocean and lagoon, passes places where the aria of a winter wren morphs into a duet with a waterfall and lingers in the drops on five-fingered ferns. Pierson is a marsh with cattails, red-winged black bird nests, choruses of tree frogs, and two ponds containing newts and wonder. —Continues on page x

A Look at What’s Inside

Spare a Thought They’re the Head for the A Celebration of New Arrivals It Happened: the for the Salmon Hallelujah Class of Treetops Wild Greens Program to Expand Martin Griffin Opera Locally, salmon 2019 Our book The fun begins This new addition Check out Joyce’s are making a Learn a little more reviewer sends with a story and to the Education Corner for the full local comeback. about our newest you back to the some book tips on Program is story! Read the good docents and the treetops with page 7 and ends growing. news. new class rep. Canopy Meg. with a wild recipe. Page 13 Page 11 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Pages 7-10

1 SEQUOIA CLUB Co-President’s Report By Mary Fitzpatrick

Thank you! This Spring you helped hundreds of children from some 60 Bay Area classes explore nature, many for the first time. The awe in her eyes as she held a newt? The wonder in his voice when he saw deer tracks ? The confident smiles they showed at the end of an alone walk? You helped do all of that by leading hikes, visiting classrooms, updating docent and teacher materials, organizing training, working on committees and much more. It’s been a busy season at MGP and there will be much to review and celebrate at the June 5th Annual Meeting! On March 6th, just in time for the Spring Hiking Season, we welcomed 22 new docents who completed the Docent Training Program. They bring a wide range of interests, experience and talents (remember their graduation skit?!) to our ranks and immediately joined us in the classrooms, on the trails, and now on committees. And 14 members of this new class elected to also became Certified Naturalist (Cal Nat) by completing additional requirements and doing a capstone project. Rozelle Overmire is their class representative on the Docent Council, and Lynda Pearson is joining longtime docent Debbie Piattelli to head up the Docent Recruitment Committee. Congratulations and Welcome New Docents! The Overnight Program hosted 2 lively classes in Volunteer Canyon before the remaining 2 sessions had to be cancelled after a credible report about bats in the bunkhouse was made to the County of Marin Office of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control. ACR staff responded immediately and all required mitigation is currently underway. When completed, the bunkhouse will be back in full service, better than ever. Please see Gwen’s more detailed report about this situation elsewhere in this Heron. Undaunted, the indefatigable Patti Blumin and Sharon Dado sped into action as soon as they learned of the cancellations. They coordinated with MGP staff, adjusted expectations and led the Overnight Docent Team in offering the schools an “extra long day” at MGP. The 4th grade class from San Francisco’s Alamo School re-grouped and made the trip. As Patti wrote later “there was never any doubt but that we would go on with the show”. And it did! Close to 40 students and parents spent about 6 hours at MGP, exploring trails and enjoying group activities. The day was a great adventure and a great success due to the resourcefulness, commitment, and flexibility of everyone involved - the teacher, the students, the parents, the Overnight Docents and the MGP staff, Gwen and Natasha. This Fall docents will have a new tool in our “kit”. The Video Project, begun over a year ago as a joint effort of MGP and Bouverie School Program Committees is nearing completion. A video is being made for each preserve and a sneak preview of MGP’s “uncut” video was shared at the last Docent Council meeting. It’s wonderful and touching, showing a visit to MGP in Spring and Fall from a child’s perspective. Stay tuned! It should be available in the Fall, an optional tool to show students some of the wonders of MGP. As noted above, we’re thrilled that Lynda Pearson will join Debbie Piattelli as co-chairs of the Docent Recruitment Committee and they welcome others to join them! Help find fellow nature lovers, introduce them to the wonders of MGP and the many rewards of becoming an MGP Docent! Based on past experience, we think 4 to 5 more docents would be ideal for this committee. Please contact Beki or Mary if interested. In breaking news, we are equally thrilled to announce that Carol Campbell, Rozell Overmire, and Phoebe Tanner have agreed to co-chair Docent Training. They, too, welcome others to join them. Are there other committees that might need help? You bet! In the March 2019 Heron there was an article by Jeni Jackson describing the work of all MGP Docent Council Board Committees. We hope you’ll look it over and think about joining one! The committees work “behind the scenes” to support MGP Docents in delivering the MGP Nature Education Program. Docent training? The Heron? Kit and Trail? School Program? Special Education? Those are just some areas of focus. Again, we hope you’ll look over the list in the March 2019 Heron and consider joining. Please ask Beki or Mary or current committee members for more information. Not long ago, exciting staff changes for ACR were announced. Gwen Heistand will become the MGP Preserve Manager and Resident Biologist effective July 1, 2019. She’ll supervise MGP Preserve staff, direct Preserve operations, continue her work as biologist, mentor and teacher to MGP volunteers. At the same time, Natasha Lekach and Jacqueline Levy will be promoted to Education Program Managers. The position of Director of Education will be eliminated and Natasha and Jacqueline will collaborate on maintaining ACR’s high education standards. Congratulations to Gwen, Natasha, and Jacqueline! We know that the docent community will work with them to ensure their success! — continues on Page 12

2 AUDUBON CANYON RANCH For the Sake of the Salmon By Troy Cameron, Nature Guide Co-President

Have you spared a thought for our Californian salmon recently? The babbling streams of Martin Griffin Preserve may not be of a size to host bustling salmon on their way upstream from the ocean; instead they are more hospitable to the meandering likes of invertebrates, newts and salamanders. While focusing on the aquatic microcosms of MGP can be deeply enriching, we are situated in a broader ecological mosaic here in . For instance, a mere stone’s throw from the preserve, the Lagunitas Creek watershed hosts one of the southernmost populations of state and federally endangered Coho Salmon in California. Chinook, Pink, and Chum Salmon presence is also recorded on occasion. In an era of habitat loss, each fish counts, and we should celebrate their successes. Salmon in California face threats greater than just the hungry bears or otters trying to pick them off. Salmon here must contend with anthropogenic challenges such as drought, deforestation, pollution and water extraction. The good news is that this past winter biologists at the Marin Municipal Water District observed the best adult return season in the last twelve years. Roughly 700 Coho Salmon returned to spawn in Lagunitas. This is short of the 2,600 adult return target for delisting under the Endangered Species Act, but still an achievement. These fish will die after spawning and contribute their bodily nutrients to the forest of Marin County, feeding the whole tangled web of terrestrial plants and animals that we love. At this point in the year, juvenile Coho born this winter will be just be getting their bearings in their freshwater homes, learning to feed and survive the many challenges ahead. These fish will spend a year in freshwater before outmigrating to the ocean the following spring. We hope to see them again as adults in two years’ time. Pine Gulch Creek, which lies directly across the Bolinas Lagoon from the preserve and is visible from Clem Miller Lookout, has historically hosted Coho salmon. The last observation however was a single redd (salmon nest) in 2011. The population had been absent since 1968, but salmon reappeared in 2001. Salmon are surprisingly resilient and that continues to give us hope for stronger future returns. Further north in Sonoma County, the Russian River once boasted the largest population of Coho Salmon in the Central California Coast Evolutionarily Significant Unit. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, commercial and sport fisheries harvested thousands of pounds of salmon and steelhead annually. By the early 2000’s, the number of Coho adults returning could be counted on one hand. At that time the Russian River Coho Broodstock Program was established by a number of agency partners and began a conservation hatchery program to supplement the wild population with juveniles reared at the Warm Springs Hatchery. This year biologists (including myself) observed 101 adult Coho in tributary streams, though more are estimated to have been present. The delisting goal for the basin however is 10,100 returning adults per year. As part of the Russian River Salmon & Steelhead Monitoring Program, I work to monitor these fish year-round, tracking spawning success, juvenile distribution and trends in abundance. This involves installing in-stream antennas, winter creek hiking surveys for adults, spring downstream migrant trapping for juvenile smolts going out to sea, summer snorkelling for juveniles and more. Each year is a trial for salmon however and drought in recent years has proven to be a bottleneck to survival at every life stage. Nonetheless, there are numerous organizations and partnerships hard working to both monitor and restore salmon populations. While my work surveying salmon has limited my Saturday volunteerism at Martin Griffin Preserve thus far this season, I will inevitably trade my waders and dive gear for my Nature Guide badge. One of the best things we can do for our salmon is to educate, conserve and be good stewards of the land, because our land use directly impacts stream life. Places like the Martin Griffin Preserve and other protected areas give our fish a chance by limiting the input of sediment, nutrients or pathogens. While there may not be salmon on the MGP, spare a thought for your nearest Coho neighbors, which may be closer than you think.

3 AUDUBON CANYON RANCH ACR Hallelujah Docent Class at Martin Griffin Preserve, 2019 by Rozell Overtire With a world of experience and excellent training at the Preserve, our 23 newly minted docent class is beginning to unfold and share their natural history knowledge with energetic kids in the bay area. Who could guess that we all would converge at a lovely Preserve to hike the trails, dangle our hands in the ponds, and stop to wonder at the questions kids ask about the wild lives joined in patterns that we are just beginning to understand. How fortunate we trainees were to see our instructors catch a lizard, or newt, or exclaim over a slippery banana slug. To tell us the dramatic native American stories of creation, and teach us how plants were used as tools, as vessels, as shelter, as boats, as medicine, giving us untold respect for the skills of early people. To see a U-tube of microscopic plant pollination. To be blind-folded and smell each other’s group fragrance in order to understand how mammals depend on their sense of smell to identify who is around them. To understand the many different songs that each bird learns to warn others around it, or to attract or teach others of its kind. What fun we had when a monster-sized lizard walked through our training class, and the amazing training committee docents donned their animal masks. For graduation, combining our entertainment ideas for our instructors was such a lively challenge. By using internet exchanges, to create lyrics for our Hallelujah song, and by composing skits that spoofed instructor’s skills at training us, we found we were a team. Now we see teamwork is so important in our newly found docent skills. We know now that our guiding children from the East Bay, San Francisco and Marin is just a small part of the puzzle that is Audubon’s mission. With Bouverie Preserve in Sonoma, and Cypress Grove Preserve near Marshall we see others reaching the schools of Napa, Sonoma and Santa Rosa and researchers studying the marshes of the area. We so enjoyed the lively Bouverie docent singing group that goes out to spread our message. Through publications both scientific and the docent council’s Heron we reach a wider audience. The March Heron featured an article on the Samburu Tribe in Kenya, so we think globally. We docents hike together, recommend books to each other and offer an overnight component to our kid’s program. Some of us man the website at egret.org and others pay attention to those with special needs, the handicapped and newly arrived immigrants. What a group! And to think this program has been going on for 60 years. We are proud to carry on the tradition of connecting the next generation to the wonders of the wild. Rozell Overmire, Class 2019 Representative

Watch Out, New Yorker Cartoonists…..

A hiker who explored the preserve with Karla Kelly recently offered his take on just why it is that the male wood rats don’t live in the nests.

4 THE HERON More From the Treetops by Phoebe Tanner This time I am recommending Margaret Lowman’s Life in the Treetops (2000), but before getting to the book, I am going to tell how I learned about it. In the last issue, I suggested that Heron readers would enjoy New Yorker staff writer Richard Preston's Wild Trees ( 2007 ). In short, Preston follows Steve Sillett and Marie Antoine, scientists/explorers, high into the unexplored redwood canopy. Preston weaves together their compelling personal story with the secrets of the canopy that their work reveals.

Weeks after finishing Wild Trees, I attended Save the Redwood League’s 100 year anniversary celebration at Heyday books in Berkeley. Heyday was launching the book, The Once and Future Forest, with breathtaking photos of redwoods and 5 essays to commemorate the 100 years of the League’s preservation work. One of the essayists was Margaret Lowman who just happened to be standing next to me at the gathering. I told her I was still reeling from the discoveries I had made reading Wild Trees. She asked if I remembered the section on her where she taught Sillett climbing techniques. No, I had to confess. She then told me I should read her book, Into the Treetops.

I had just met Canopy Meg, a world renowned canopy scientist and tree climber whose research and climbing spans the globe. She was at that moment Chief of Science and Sustainability at Cal Academy of Science in San Francisco.

Before I knew it, I was off on another adventure through the canopy this time accompanying Meg in Life in the Treetops. She starts with her graduate work in Australian tropical forests. I’ll leave it to her to tell you how she chose Australia. She did not initially set out to climb trees but the research questions she was asking took her up into the treetops: what was the life span of a tropical leaf and Photo by Meg Lowman what caused them to die in this tropical environment? There were no women in her department and no one, man or woman, was climbing trees in Australia. It was all hers to figure out.

Several years later she married an Australian sheep farmer and had two sons. She never gave up her science research but it became increasingly difficult for her to make room for it. She had to confront Australian attitudes about women’s place being in the home.

Following her science research projects to the tops of trees on six continents is a fascinating story. How she manages being a mother is not as clear cut as getting a research grant and heading off to Peru. It is an interesting story she tells.

I started this review with a digression and before closing, will end with another which has bearing on our work with kids at ACR. I wondered what Meg was like in elementary and middle school. I came across an article where she describes her youthful passion for collecting all things related to the natural world: butterflies, rocks, twigs with buds. Her parents were supportive but were not scientists. She says they never “got science.” Her science classes in Elmira, New York were not inspiring and she never had a woman science teacher. She attributes her first rewarding science experience to Burgundy Nature Camp in West Virginia where kids listened to bird songs, studied pond critters, and looked at constellations. The founders, John and Lee Trott, read from Aldo Leopold in the evening. For the first time in her life, she felt she fit in. She spent several summers starting in 5th grade as a camper and additional summers as a staff person. She made lifelong friends. Her sons eventually went to the camp and they, too, became staff. Over the years 50 campers have gone on to have professions in science related fields.

5 AUDUBON CANYON RANCH Seeking Inspirations for Sequoia and Advanced Docent TrainingAdventures By Jeanette Carr Both Sequoia and ADT programs are aimed at enhancing our natural science education and encouraging our docent community. The programs alternate yearly with ADT format being lectures in OVC while Sequoia activities are out and about in the Bay Area.

This year’s Sequoia events included a trip to the Oakland Museum in January to view Cruisin’ the Fossil Coastline where a fossi- loving scientist and artist friend created a show depicting California coastline as it might have looked thousands of years ago. We were guided, with great wit and skill, by Mary Blume and another wonderful O.M docent. February brought us to the Sausalito Bay Model for a docent tour plus the added attraction of a tour of tall ship Matthew Turner with master carpenter Judd Simmons. The March outing to Rush Creek for birding with Jack Gendey from Wild Birds Unlimited in Novato was rained out. Our final adventure in May took us to Hallberg Butterfly Gardens in Sebastopol where we were told that some butterflies taste through their feet and dragonflies, with 4 independent wings, fly backwards and upside down. Our additional treat was a visit and picnic at Karla Kelly’s family home near the Russian River.

Do you have an idea for an ADT lecture or suggestion for future Sequoia events? Please let me know what you’re interested in doing and subjects you’d like to explore - let’s keep these programs alive and vital.

Thanks, Jeanette Carr

6 THE HERON All About: INCREDIBLE EDIBLE GREENS

Inspired by the lush growth on the trails and in my garden after those heavy spring rains, I decided to add a page to my nature journal. Everywhere I looked it seemed these spectacular plants were begging to be noticed — and eaten! Somehow my appetite for spring greens was insatiable. The best way I know to learn about edible greens is to draw them. Annotating the drawings gives me permission to zoom in close on each plant. But how to choose just five edible plants from thousands? [On a side note, I realize that we docents cannot encourage students to pick and munch on these plants along the MGP trails, but armed with stories of how settlers staved off illness and famine by using these plants can only enrich your hiking experience!]

A quick trip to the library revealed just how much has been written on the history and uses of these amazing plants. Some came with settlers from Europe; some enjoyed a long established use by native people. I chose three books that inspired me to dive deeper into the world of foraging in the wild and in my garden. I hope you are inspired to try some of these tasty greens in your next salad.

Here is a short description of each source:

Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants, by Bradford Angier, 1974 Stackpole Books. An oldy but a goody, this is an alphabetically organized description of over 100 edible wild foods growing free in the US and Canada. It gives a detailed description of each plant, along with its distribution and edibility.

The Wild Table, by Connie Green and Sarah Scott, 2010, Viking Studio This gorgeous coffee table tome features large close-up photos of plants in the wild and recipes that will make you drool: It is divided into seasons, and includes lots of information about the featured plant: Buckwheat Waffles with Spruce Tip Syrup, Fiddlehead and Mussel Soup, Squash Blossom Quesadillas… and much more.

Grow What You Love, by Emily Murphy, 2018 Firefly Books I discovered this treasure by attending a lecture at the Mill Valley Library by Emily Murphy herself. This is a 270 page, color- plated resource detailing how to incorporate wild and domesticated plants in your garden, how to stave off pests by companion planting, and how to use them in the kitchen. She emphasizes the benefits of diversity of both plant and animal life in the garden, mimicking wild lands, adding color and joyfulness. It shows exactly how to build a trellis, prune your basil, start plants from seed, harvesting… It truly opens the mind to what is possible in a very small spot of land.

See page 10 for an incredible edible recipe!

Turn the page for a glimpse of Laurie’s journal!

7 AUDUBON CANYON RANCH

8 THE HERON

9 THE HERON Bring Some Incredible Edible Greens to Your Table By Laurie Riley Here is a recipe from The Wild Table, by Connie Green and Sarah Scott: She remembers the days in the Napa/Sonoma wine country when Italian American food was king…”In those days two entrees were on every menu: Cannelloni and Malfatti. To this day, this region is the only place I’ve ever found malfatti. The word means “badly made,” … “Local legend says that this dish was invented during the Depression by an elderly local Italian American woman faced with feeding a football team and having no pasta on hand. Traditionally it was made with spinach and chard. .. our use of nettles would probably have made this frugal woman happy.” [Note: Wear gloves at all times while handling nettles. Cooking disarms the needles as does drying. The sting from touching the stinging nettles is an unpleasant burning sensation on the skin and can last from 30 minutes to several days. Why eat them? They are loaded with protein, iron, vitamin C and Vitamin A… as well as flavor.]

NETTLE MALFATTI WITH BROWN BUTTER, LEMON AND PARMESAN For the malfatti: ½ lb. nettle leaves, cleaned (wear gloves to handle) 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 1 medium onion, diced 3 garlic cloves, finely minced ½ cup flat leaf parsley 2 Tbsp. kosher salt ¼ tsp. ground pepper 4 large eggs, well beaten ¾ cup grated Parmesan, plus ¾ cup for topping 1-1/4 cups panko bread crumbs ½ lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice Zest of 1 lemon

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Use tongs to plunge the nettles into the water. Cook for 3 min. Drain nettles through a colander, and let them cool, squeezing out excess moisture. Chop coarsely. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook 6-7 minutes. Add nettles, parsley salt, pepper and stir. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then cover, turn off heat and let sit for 5 min. Uncover and cool to room temperature. Place nettle mixture in a food processor, and process until finely chopped. In a large mixing bowl, add nettle mixture and whisk in eggs. Add Parmesan and bread crumbs and work together evenly. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Lightly flour a cutting board and, with floured hands, pinch off a rounded teaspoon of mixture and roll it between your hands to form a small torpedo shape, about 1-1/2 inches long. Line up these malfattis on a floured baking sheet close but not touching each other. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Place butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Cook until foaming and starting to turn golden brown, 5-6 min. Remove from heat before it gets too brown and hold in a warm place while the malfatti cook. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Drop in enough malfatti to fit comfortably in the pot without touching. When the water comes back to a boil, turn down the heat slightly, cook the malfatti until they bob to the surface, then cook for 3-4 more min. Lift them out with a strainer. And place them on a baking sheet, until ready to serve. Bring water back to a boil before adding the next batch. To serve, reheat brown butter over low heat. Stir in lemon juice and salt. Add warm malfatti to the pan in a single layer and roll them around to coat with butter. Sprinkle with the lemon zest and remaining Parmesan. Serve immediately.

10 AUDUBND CANYONE RANCHNCH New Arrivals Program Set to Expand By Debbie Piatelli The New Arrivals program started in 2018 to address the need for a nature connection among recent immigrants enrolled at Davidson Middle School in San Rafael. The program differs from the established education program for 3-5th graders as it’s not tied to a science curriculum but instead focuses on awareness and experience. The mission is to provide a safe, supportive environment for kids to "be" in nature; for these kids, it may be for the first time. The third season will begin its third hiking season in the Spring of 2020.

Hikes are similar in length and structure to the traditional program, but with less emphasis on the science of nature and more on discovery and interaction. The kids’ energy and curiosity guide the hike with interpretation and connections from the docents. Docents continue to provide the logistics, safety and ground rules for appreciating nature.

The benefits of taking this population into nature are the same as with all kids; ignite curiosity, encourage growth, and understand and love the world we live in. But this is a group of kids who rarely get that chance. Nature hasn’t had a place for them. This program helps start that connection.

The target age group is middle school, a particularly vulnerable age. We ‘ll be expanding this program to reach more middle schools with significant populations of newcomers.

We will also be offering docent orientation and training to optimize the program’s goals, approaches, and success. Any questions can be directed to Debbie Piattelli at [email protected]. Look for training opportunities this fall.

Yes, please remove my Are name from the mailing list. You In? Name: MAIL TO: Audubon Canyon Ranch, P.O. Box 577, Stinson Beach, CA 94970 We’re updating the lists…

If you would like to STOP receiving the Heron in the If you choose to STOP receiving the Heron in the mail, you mail, please clip and send to ACR the form to the right, can always read it online at ACR’s website, www.egret.org. or send a quick email to [email protected]. For help accessing it or logging in to the ACR website, please contact Natasha Lekach at ACR.

Value: Gift

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Value: Gift THE HERON A Flutter in the Dark, or Bats in the Bunkhouse by Gwen Heistand Some of you are aware of the situation concerning the bunkhouses in Volunteer Canyon. A summary of events follows, so that everyone is on the same page.

On May 6, ACR received a notice from Marin County’s Deputy Health Officer indicating the County had received a credible report of nocturnal bat exposure during the May 2-3 overnight in Volunteer Canyon.

Since then, ACR has been following protocols required by Marin County’s Communicable Disease Prevention and the Centers for Disease Control. These protocols include capturing and testing bats for rabies, suspending overnight use of the bunkhouse, initiating removal and mitigation measures, and notifying individuals who slept in the bunkhouse.

ACR notified docents and the two teachers for the remaining overnights that their overnights were cancelled. Teachers were provided with the option for a single-day alternative and offered a longer day. One teacher opted for a single day and overnight docents worked with him to extend the day until 4 pm.

Two bats were found (one on each side of the bunkhouse) and both tested negative for rabies. ACR staff, bat specialists, and the Marin County contact from CDC walked through the building, the situation was evaluated, and ACR has been provided with a contract for required mitigation measures. The first phase of mitigation is scheduled for May 28. The second phase will be complete by the last week in June. The department of Public Health in each county has notified all individuals who slept in the bunkhouse in 2019 and advised them to get rabies vaccines.

Bats and Rabies

Bats are wonderful and ecologically essential animals. However, they can carry rabies. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that: Rabies in humans is rare in the United States. There are usually only one or two human cases per year. But the most common source of human rabies in the United States is from bats. Most bats don’t have rabies. For example, even among bats submitted for rabies testing because they could be captured, were obviously weak or sick, or had been captured by a cat, only about 6% had rabies. It is important to know that bats have very small teeth and a bat bite may not be noticed. Once a human is infected with rabies and develops rabies disease, it is almost always fatal.

CDC also states: Just looking at a bat, you can’t tell if it has rabies. Rabies can only be confirmed in a laboratory. But any bat that is active by day or is found in a place where bats are not usually seen like in your home or on your lawn just might be rabid. A bat that is unable to fly and is easily approached could very well be sick.

We want to make sure that we are communicating accurately about bats. One common misconception is, “If a bat is on the ground it may be sick. If it is flying around, there is nothing to worry about.” This is inaccurate. Both healthy and infected bats fly and are found on the ground.

A big thank you to everyone at ACR, staff and volunteers, who made this situation flow as smoothly as possible. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Gwen.

Co-President’s Report Continued from Page 2 Even before Spring hiking ended on May 31, plans started for the Fall season. 32 teachers submitted applications and have been scheduled for field trips. Natasha is gathering preliminary information on docent availability and she’ll be making adjustments to further improve the Volunteer Hub scheduling process. Yes, it will be Fall soon enough but for now, please accept our heartfelt thanks for your many contributions as an MGP Docent. We are so grateful! We hope to see you at the June 5th Annual Meeting so we can celebrate and thank you in person!

12 THE HERON Joyce’s Corner by Joyce Griffin

WE ARE REBELS AND WE HAVE A CAUSE!

Do you like opera? We too, like opera. And there’s nothing like a Kindergarten Opera, like the one teacher Gail Kabat (Ranch Guide) & Miss Julie, staged at San Francisco’s Jefferson Elementary School, Room 105 Kindergarten on May 10, 2019: WE ARE REBELS AND WE HAVE A CAUSE.

Gwen told us about the opera and was planning to attend with us; however, something came up at Martin Griffin Preserve that prevented her from being away. Disappointing.

The opera is based on the documentary by Nancy Kelly and Kenji Yamamoto, Rebels With a Cause; & the book upon which the film was based, Saving the Marin-Sonoma Coast by L. Martin Griffin. The opera is "dedicated to Audubon Canyon Ranch and Marty Griffin and all the 'Rebels' who saved nature for all of us!"

Act I: AND BEYOND; Song for opera performance:

We want houses, roads, and streets. We want to gobble up the trees. We want cars, boats, and private beach. We want gates and locks and keys.

We will fill the hills with houses as far as the eye can see. We will fill the hills with houses right down to the private beach. We’ll need gas stations, parking lots, freeways, and fun places to eat.

Spoken: Wait a minute!

We want trees and ocean breeze. We want nature and air that’s clean. We want clean and wild with no concrete˜

We want nature trails and habitat for: bobcats - foxes - deer - rabbits - banana slugs - coyotes - newts - egrets- herons - quails - hawks - dragonflies - hummingbirds

We want quiet paths for humans, too. We want calm, beauty, and some peace.

Spoken: Will there be a battle? Will there be weapons? Because animals really don’t like weapons!

Who will help us?

Spoken: "My name is Marty, (Marty Griffin) mine is Clem, (Miller-Overlook) mine is Stan,(Picher-Canyon) and mine is Caroline (Livermore) and all our friends."

Act II WE ARE REBELS We are rebels and we have a cause! We will help you. We will fight this — we’ll use words and common sense. We’ll stand up to the Greedy Gobblers. To save nature for all of us! — continues on next page

13 THE HERON Joyce’s Corner Continued from previous page

There is more important dialog, a song, and Act III, HAPPY book, though as an ACR Ranch Guide she may well have CHILDREN ON AN OVERNIGHT, which unfortunately, one, as she had to have read it to produce this wonderful cannot fit in this column, but will appear in the video. opera. She builds her year’s curriculum around the theme she chooses for the opera she and the children write, and she It was astounding to see these children learn and understand has been producing operas for eight years. She works with about their environment and how it got to be this way. In the SF Opera ARIA, Award-winning arts-integration preparation, the class had an overnight at MGP. It was clear program that is designed to be a collaborative effort between watching the students perform that they comprehend the classroom educators and San Francisco Opera Teaching meaning behind every word they sang and danced. This is a Artists. Gail gives thanks to many other parents and model curriculum for teaching excellence, and these organizations, which are listed on the program. She brings students show us ramifications of how kindergarten to her students intellectually challenging topics that concern youngsters can learn to focus and express themselves during her and the children respond enthusiastically. We at their beginning year of school. Gail educates the whole Audubon Canyon Ranch are fortunate that nature, the child and sees what’s important. She had their talents environment, and saving Mother Earth blooms close to Ms recorded on a video, which Gwen or I may get and share. Gail Kabat's heart.

Marty beamed; I haven’t seen him filled with this much glee Clearly, Gail, like Gwen, is a teacher who loves her subject and gratitude in a while; and the children’s joy and and subjects —loves to teach and does it extremely well—so appreciation became infectious. He gave Gail a copy of his of course, Gail and Gwen are long-time friends.

Generations of a Living Landscape Continued from page 1 Several Saturdays ago, I met a couple catching said newts. Their son had brought them to the Bolinas Lagoon Preserve when he was 10 years old, after a trip with his class. On this particular Saturday afternoon, he was also catching newts along with his wife and heir ten year-old son. My conversation with three generations reminded me of a letter from JeffreyHilliard who, in 1977 as a fourth grader, came to the preserve with his class and his father, who was one of the chaperones. Last year Jeffrey returned to the pre-serve, again with his class, only this time as a teacher. His father was, once again, one of the chaperones. Invisibly woven through these experiences is the energy of Audubon Canyon Ranch volunteers and, in turn, the people and landscapes that infused them with the desire and inspiration to give a gift of ponds and herons to young people. Jeffrey wrote, “...the preserve was just as beautiful as I remembered, the tall trees, clean air, and bustling wildlife, made me smile with nostalgic bliss ... My students were treated to an educational experience that they will never forget; and my father and I were able to renew our friendship with a place that we have always remembered and loved.” A place. Friendship with a place. Think of how amazing it is to have a place to return to twenty or thirty years later in this day and age. A place where it is still possible to witness one generation passing the baton to the next; where names become canyons and trails through the woods; where we can read histories, human and other, in the landscape. A place where children bring their parents who bring their grandchildren and where students who have grown into teachers bring their students. When I think of magic it has something to do with this sense of place. Every person who spends time here becomes part ofAudubon Canyon Ranch’s generational legacy. Each carries with them nesting birds and newborn deer; successional landscapes folding one into another; people who have lived, worked, saved, and taught here; and a little piece of the land itself. And the land contains a bit of them, of us. How remarkable. What a gift.

14 SEQUOIA CLUB The Indomitable Hiking Group Hits the Hills by Lydia Mendoza

“On a clear day you can see forever . . . “ and thus began our hiking day in Tilden Park this past April. The hiking group meets monthly from January to Man and then again during the months of September and October. Our hikes vary in length and in location. Please email Lydia Mendoza at [email protected] to join!

Many thanks to Jack Helper, May’s Memorial Day hike leader. The following is a quote from Jack: We had a very nice hike today. It was appropriate that we visited the crash site of the Navy plane that went down in 1944 on Memorial Day. We had great weather and everyone did a fantastic job tackling the trails. I'm sorry to have missed this outing but I was counting banana slugs in the Van Damme State Park while camping with our two granddaughters. We counted 27 in one day! And one lonely newt. Have a healthy, wonderful and wild summer. We'll resume the monthly hikes in the Fall. Please put these two dates in your calendar: Monday, September 23rd and Monday, October 28th. Cheers, Lydia

Docent Dues are payable as of July 1 each year.

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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 AUDUBON CANYON RANCH CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Date Day Time Event For Info/to sign up

June 2019

1 Sat 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Open for Exploration: Martin Griffin Preserve’s Preservation Story

5 Wed 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. MGP Docent Annual Meeting

8 Sat 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Open for Exploration: Conifers of the Canyon

8 Sat 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. MGP Stewards

8 Sat MGP Nature Guides Meeting

15 Sat 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Open for Exploration: Mountain Lion Day

22 Sat 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Open for Exploration: Dazzling Dragons, Dainty Damsels, and Lustrous Leps

22 Sat 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. MGP Stewards

29 Sat 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Oper for Exploration: Forest Bathing and Nature Mindfulness

July 2019

6 Sat 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Open for Exploration & Music: Little Folkies Family Band Featuring Irena Eide

6 Sat 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. MGP Stewards

13 Sat 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Open for Exploration: Nature Journaling Day

20 Sat 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Open for Exploration: “It’s My Fault!” Earthquakes and the San Andreas

20 Sat 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. MGP Stewards

27 Sat 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Open for Exploration: Summer Celebration at Martin Griffin Preserve

27 Sat MGP Nature Guides Meeting

August 2019

3 Sat 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. MGP Stewards

17 Sat 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. MGP Stewards

31 Sat 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. MGP Stewards

“How do we become who we are in the world? We ask the world to teach us. But we have to ask with an open heart, with no idea what the answer will be.”

― Pam Houston, Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country

16 SEQUOIA CLUB MGP Docent Council Committees 2018-2019

Officers Membership: Gail Berger Co-Presidents: Beki Simon & Mary Fitzpatrick Heron Newsletter: Mary Lee Bronzo, Gayle Cahill, Secretary: Ann Trigueiro 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 TBD 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: Eileen Shanahan, James Docent Continuing Education: Staff Peterson, Troy Cameron Long Range Planning: Joan Turner Sequoia Docent Enrichment: Jeanette Carr

☞ Next Heron Deadline: September 6, 2019