Stewardship and Education and Outreach Update
Written by Haley Sutton, Land Stewardship Associate and Frenchy Hendryx, Education & Outreach Associate
Save Mount Diablo’s Youth Environmental Stewards (YES) Program Is off to a Flying Start!
Photos by Frenchy Hendryx
This month, 95 students from seven schools joined staff at Curry Canyon Ranch for field trips to take part in conservation work and nature-inspired educational hikes.
The students are part of the Mount Diablo Unified School District Bay Area Community Resources (BACR) CARES program and belonged to fourth through twelfth grade.
Together through teamwork with their peers, they protected 306 native trees as part of our 10,000 Trees and Plants in 10 Years project and watered existing native plants.
The students also helped with native milkweed seed collection to restore habitat for the monarch butterflies all while learning and enjoying their natural environment, Mount Diablo and the Diablo Range.
Thank you to all the students that joined us! YES to the future of conservation.
Safety First!
This month, volunteers and staff, along with a few partners from California State Parks, participated in a Wilderness First Aid certification course held at Curry Canyon Ranch and led by experts with Backcountry Medical Guides (BMG).
Photo by Haley Sutton
This training was provided so that staff and volunteer leaders are more equipped to look after each other and participants of
- Discover Diablo outings,
- Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve reservations,
- Diablo Restoration Team days,
- Four Days Diablo, and
- other partner and supporter visits and educational programs.
Finishing Up Fire Abatement
Staff started the month finishing up fire abatement on the last of Save Mount Diablo properties including Anderson Ranch.
Staff also utilized the tractor and whips to clean up late season thistles and grasses along the trails at Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve and Curry Canyon Ranch.
Stewards in the Field
Creeks were still flowing in June, and amphibian and reptile sightings were abundant.
Tadpoles and frogs were observed at Curry Canyon Ranch by students and staff as well as at Anderson Ranch by stewards. Marsh Creek still flows past Marsh Creek 4 and through Big Bend.
A Curry Canyon Ranch steward observed mallard ducklings in the house pond.
Additional oaks and manzanitas were protected by stewards at Oak Hill Lane and Marsh Creek 5, and Clarkia flowers are still dotting hillsides in pink.
The Trail Dogs helped clear trails at Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve and with Mount Diablo State Park.
They also worked with Walnut Creek Open Space to remove fencing and trash and work on trails in Lime Ridge Open Space and Shell Ridge Open Space.
Monitoring Conservation Easements
View looking out from the Concord Mt. Diablo Trail Ride Association land. Photo by Stephen Joseph
June is conservation easement monitoring month for Save Mount Diablo, when staff visit the three properties where we hold conservation easements on private land.
These properties are Concord Mt. Diablo Trail Ride Association, Marsh Creek 2, and Rideau. We also monitor a fourth, the Mt. Diablo Gateway property, on behalf of a partner agency each year.
Each of the properties have open space and scenic values as well as diverse natural and ecological values. Values may include special habitat types like blue oak woodlands and riparian areas, stretches of creek, or a strategic location in relation to nearby protected lands.
During monitoring visits, staff check to ensure these conservation values continue to be preserved. We appreciate the ongoing partnership with the landowners of each of these conservation easements.
Discover Diablo
Photo by Sean Burke
Caminemos Hike “Let’s Hike!” (Saturday, June 3rd): Led by Roxana Lucero and Juan Pablo Galvan. Participants enjoyed a relaxing morning hike, led in both Spanish and English while enjoying cooler temperatures and breathtaking views on Save Mount Diablo’s Curry Canyon Lower 200 property.
Hit the Trails Mountain Biking (Thursday, June 15th): Led by Ted Clement and Sean Burke, swept by John Gallagher. Participants enjoyed amazing views and landscapes as they rode together via mountain bikes through this incredible aspect of Mount Diablo and the connectivity of Mangini Ranch and Lime Ridge Open Space.
