Stewardship Update
Written by Haley Sutton, Land Stewardship Associate and Kendra Smith, Education & Outreach Coordinator
Our Diablo Restoration Team watering crew. Photo by Haley Sutton
Stewards in the Field
We are grateful for our stewards!
This month, additional blue oaks were protected at Oak Hill Lane.
Narrowleaf milkweed (Asclepias fasicularis) was in bloom in large patches at Anderson Ranch.
Stewards also helped identify various maintenance tasks to gates and trails for staff.
Staff are also preparing for upcoming chipping days by pruning and brushing along Knobcone Point Road.
Watering Crew
The watering crew gathered twice this month.
When we watered at Marsh Creek 7, we also continued sheet mulching the pollinator garden. This project is almost complete!
Photo by Haley Sutton
During our visit to Irish Canyon, volunteers inspected acorns for collection, but they were not ready yet. We will look again this next month!
California Coastal Cleanup Day
Cowboy and cowgirl found items! Photo by Haley Sutton
To celebrate 40 years of California Coastal Cleanup Day, volunteers joined forces to continue cleaning up the Balcerzak inholding property.
California Coastal Cleanup Day is the state’s largest volunteer event. The annual event is hosted by the California Coastal Commission, and the California events are part of the International Coastal Cleanup, organized by the Ocean Conservancy.
Preliminary statewide data shows that more than 28,000 volunteers removed trash and recyclables equaling a total of approximately 254,772 pounds or 127 tons from our waterways.
At our inland cleanup at the Balcerzak inholding, our mighty team of 17 staff and volunteers removed an estimated 20 cubic yards of stuff and 10 cubic yards of recyclables yielding a whopping 1.5 tons or 3,000 pounds!
During many of the cleanups statewide, volunteers identify the most unusual items beyond everyday debris and plastic.
Our volunteers created a pile of unusual items to share with the group, including matching cowboy and cowgirl figurines, a sperm whale figurine, and a Yashica camera among the treasure trove of hidden gems.
The matching cowboy and cowgirl were the winners of the most unusual item contest for inland cleanups throughout the whole state! Thank you to everyone that joined the effort!
Discover Diablo
Tarantula Trek for Families, September 1st
Families were full of excitement in anticipation of this hike, our most popular Discover Diablo outing of the year.
New and returning participants got to go on an easy evening trek in Mitchell Canyon in search of tarantulas and were lucky enough to spot five wild tarantulas as well as many scorpions.
Photo by Haley Sutton
Tarantula Trek for Adults, September 15th
For this hike, adults got to have the trail to themselves as they went out in search of tarantulas.
The trails in Mitchell Canyon did not disappoint: wild tarantulas and scorpions were spotted along the way.
Hike leader Ken Lavin also brought his pet tarantula to help participants get an up-close interaction with a tarantula, hopefully dispelling any malicious rumors about this misunderstood arachnid.
Land Trust Alliance Rally
Save Mount Diablo with staff from the Aquidneck Land Trust and Trust sharing conservation ideas and a love of nature at a preserve in Rhode Island while there for the national land conservation conference. Photo by Terry Sullivan
At the end of September, most of Save Mount Diablo’s staff had the privilege of attending the Land Trust Alliance Rally 2024 conference in Providence, Rhode Island.
This conference provided professionals from land trusts all over the country the opportunity to come together and learn about the latest and greatest resources to support successful land conservation work.
Our team attended workshops on subjects from finance to stewardship to community engagement and accessibility, all while networking with other professionals in the field.
It was inspiring to hear plenary talks from the Indigenous people of the Narragansett tribe as they urged deeper collaboration with land trusts to help their people, and in turn the local ecosystem, thrive.
Everyone came away with new ideas, tools, and fresh energy for the work that we do.
Save Mount Diablo staff at Aquidneck Island. Photo by Haley Sutton
In addition to the formal conference offerings, Executive Director Ted Clement took the Save Mount Diablo team on a tour of the Aquidneck Island in collaboration with staff from the Aquidneck Land Trust, where Ted was a previous Executive Director.
The team went on a pleasant hike along a section of the Sakonnet Greenway Trail, the longest trail on Aquidneck Island. Aquidneck Land Trust worked for years to secure conservation easements from multiple landowners to make this trail possible.
A great trip was had by all and everyone looks forward to implementing what they learned into our continued work at Save Mount Diablo.
Save Mount Diablo staff at the Land Trust Alliance Rally
