Hi community scientists,
I hope that you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy. Things are changing rapidly in our state, and we decided earlier this month to postpone all remaining classroom and field trainings related to the Mapping Recovery project. Though the Garden is closed to visitors, we’re continuing to perform our critical conservation work as much as possible but are making some changes to improve our safety and reduce our risk of spreading disease. In light of these changes and the Governor’s stay-at-home order, we wanted to share with you some updates about the Mapping Recovery project and ways that you can continue to be a community scientist while maintaining your safety and comfort.
As volunteers for this project, we want you to know that the US Forest Service has decided to limit access to its offices, and that all campgrounds and facilities are currently closed (see attached press release). However, trails remain open, and most health experts agree that exercise outdoors is safe for low-risk groups. If you choose to continue surveying your trail, we ask that you abide by the following:
I also want to add that if you need to drop out of this project for any reason, I fully support your decision to do so, and appreciate it if you could let me know. This is a difficult time for all of us for a variety of reasons, and I don’t want anyone to feel pressured to hike and survey for this project if they are not comfortable to or able to do so.
And now, for some good news: our project is taking off, and we’ve been getting some much-needed rain! We have an incredible 466 plant observations on iNaturalist and 537 erosion, trail damage, weedy area, and landscape monitoring photo observations in AnecData. Keep ‘em coming – and remember to add close up photos of plant parts (flowers, leaves, etc.) whenever possible to improve the chances that I (or someone else) can ID your photo at home.
Also exciting: the project materials are now available online! If you’ve misplaced your ID guide or protocol booklet, they’re on the following webpage (https://www.sbbg.org/conservation-research/fire-recovery-community-science/community-scientist-resources).
As spring creeps further, here are some weeds to keep an eye out for: the fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and castor bean (Ricinus communis) are getting quite large, the sticky snakeroot (Ageratina adenophora), and tree tobacco (Nicotiana glauca) are both in flower (and easier to spot!) in many places. This is also the time to catch Onionweed (Asphodelus fistulosus). And remember to keep your eyes peeled for areas of potential erosion, like this gnarly eroded gully spotted by user teacups.
There are also plenty of other species getting spotted on local trails – for example, check out this awesome native Scarlet Monkeyflower (Erythranthe cardinalis) spotted by user ezeemonee, and this lovely rare Ojai Fritillary (Fritillaria ojaiensis) spotted by user georgewilliams1!
That’s all from me for now, and I hope to update you again in the next few weeks. Stay safe and healthy, and I look forward to seeing more observations come in through iNaturalist and AnecData! For those of you waiting on the rare species list – keep your eyes peeled, as that will arrive in your inboxes later today. All the best until the next update!
Josie
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Thanks for the update!
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