By Calvin Abbott Lupine is a genus of plants in the pea family. They are characterized by long spires of beautiful blooms and by their foliage, in which bunches of pointed leaves grow out from the end of the stem resembling the claw of a wolf. This similarity is what led the Romans to name them Lupines (wolf-like). Back in Roman times, lupine beans were eaten as we eat peas today, and were an important food source as they have a large amount of amino acids and vitamins. These days it is difficult to find lupine beans (often sold as lupini or lupin beans) due to their small size and bitter …
Ebb & Flow
The Newsletter of The Watershed Project
Drinking Water Survey
As we prepare for Coastal Cleanup Day 2018, The Watershed Project is conducting a brief survey about drinking water. Please take one minute to complete our survey here. Thank you! Look for survey results in our next newsletter and we hope to see you at Shimada or Albany on September 15th! …
Meet the Summer Interns – Watershed Stewards at Work!
By Anne Bremer This summer, The Watershed Project was fortunate to welcome five summer interns to our ranks. Although these interns came to us with a wide range of skills and interests, they all share the desire to make a positive impact in their community (four of them are Richmond residents) and learn more about the environmental field. All of our interns are introduced to a variety of environmental professionals, develop concrete skills that are relevant to their interests and future endeavors, and learn about the workings of a small non-profit. They also work on meaningful and impactful …
Tap Water: Healthy, Cheap and Good for the Planet
By Guest Contributor It’s hard to believe that one of nature’s most pure, beautiful and life-sustaining bounties, water, could run into so much trouble. But here we are. Trashed and polluted rivers, creeks, lakes, beaches and oceans. Tragic drinking water crises such as Flint, Michigan, where the public water system of a major city was contaminated with lead. Countries around the globe struggling to maintain clean drinking water systems for their people. It’s no wonder so many people don’t trust tap water from the faucet. They end up double-paying for water; buying bottled water in the …
What’s in Your Watershed? The Wild World of Fungi
By Nikki Muench I’m not sure about you, but I have always used mushroom and fungus interchangeably. That’s not to say that is incorrect; mushrooms are considered fungi (or funguses, your choice), as are yeasts and molds. Perhaps the famous line by Dr. Egon Spengler from the original Ghostbusters, “I collect spores, molds, and fungus” comes to mind - turns out he was talking about a group of organisms that are all closely related. Whether you’re into looking at fungi under a microscope like Egon or not, there is quite a diversity of fungi at any scale, whether it’s the Richmond Field …
The Watershed Project: Powered by Volunteers
By Paula White The United States has a long and rich tradition of volunteerism. It undergirds many quintessentially American institutions such as Little League, the PTA, the Red Cross, and the Peace Corps. Churches, synagogues, mosques and other faith-based institutions involve millions of people in volunteer service to the community such as visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, and helping the elderly with chores. Volunteers are the lifeblood of the non-profit sector and their work is interwoven into the fabric of our society. Why do people volunteer? According to the Corporation for …
What’s in Your Watershed: Striped Bass
By Adam Weaver, TWP Intern Experienced San Francisco Bay area fishermen will almost certainly be familiar with the striped bass (Morone saxatilis). The fish is caught year round, but summer and fall are the best times to reel in one of these Bay residents. Striped bass were introduced to the Bay from the East Coast beginning in 1879. That year, 132 small bass were released in Martinez after arriving by rail from New Jersey. A second introduction of around 300 bass took place in 1882. Within a couple of decades, the commercial net catch was over a million pounds a year! Today, the striped …
Resilient by Design: Nature Based Solutions for Our Home
By Juliana Gonzalez As we imagine a day on the Richmond Shoreline in the year 2100, we see a livable and wonderful place. Our 2100 Richmond Shoreline has been able to adapt to the rising tides. We have created a multicultural and accepting framework allowing us to build a just, equitable and connected array of neighborhoods, that have interwoven nature into their fabric. Our community and ecosystems are healthy and resilient. Over the past year, I was fortunate to take part on the Resilient by Design competition as the community liaison for the Mithun Home Team in North Richmond. We were …