By Eric Hyman Don’t let the name fool you. Though most commonly referred to by the same name as the capital city on Washington state’s Puget Sound, Ostrea lurida, or the Olympia oyster, is native to the entire West Coast, from northern Baja up through British Columbia into southern Alaska. It also has the distinction of being the only oyster species native to our coast, as the two more commonly grown (and eaten) species, miyagis [Crassostrea gigas] and kumamotos [Crassostrea sikamea], are both Japanese imports brought to California in the early to mid 20th century. Those in …
Ebb & Flow
The Newsletter of The Watershed Project
Women’s History Month Reflections: A Discussion with Environmental Educator and Board Member Carrie Strohl
Women’s History Month can feel redundant, or it can be a time for personal or community reflection. We hear from Carrie Strohl, a board member here at The Watershed Project, about her personal growth and experiences as an environmental educator and advocate for women and youth leadership, her reflections on Women’s History Month, her “sheroes'' and the challenges she continues to face in a patriarchal society. Discussion hosted by Dan Kirk, the Education and Communications Coordinator. DK: Briefly describe your career/passion path and how did that lead you to your current board …
My Green Collar Corps Experience at The Watershed Project
By Gabriela Suarez Cruz I began working for the Watershed Project when I was 19 at the beginning of my first year at Contra Costa College as a Biology major. The Green Collar Corp program worked great with my school schedule and I saw the opportunity to gain experience in the environmental field because I could go on to work alongside environmental professionals, both in the field and in the office. Many of the tasks and projects I completed helped me learn what it’s like to work with a non-profit organization. I learned about and became more familiar with what watersheds are and how …
Gearing Up for Earth Day Through East Bay Map Appreciation
By Paula White I love maps, especially historical maps; they offer a bird’s eye view of a place, capture its contours, and provide a resume of the culture of its inhabitants. My favorite maps are both beautiful and informative, opening a window into the past. If you’ve ever wondered what the San Francisco Bay Area was like before the Gold Rush and massive immigration to California, take a look at these maps: This map of the Native Peoples of the East Bay shows the 23 tribal groups who lived in what is now Contra Costa and Alameda County. Following European colonization, the original …
Notes on the Environmental Movement and Environmental Education
By Dan Kirk As individuals working at an environmental organization, it’s important to acknowledge the history of the environmental movement and the ways we as individuals fit into a historical narrative or attempt to break from a narrative. In the Bay Area, there is a defining and strong legacy of environmentalism most famously starting with John Muir, who before the turn of the 20th century became an outspoken advocate for the preservation of the environment. The industrial revolution along with urban land expansion was huge and happened rapidly, and those with the privilege to advocate …
How Do We Love Our Watersheds? Let Us Count The Ways!
By The Watershed Project staff February is a short and sweet month when we celebrate Black history along with Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras, and the lunar New Year, festivals that invite revelry and feasting. Fortunately there's also President's Day which gives us a day off to recover, and to explore our watersheds. Several of us here at The Watershed Project were interviewed about the ways we all love our watersheds. We were able to collectively pull out some themes and stories, which we share below (If you’d like to put a face to our staff names, visit our staff bio page here!): Water …
What’s in your Watershed: The Fungus Among Us
By Paula Urtecho All it takes is a little precipitation and they magically begin to appear. Fantastical forms and colors, sometimes delicious and sometimes deadly, yes, I’m talking about mushrooms. Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi and if you think that all fungi are mushrooms, you’d be mistaken. Mushrooms are the exception not the rule in the wide fungal world, so when you come across one, stop to admire it. This time of year, you should run into at least a few whether on a lawn or a woodland edge. The majority of fungi go unnoticed as they may spend their entire …
What’s in your Watershed: Manzanitas
By Paula Urtecho We are squarely in winter, with cold, drizzly days that make us want to stay indoors. We tend to think of this season as a time to hunker down and go dormant, as many plants do. And yet, in the midst of winter, there is a group of native plants that defy the season and rather than becoming bare and unremarkable, they light up the cold, dark days with profusions of blooms. Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos spp.) are flowering as I write this article and they are waiting for you to get outside and witness their clusters of fragrant, urn-shaped blooms in habitats all over …
