Volunteer Updates: Summer 2024

Dear friends,

We’ve had a busy summer at Cascade Ranch harvesting and processing 12 pounds of seeds, four of which were harvested from annual plants, such as saapah (red maids), yarkas (coast tarweed) and popcorn flower, that reseeded themselves. We were eagerly awaiting their blooming and happily introduced them to as many people as we could. “Want to meet the red maids that are blooming outside the Seed Lab?!” I asked our Weed ‘Em Out volunteers and other visitors. Red maids are such clever and welcoming plant ambassadors both in bloom and in seed. They have taught us so much and will continue sharing their wisdom with us as we celebrate their arrival each season.

Our native plants are doing well not just at Cascade Ranch, but also at Quiroste. Earlier in June, our staff monitored the planting plots we installed this season on the ridge. We inspected and evaluated 30 different plots and all of them were doing exceptionally well with at least 2 to 3 native plant species present in each of the plots. There was only one plot out of 30 that did not have any native plants in it. These plots were hidden among the crowded tall invasive grasses, which can be quite unsettling to witness. As I walked through the harding grass, I told myself that fire is coming, hopefully this season, and that the earth will patiently hold the seeds that the native plants drop this summer. As we work with the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association (CCPBA) and California State Parks to finalize the burn plan, we rest in knowing that fire will help us restore the grasslands over time.

In early August, the CCPBA, Healthy Forest Alliance and State Parks led approximately 25 people, including our staff and one of our Native Plant Program volunteers, through chainsaw training. Each participant learned how to safely operate the chainsaw, limb, buck and fell Douglas fir trees. Together, we dropped close to 75 trees that fed additional burn piles on top of Quiroste Ridge. As we continue to chip away at the massive 12-acre Douglas fir forest, we are noticing and rejoicing at the native plants, such as lupine and elderberry, that are emerging in the newly sunlit spaces.

On July 18, we visited Ano Nuevo Reserve and heard about the latest research from the Preserve Director, Patrick Robinson. We were particularly excited to hear from Ben Rivera, a dune plants ecology grad school student at UC Davis. He is collaborating with AMLT on a research project that focuses on four plant species, including beach strawberry (Fragaria chilonesis), coast buckwheat (Eriogonum larifolia), sand verbena (Abronia spp.), and American dunegrass (Elymus mollis). These species were selected for their importance to the ecosystem and for their ethnobotanical uses. Ben’s team is mapping and tracking these species at four dune sites near Santa Cruz through vegetation surveys, repeated trait measurements, and drone mapping surveys. The goal of the project is to better understand the distribution of these important species and their relationship to dune biogeomorphology. Ultimately, the hope is to build better restoration goals and increase the abundance of these key species after the removal of European beachgrass( Ammophila arenaria).

In addition to learning about this project, Ben explained how dunes are formed and what helps them thrive. We learned that dunes like to move up and down the coast and that they are unable to do so, because they are held down by the invasive beachgrass. Ben told us how different agencies in the region are approaching this issue. For example, in the process of restoring the Abbotts Lagoon in Point Reyes, NPS removed all biomass and buried it deep under a cap of clean sand with heavy motorized equipment, uncovering and stimulating the native seed bank and bringing the dunes back to balance. It is inspiring to hear about other restoration projects and learn from them.

Perhaps the most exciting and memorable event of the summer for AMLT was Youth Summer Camp, where nearly 30 children ages 5 to 18 came together to learn about their Mutsun culture from Mutsun teachers and elders. Native Plant Program staff introduced children to plants as our ancestors and conducted four activities to help them understand their connection to native plants, plant evolution and relationship of plants to each other. Several interns from the Amah Mutsun’s Archaeology Field School and Mutsun teachers prepared and presented elaborate posters that explained different plant family patterns to children. They introduced children to plants in the Sunlit garden and explored it together. Each child got to take a beach strawberry and a tarweed plant home. We also taught them how to transplant and how to tend their new plant relatives.

Looking Forward

I hope that you can continue to take advantage of the wonderful opportunities to connect with each other. Here are a few upcoming events:

• This Monday, August 19, we will be taking a field trip to Jasper Ridge and I cannot wait to share with you what we learn there.

• September 21 is the Museum of Art & History Native Plant Garden Opening Ceremony with Chairman Lopez. Everyone is invited to attend and bring friends and family. 

• October 4 is our potluck with Dr. Martin Rizzo. Pls bring a yummy dish and gather around the fire at Pie Ranch.

A few of you have shared interesting resources and reading materials. I want to share them with you here, so that we can continue to stay engaged and inspired by the outside world.

• NY Times article on cultural burns.

• Underground seed banks hold promise for ecological restoration - High Country News (hcn.org)

• Podcast: TUSHA YAKOVLEVA on the Invitation of Invasive Plants /307 — FOR THE WILD

Volunteer Update April and May 2024

Hello friends,

April and May were filled with highs and lows for the Native Plant Program at AMLT. We said good-bye to our mentor and leader, Rob Cuthrell, who strove each day to shape into reality the vision that Chairman Lopez and tribal members have for the program. We also gathered together to celebrate each other and the work we have accomplished over the year. Below is a short summary of highlights from April and May 2024.

Spring is a time when we are involved in conducting vegetation surveys. Our staff participated in conducting a vegetation survey at Swanton Pacific Ranch as part of a project that studies the effect of fire on the coastal prairie vegetation. We also conducted a series of enthnobotanical surveys at a property that is slated to become a mine (pictured below). We found lots of culturally significant plants there, such as saapah, red maids (Calandrinia menziesii) and mules ears (Wyethia angustifolia).

Our staff also spent some time learning about and handling the endangered San Francisco Garter snake with USGS staff at a local preserve that is closed to the public. The SF Garter snake is an endangered species and receives the highest level of protection from the state. As such, we take extra precautions while conducting field work activities at Quiroste, located within its range.

Each snake is permanently tattooed with a number to allow the researchers to track data associated with its survival and reproduction. Below is a picture of the process of marking a snake that we witnessed in person. The snake appeared calm during this process and was not hurt.

One of the biggest highlights this year was the final site visit from one of the Native Plant Program funders, the California Natural Resources Agency, to close out the Collaborative Restoration of an Indigenous Cultural Landscape at Quiroste Valley Cultural Preserve grant. The Grant Administrator came to meet Chairman Lopez, Rob Cuthrell, Alexii Sigona and I at Cascade Ranch. We gave her a tour of our native plant beds and brought her over to inspect our work at Quiroste Valley Cultural Preserve. She was very pleased with our work and we were able to answer all of her most pressing questions. Below are a few photos of the funders and AMLT staff admiring planting plots of tidy tips (Laiya platyglossa) and popcorn flower (Plagiobothrys chorisianus).

Following the visit from the funders, we opened the seed harvesting season with our very first harvest of saapah, red maids (Calandrinia menziesii) at Cascade Ranch. We harvested saapah seeds using the traditional method described by Accension Solarzano by pulling them by the root and laying them upside down for 3-4 weeks.

In addition to harvesting seeds, we also spent some time covering our existing beds with cardboard and plastic, so that they don’t become overtaken by weeds. This way they will be easier to prepare once we are ready to fill them with plants.

AMLT staff helped Cascade Ranch staff to create eight burn piles, which were consumed in late April. The piles were made of downed eucalyptus trees and created with the help of volunteers, who attend bi-monthly Weed ‘Em Out events. Cascade Ranch staff and AMLT staff collaborate closely to conduct these events and are discussing a planting plan to restore the riparian area surrounding Cascade Creek.

Our volunteers spent their time socializing at a pot luck in April, during which we bid farewell to Rob Cuthrell. Lots of kind words were said during this potluck and we enjoyed each others company and great food.

In May, we took a boat ride and a guided tour through the Elkhorn Slough. We went on a guided hike with Elkhorn Slough Foundation staff and explored the Visitor Center as well as the trails and the Native Plant Garden with staff from the Elkhorn Slough Preserve. This was an incredibly enriching activity and I’m so thrilled that we got to spend our time together in this new and meaningful way.

On May 17, we gathered at the UCSC Arboretum for a Talking Circle with Chairman Lopez, Lisa Carrier, Esak and Zech Ordonez to discuss the past as well as the future of the Native Plant Program. I appreciate those of you who shared your stories at the circle and stayed with us for dinner. It was a very memorable event and we cherished the opportunity to spend time with elders, tribal members, AMLT staff and each other.

I am looking forward to getting together with you again this summer. We have a full season of seed harvesting and weeding ahead of us. I hope you continue to join us for future enrichment activities - for we want to contribute to making your life and our time together more meaningful.

Aylara