Journal Entry Week 8

March 13, 2013
Week 8

Work Hrs: 6 Total Hrs: 58

Week 8

        This was my last week interning at the Younger Lagoon Reserve and although it was in the middle of the mayhem of finals, I enjoyed every last second. Before heading in for official duty, I took a morning stroll around the lower terrace and bluff areas. The YLR is such a beautiful place to work and marvel at. The morning consisted of exotic plant species removal near the upper terrace in the wetlands 6 which was planted about a year ago. The native species which were planted are well established an on their way to becoming a native grassland. It is very important to stay on top of controlling the exotics because they can easily out compete and shade out the native grasses.

       

        In order to leave a bit early and get my study on, I worked through lunch. We haven't received very much rainfall in the last couple of months.To ensure solid root establishment of our newly transplanted lower terrace, we are supplementing the lack of natural rain fall by manually watering each and every plant. It could easily be over 6000 plant individuals! I watered for about 3 hours, which at first was rather daunting and monotonous, but as I got into a rhythm the work began to flow.  I may have individually watered 2000 plants that day, a fraction of what is on the lower terrace. Initial root establishment is vital to the plants survival in the next coming seasons which are more likely to be much hotter and void of much less water.

       I have had the best experience working as an intern for the Younger Lagoon Reserve and can only hope to come back this summer and participate in a 5-unit internship. I would be continuing in the spring, but I was inspired to sign up for the Natural History Field Quarter and was accepted. I will be taking my newly acquired skills and knowledge and apply them to a whole new experience.

WORD COUNT: 325

Hand pulling Oxalis and other exotic plant species in the upper wetlands 6.

My watering view for three hours.

The lagoon in the morning.

A view newly planted lower terrace and of the ocean.

One last shot of the sandbar which created the Younger Lagoon.

Journal Entry Week 7

March 6, 2013
Week 7

Work Hrs: 6 Total Hrs: 52

Week 7

        This week was pretty mellow. Most of the day was spent planting a mulched and fenced off area in the middle terrace area. The area we were planting was going to become filled with mostly California coastal prairie scrub. The fenced area to be worked was surrounded amongst some rather large established diverse coastal prairie scrub. The species that were planted were: coffeeberry or Rhamnus californica, yarrow or Achillea millifolium, California sagebrush or Artemesia californica, silver leaf lupine or Lupinus albifrons, sticky monkey flower or mimulus aronticus, and lizard's tail or Eriophyllum staechadiofolium.

        Later that afternoon I spent a solid amount of time conducting my usual water level well monitoring data collection around the YLR. There are many wells drilled all along the YLR and we are currently collecting data from 9 varied dispersed sites. This data is being collected to observe the natural rise and fall of the ground water in the water table underneath the reserve terraces. Data is also being collected to observe where the ground water is most prevalent in conjunction with the location of wetlands on the reserve. Another reason for ground water monitoring at the YLR is to find locations for possible wetland creation potential or current site wetness where restoration and site delineation can occur. Walking around to the various well sites and collecting water depth data is relaxing, but also quite important to the restoration work being done at the YLR. After all, the restoration work being completed is because of the important bio diverse federally protected wetland habitats. I would love to come back in two or three years and see the YLR native habitats flourishing including the precious wetlands.

WORD COUNT: 276



A local red tailed hawk.

 Capitola sunrise bike ride on the way to the lagoon.

I caught this awesome bobcat sneaking in the grass by the upper terrace.



Journal Entry Week 6

February 27, 2013
Week 6

Work Hrs: 12 Total Hrs: 46

Week 6

      This week Ace was back to help out with various tasks around YLR. The Wednesday morning crew and I joined Ace on the banks of the lagoon just past the new overlook to rid an area of invasive hemlock or Conium maculatum. Invasive species or weed or non-native plant control is a very important aspect of restoration ecology and land management. It is a constant battle which eventually can be won be utilizing various techniques. Previously I had talked about tarping to control the Hemlock. This week, we were literally pulling each and every individual hemlock plant by its roots to clear a large area. Once most of the invasive species is removed from the area, it will be mulched and planted with local shrubs which hopefully will in the area and shade out any future Hemlock seedlings. This will hopefully take care of the Hemlock in that area. Other invasive species that are popping up around the YLR are Medicago polymorpha or bur clover and Oxalis pes-caprae or sourgrass and Raphanus sativus or wild radish. There hasn't been that much rainfall, so the invasives haven't really gotten enough moisture to germinate and try to mature and take over the YLR. This is going to make it a little bit easier for the spring interns who are going to have to do a lot of weed management. Weed management and planting to restore native biodiversity should over time rid of or severely suppress non-natives or invasives species with out further interjection by humans.

      Ace also hosted a work day in which volunteers and students from the Karen Holl's ecology restoration class donated their time and labor at the YLR for an afternoon. With the help of everyone, a lot of work was completed on the main terrace including mulching large areas and the planting of at least 1400 plants.

WORD COUNT: 308

The "Stacks" at the Mouth of the Lagoon.

Another View of the Stacks.

Looking Out at the Ocean Through Some Rushes Also Known as Juncus patens.

YLR Interns and Volunteers.