1. Pacifica City Council candidates forum Oct 2
2. Because we spill not only milk...
3. You can personally help restore Yosemite
4. Be part of sidewalk planting project at 20th & Florida/Alabama
5. South SF Weed Warriors Sept 28-29
6. Open house at SFSU Biology Dept Oct 6
7. The other climate change problem - ocean acidifcation
8. Yellowjackets eating a katydid/more on pipevine pollination
9. Flying math: Bees solve traveling salesman problem
10. Prison inmates and endangered species
11. Encounter live insects around the world/edible adventures/& more
12. It is time - Autumn by Rilke
13. Todd Gilens talks about "Shade" at UC Botanical Garden Oct 7
14. Charles Darwin celebrates worms
1. City Council Candidates Forum on
Pacifica's Environmental Issues and Opportunities
WHEN: Tuesday, October 2, 7-9pm
WHERE: Pacifica City Council Chambers - 2212 Beach Boulevard, 2nd floor, Pacifica
WHO: all 7 candidates for City Council this November, 2012
Rich Campbell, Karen Ervin, Gary Mondfrans, Mary Ann Nihart, Mike O'Neill, Vic Spano, Susan Vellone
Come Learn about Pacifica's Environmental Issues and Opportunities
and what City Council Candidates want to do about them!
Co-Sponsors:
• Pacificans for Highway 1 Alternatives (PH1A)
https://www.facebook.com/PHwy1A
• Pacifica Climate Committee
• Pacificans for Sustainable Development
• and the following Pacifica's Environmental Family Projects:
◦ Pacifica Shorebird Alliance
◦ Pacifica Beach Coalition
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2.
Because we spill not only milk
Knocking it over with an elbow
When we reach to wipe a small face
But also spill seed on soil we thought was fertile but isn't,
And also spill whole lives, and only later see in fading light
How much is gone and we hadn't intended it
Because we tear not only cloth
Thinking to find a true edge and instead making only a hole
But also tear friendships when we grow
And whole mountainsides because we are so many
And we want to live right where black oaks lived,
Once very quietly and still
Because we forget not only what we are doing in the kitchen
And have to go back to the room we were in before,
Remember why it was we left
But also forget entire lexicons of joy
And how we lost ourselves for hours
Yet all that time were clearly found and held
And also forget the hungry not at our table
Because we weep not only at jade plants caught in freeze
And precious papers left in rain
But also at legs that no longer walk
Or never did, although from the outside they look like most others
And also weep at words said once as though
They might be rearranged but which
Once loose, refuse to return and we are helpless
Because we are imperfect and love so
Deeply we will never have enough days,
We need the gift of starting over, beginning
Again: just this constant good, this
Saving hope.
~ Nancy Shaffer ~
(Instructions in Joy)
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3. YES ON PROPOSITION F
(JS: The campaign to begin the restoration of Yosemite is in high gear. You can help.)
Use these links to help the campaign succeed!
-Yosemite Yes
-Host a House Party
-Send email to friends
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4. Volunteers are requested for the installation of Plant*SF’s newest public sidewalk planting project, the 20th Street Biophilic Streetscape sidewalk landscaping demonstration garden, located at 20th, Alabama and Florida Streets in San Francisco’s Mission District. It will be held the weekend of October 6 - 7, 2012. A limited number of volunteer planting positions are available to those who would like to participate and receive workshop-style guidance on the process of sidewalk landscaping. Volunteer positions are strictly limited and pre-registration is required. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old. Materials, tools and supervision will be provided. Prior planting experience is not required. Volunteers are asked to bring gloves and a canteen of water. Refreshments will be provided – catered by Central Kitchen and Humphry Slocombe ice cream. All confirmed volunteers will receive a confirmation email. Regretfully, unconfirmed volunteers will be turned away.
1. Saturday, October 6, 9am-1pm (lunch and drink provided) – meet at the corner of 20th and Florida Streets
2. Saturday, October 6, 1pm-5pm (snack and drink provided) – meet at the corner of 20th and Florida Streets
3. Sunday, October 7, 10am-2pm (lunch and drink provided) – meet at the corner of 20th and Florida Streets
Please RSVP to info@plantSF.org with your name, email address and phone number and preferred shift. You are welcome to RSVP for more than one shift. Please only confirm if you definitely will attend – as we have only this time to get the plants into the ground.
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5. Join the SSF Weed Warriors on San Bruno Mountain
Friday September 28th and
Saturday September 29th
9am to 12pm
Come out Friday or Saturday - or both days! - and help with this critical stewardship work to restore native grasslands that are important butterfly habitat.
• gloves provided
• wear long pants and layers
• wear long-sleeved shirt for protection
• wear sturdy shoes with long socks
• bring water!
Check out the San Bruno Mountain Watch website for all volunteer opportunities in our Stewardship Programs and Upcoming Events
Contact:
San Bruno Mountain Watch
(415) 467-6631
or email leaders
Chuck and Loretta
Meeting location: behind the Mills Montessori School at 1400 Hillside Blvd in South San Francisco
View Google Map
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6. Friends of Biology Open House
Saturday, October 6, 2012
2:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Hensill Hall Lobby
San Francisco State University
Be sure to join us as we celebrate the tremendous achievements made by the Department of Biology at San Francisco State University. Enjoy an afternoon of wine and hors d’oeuvres and a special tour of the facilities. You will also learn from students about their cutting edge research and hear faculty member Dr. Vance Vredenburg’s talk “Can We Control a Deadly Infectious Amphibian Disease Before it is Too Late?” and Dr. Diana Chu's insights on “Using Worm Sperm to Understand Male Infertility”. We look forward to seeing you!
RSVP to Joe Schillaci at (415) 338-2647 or e-mail jschill@sfsu.edu.
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7. Scientists Focus on Ocean Acidification
http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201209250850/b
This week, scientists from around the world are meeting in Monterey to discuss what they call the "other" climate change problem--the oceans are becoming more acidic. It happens as oceans absorb the carbon dioxide we add to the air through burning fossil fuels. It can be bad news for oysters, mussels and the marine food web.
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8. Phil Van Soelen:
The same yellow Jackets that eat the pipevine fruit, patrol my yard are very voracious carnivores.
They either killed a Katydid, exposed by the cutting back of my 15 x 20 ft meadow, or I inadvertently stepped on it & they consumed it entirely in about 2-3 minutes.
(JS: In last email I carried information from Phil about pipevine pollination. In slightly different terms, here's a communication I got on this subject a couple years ago):
From: Hans U Weber
Hello Jake:
Long ago we planted a California pipevine in our backyard. It lasted a few summers, but I don't remember if it attracted any caterpillars. Its pollination mechanism is interesting, according to www.botany.org/plantimages/ConantSTA2008.php:
Although seemly not as beautiful as many other plants, the flower of this California pipevine has its own mechanism to let insects serve its pollination. Instead of bees or butterflies, this plant attracts small carrion-feeding insects by its unpleasant smell. The special "S-pipe shaped" flower has some epidermal hair at its entrance, which allow those insects to get in, but block their way out. The mature time of stigma is prior; after stigma loses its ability to receive pollens, anthers are mature. Accordingly, the "prisoner" insects, by crawling around the "chamber", first deposit pollens they carry to the stigma, and then reload pollens from this flower. After that, the epidermal hair goes dry, and the "prisoners" are released to pollinate other flowers.
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9. Flying Math: Bees Solve Traveling Salesman Problem
Bumblebees foraging in flowers for nectar are like salesmen traveling between towns: Both seek the optimal route to minimize their travel costs. Mathematicians call this the "traveling salesman problem," in which scientists try to calculate the shortest possible route given a theoretical arrangement of cities. Bumblebees, however, take the brute-force approach: For them, it's simply a matter of experience, plus trial and error, scientists report in the current issue of PLoS Biology.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/09/bumblebee-traveling-salesman/
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10. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/22/prison-inmates-endangered-species-cedar-creek-corrections_n_1906288.html?ref=topbar
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11.
SaveNature.org
Encounter live insects from around the world!
Choose any of our exciting programs to discover your inner scientist.
Educational Programs
Insect Discovery Lab
A hands-on experience where students learn about insect anatomy, adaptations, habitat, and conservation. We bring one-of-a-kind insects and other arthropods to your classroom for students to see, touch, and hold!
PreK: 30 min. $125
K-12th grade: 60 min. $175
Edible EdVentures
Students will learn about the connection between food and nature with a focus on the rainforest, through interactive activities, inquiry, and a plant anatomy song.
PreK- 2nd grade: 45min. $125
Receive a $25 discount for each subsequent program booked on the same day and location. Travel fees apply to locations over 15 miles away.
Parties and Events
Birthdays and Gatherings
We bring the entertainment to you for an unforgettable experience for children or adults. The Insect Discovery Lab can visit your home, local park, or business location.
60 min. $250
In-house events at 699 Mississippi St., Suite 106, San Francisco, CA 94107:
Behind the Scenes Tour
Get your friends or colleagues together for a fun, interactive session exploring exotic insects and other animals.This tour is filled with experiences and stories you couldn’t get anywhere else! Learn about animal care, feeding and breeding. Light refreshments and appetizers will be provided.
Up to 8 people: 90 min. $325 total
Dine for Nature
Spend an evening amongst animals from Malaysia, Australia and Africa while enjoying a delicious, locally sourced meal and wine pairing by Chef Bellorado. Half of the proceeds will go towards our Adopt an Acre program, which helps to preserve critical biodiversity around the globe.You will receive an honorary deed for your donation.
Group size of 8-10: $100 / person
Please call 415-648-3392 or email info@savenature.org for inquiries.
http://www.savenature.org ~ Inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards ~
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12.
Autumn
O Lord, it is time
The summer was so vast
Put your shadows on the sundials
And in the fields let the wind loose.
Order the last fruits to become ripe
Give them two more sunny days
Push them to fulfillment
And force the last sweetness into the heavy wine.
He who has no house now will not build one
He who is alone will be so for a long time to come
Will stay awake, read, write long letters
And restlessly walk in the park among the blown leaves.
~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~
(Contributed and translated by Charlotte Schmid)
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13. Todd Gilens:
The UC Berkeley botanical garden has invited me to talk informally about “Shade”, the artwork I created within their propagation and Crops of the World areas on Sunday October 7th from 2:30 to 3:30. The work is a hundred foot-long photographic mural attached to an aluminum lath structure, the image based on shade, from a plant’s point of view, in an oak/chaparral community.
Note that admission to the garden will be free on that day.
If the 7th isn’t good for a garden visit, the artwork will be there through January 2013. It is part of the exhibition Natural Discourse: Artists, Architects, Scientists and Poets in the Garden, curated by Mary Anne Friel and Shirley Watts.
Photographs and a brief description of my project are on my website HERE.
http://www.follywog.com/projects/ProjectsShade.html
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14. Charles Darwin, "The Formation of Vegetable Mould":
"When we behold a wide, turf-covered expanse, we should remember that its smoothness, on which so much of its beauty depends, is mainly due to all the inequalities having been slowly leveled by worms. It is a marvelous reflection that the whole of the superficial mould over any such expanse has passed, and will again pass, every few years through the bodies of worms. The plough is one of the most ancient and most valuable of man's inventions; but long before he existed the land was in fact regularly ploughed, and still continues to be thus ploughed by earth-worms. It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organized creatures."
"These are the gardens of the Desert, these
The unshorn fields, boundless and beautiful,
For which the speech of England has no name –
The Prairies."
William Cullen Bryant
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