1. Dawn of new era in ocean stewardship Oct 20/sailing into the Pacific Gyre
2. Bird with Dominick Mosur this Friday morning
3. Family event: treasure hunt in MLK Regional Shoreline Oct 20
4. San Francisco's environmental hypocrisy exposed
5. Local native plant sale in Los Altos Oct 20
6. Help SaveNature.org by buying gardening needs at Cole Hardware
7. Mission Blue Nursery Native Plant Sale Oct 27
8. California Native Nursery Network Fall meeting at Heron's Head
9. Mustard species' specialized spices keep local bugs at bay
10. Ridge Trail service day on Mt Sutro/living seedbank planting at nursery
11. Sunday Streets in Excelsior Oct 21
12. Glenn Lym synopsis of all his HERE films/preview of 1871 SF City Hall
13. Knowland Park update - Zoo Society getting desperate
14. Antiscience beliefs jeopardize U.S. democracy
15. Ted Kipping potluck/slideshow Oct 23
16. A.R. Ammons cedes himself to the wind
17. Latest U.S. forestry news
1. Free movie brought to you by the Pacifica Beach Coalition and the Pacifica Library
OCEAN FRONTIERS
The Dawn of a New Era in Ocean Stewardship
Friday, October 19th
7pm (Pacifica Library)
Followed by a Special Speaker: Shannon Waters who will share her experiences aboard the Research Vessel ALGALITA across the Pacific Gyre
Get a FREE ticket to San Francisco's Aquarium By the Bay, Pier 39 by just coming to the movie! Compliments of the CA Coastal Commission
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2. San Francisco Naturalist Society
Join us this Friday morning for a walk with master birder Dominik Mosur. Dominik set the San Francisco County record for a birding Big Year when he spotted 273 different species in 2011. Join us in front of the Randall Museum at 8 am. Bring binoculars if you have them. The forecast is for beautiful weather, so it should be a great morning for birding!
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3. A Free Family Adventure
Saturday October 20th 10-noon
SHORELINE SPOTTING at Arrowhead Marsh in Oakland
Fun family event:
What: A nature treasure hunt with Bay Nature Magazine, East Bay Regional Parks,
Golden Gate Audubon, and URBIA Adventure League.
Arrowhead Marsh in MLK Regional Shoreline in Oakland (Just south of Alameda: map at www.ebparks.org/parks/martinlking
DROP IN anytime between 10 and noon! Binoculars, adventure maps and snack bars provided
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4.
A cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. -Oscar Wilde
(JS: The campaign to defeat Proposition F reveals the shallowness of San Francisco's dedication to the environment. Not In My Back Yard.
I suppose you've noticed that all the arguments for No on F have been San Francisco-centric--gravity-fed, pure clean, Sierra water, clean energy, bloddity bloddity bloddity....
Do any of the opponents of Proposition F ever think about the eons it took to carve Hetch Hetchy Valley, what effect natural grandeur has on the spirits of people desperately in need of respite from our relentlessly commercial world, where everything must be evaluated by the market?)
"It seems to me that we all look at Nature too much, and live with her too little." Oscar Wilde
Yes on F!
Film Fest Fundraiser
Food Trucks, Films & Fun! A Fundraiser for Yosemite Restoration Campaign
When: Sunday, October 28, 6:30-8:30 pm
Where: SoMa StrEat Food Park
428 11th Street, San Francisco, CA map
$75 per person (5 tickets for $300)
$15 for children under 16
Tickets include a meal from a gourmet food truck of your choice, adult beverage, silent auction, films, merriment and discussion
Purchase Tickets
Films include:
"Two Yosemites" by David Brower
"Restore the Hetch Hetchy!"
"Discover Hetch Hetchy with Harrison Ford"
Questions? 415-956-0401 or cal@yosemiterestoration.org
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5. Acterra Selling Locally Native Plants at the CNPS Plant Sale
Saturday, October 20
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Hidden Villa, 26870 Moody Road
Los Altos [map]
Did you know that Acterra's Native Plant Nursery Manager, Deanna Giuliano, grows her plants from seed she's harvested from native plants that are indigenous to our region? This painstaking approach, and the sustainable methods she uses to raise her plants, means that you get plants that are suitable for our area and, when properly cared for, long-lived. So be sure to buy local at this year's plant sale!
For more information about the Acterra Native Plant Nursery, please visit their webpage. For more information about the California Native Plant Society's Native Plant Sale, please visit their event website.
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6. Before going to all of the Native Plant sales, stop by Cole Hardware this Saturday, October 20th from 10am - 12pm for all of your garden needs and receive 10% of your entire purchase PLUS, Cole Hardware will donate 10% to SaveNature.Org.
Bring this coupon.
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7.
Mission Blue Nursery Native Plant Sale!
Saturday, October 27th, 2012 9:00am ~ 2:00pm
Come early and learn about gardening with natives, with Joe Cannon
9 am - 10 am
The Mission Blue Nursery is located in Brisbane (map and directions) and is part of the San Bruno Mountain Watch Stewardship Program. Nursery volunteers donate their time to grow California natives from San Bruno Mountain for restoration projects on the mountain and for public and private gardens, parks and planting areas around the mountain.
Fall SALE: Most of our 1 gallon natives which usually go for $ 10 will be marked down to just $5
For a list of plants for sale at the nursery follow the link: October 2012 Plant List
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8. Hello comrades at growing native plants,
The California Native Nursery Network is excited to invite you and your colleagues and volunteers to the 2012 Fall Meeting hosted at the Literacy for Environmental Justice Eco Center. Join us for a day of learning about Nurseries growing for community-based restoration programs. Learn about the Eco Center, one of the greenest buildings in the bay area, and the wetland restoration of Yosemite Slough. Hope to see you there!
California Native Nursery Network
Fall 2012 Meeting
Learning about Community-Based Restoration Nurseries:
Building Connections Between People and Ecology by Rebuilding Landscapes with Native Plants
Tuesday November 6, 2012, 9:00am – 3:00pm
Literacy for Environmental Justice Eco Center at Heron’s Head Park
32 Jennings Street, San Francisco, CA 94124
9:00-9:30am: Welcome. Coffee. Connect. Wander. Morning at the LEJ Eco Center at Heron’s Head Park,
9:30- 10:30am: Topic: Literacy for Environmental Justice and Bay Natives partnering to showcase native plants in the landscape of the Eco Center.
Presenters: Patrick Rump, Executive Director and Nursery Manager of LEJ, and Geoff Coffey, Co-Owner of Bay Natives Nursery-
10:30-11:15am: Topic: Building Broad Connections throughout the Bay Area Region to Restore Tidal Marsh Upland Ecotone Around San Francisco Bay
Presenter: Doug Serrill, Nursery Manager at Save The Bay
11:15-12:00pm: Topic: Building Community in Oakland: Propagating Native Plants for the Restoration of Sausal Creek
Presenter: Megan Hess, Nursery and Restoration Manager, at Friends of Sausal Creek
12:00- 1:00pm: Brown-Bag Lunch at the Eco Center. No lunch provided. Please bring a lunch.
1:00-1:20pm: Drive to Yosemite Slough Restoration Project
1:20-2:00pm: Tour the Yosemite Slough Restoration Project with Patrick Rump
2:00-2:15pm: Drive to LEJ Native Plant Nursery at Candlestick Park
2:15-3:00pm: Tour the LEJ Native Plant Nursery with Patrick Rump
3:00pm: End of General Meeting; Optional visit to Bay Natives Nursery new retail location.
Please let us know if you'll be coming and bring a bag lunch.
RSVP to Kristen Hopper krhop@earthlink.net
For the CNNN Steering Committee
Oaktown Native Plant Nursery
(510) 387-9744
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9.
(I post this excerpted item to coincide with native plant sales. What this study shows is mostly what has long been known about plant defenses, and, although the subject is too extensive to elaborate on here, it relates to why saving native plants and biodiversity is important. JS)
Burn Notice: Mustard Species's Specialized Spices Keep Local Bugs at Bay
Plant's flavorful variations reveal evolution at work
When you pass the Grey Poupon, you're probably not thinking about nature's defense systems. But mustard's kick is not just for seasoning your sandwich, it's a plant's way of biting back. Recent research has found one reason why certain mustard plants carry these chemical compounds: in some environments a spicy taste may deter pests.
Molecular and field biologists from Duke University, the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Germany and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign have investigated why two populations of mustard plants from the same species produce distinctly different spicy flavors.
The researchers studied the plant species Boechera stricta, a member of the mustard family. They looked at two populations of B. stricta growing in the Rocky Mountains, one in Montana and another in Colorado. Each population tastes spicy but in a slightly different way, suggesting a regionally distinct chemical composition.
The researchers selected these populations for their pristine natural environment, habitats that have seen little change in 3,000 years. Co-author and Duke University evolutionary geneticist Thomas Mitchell-Olds explains that this kind of environment allows biologists to answer questions about a species's evolution. In this case, it allowed the scientists to both consider the genetic variation of mustard plants and consider the still extant environmental factors that pushed this variation.
The researchers first analyzed specimens from the Colorado and Montana populations in the lab. They identified the chemical compounds that produced the differing mustard plants' spicy flavor. They also discovered how the plants produced these chemicals. Through careful molecular analysis, they pinpointed a single gene, BCMA, that encodes for an enzyme's activity. This enzyme is responsible for beginning the production of the compounds that give each variety of mustard its distinctive taste. Depending on the variant of the BCMA gene, the enzymes will produce the distinct flavor of either a Montana or Colorado mustard plant.
With the chemical and genetic differences identified, Mitchell-Olds and colleagues next went into the field to see how these plants survived in their respective habitats. The researchers planted thousands of Colorado and Montana mustard plants together on field sites in each state. They returned in the spring to count the leaves of each plant and quantify the damage done by hungry insects. As expected, the Colorado and Montana plants produced their distinctive Colorado and Montana spices, regardless of location. What was more intriguing, however, was the way insect populations responded to each.
Montana insects stayed away from Montana plants but devoured the Colorado variety. Their aversion suggests that the Montana mustard's spice is specially formulated to deter local pests. It's possible therefore that many generations ago, a mutation on the BCMA gene created a family of plants with the Montana spice that so successfully deflected bugs that this gene became common in the population.
Excerpted from Scientific American November 2012
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=mustard-spice-evolution
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10.
REI – Ridge Trail Service Day on Mount Sutro - Sat, Nov 3 - Register now!
AND… Living Seed-Bank Planting at Sutro Nursery
Advance Registration required!
Join us for an epic day of stewardship! The Bay Area REI San Francisco store will partner with the Sutro Stewards to host a volunteer work party on nearby Ridge Trail. Pitch in and have a blast with fellow trail supporters! Enjoy the scenery, camaraderie and satisfaction of building and renovating Ridge Trail.
This year we will also put our first plants in the ground for the Sutro Stewards Living Seed-Bank Project which will provide the seedlings for future trailside habitat restoration efforts with funding provided by an Odwalla grant.
This is our biggest annual event and, like the Ridge Trail itself, the impact spans the whole Bay region. Over the last 4 years, 1,700 volunteers have donated 7,300+ hours at 48 sites, building and restoring miles of Trail and improving adjacent open space. 2012 is our 5th Service Day and will be our biggest yet, boasting a record-setting 15 projects and space for nearly 550 volunteers! Pitch in, build trail, get dirty and make friends!
Volunteers will have a chance to win great prizes and Chipotle Mexican Grill is donating tasty burritos for lunch! The Stewards will also run an afternoon session to wrap up the Seed-Bank planting project and get everything watered in.
Advance Registration required: Click here for locations, details and to sign-up now!
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11. Sunday Streets - October 21
Sunday Streets is hitting the streets of the Excelsior, and we couldn't be more excited! From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mission Street, from Silver to Seneca; and Seneca from Mission to San Jose will be transformed into car-free space where people from all over can walk, bike, hula hoop, dance, and play in the streets.
There will be Free Bike Rentals, Free Bike repairs, and all kinds of free music. Check out the fun games at Mission and Excelsior, by Come Out and Play! Preview three new street games in advance of the 2012 festival! Players of all ages are invited to race up Mission Street in slow-motion, fish for origami creatures made from recycled materials, and play a neighborhood-wide, free-for-all game of freeze tag guided by SMS. For more activities, please visit our website.
Avoid the hassle of finding a place for your car during Sunday Streets Excelsior, and park in the Denman Middle School Parking Lot. The lot will open at 7:30 a.m., all cars must be picked up by 4 p.m. Donations starting at $10 requested.
Check out The Excelsior Festival!
Stop by the 10th Annual Excelsior Festival, during Sunday Streets! There will be a Pop Up Art Gallery featuring work from many local artists, youth and adult, as well as interactive activities for young and old to leave their mark at the festival. Also a Halloween Photo Contest at the Photo Booth, Pony rides from Ponyland ($6/ea), games and face painting provided by Mission YMCA, OKIE Beacon, Excelsior Family Connections, and the Excelsior Boys and Girls Club. Home Depot is hosting a kids workshop with free tool kit giveaways for youngsters, True Harmony will be bringing the musical petting zoo (kids can sample and play with child sized instruments), SPCA will be bringing animals for play and adoption, plus a wide selection of vendors, 40+ artists and craftspeople, a range of local businesses, many non profits, and more! And don't forget to enter their raffle! Prizes include: 49er tickets, a $200 gift certificate to safeway, gift certificates to local restaurants, gift bags from whole foods, festival tshirts and posters!
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12. Glenn Robert Lym
I've just written a synopsis of all my HERE films for an online architecture journal.
It includes a preview of the next film, HERE6, the story of the 1871 San Francisco City Hall that once occupied the site that is roughly now the Asian Art Museum, Main Library and UN Plaza.
You'll find this article at http://tracesf.com/2012/10/on-making-documentaries/
Glenn Robert Lym Architect A.I.A.
LEED AP & Build-It Green Professional
San Francisco, California
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13. Knowland Park update (partial)
Some BIG NEWS this week! First, we just learned that KQED Forum with Michael Krasny will air a live 30-minute segment on Measure A1 featuring Ruth Malone of Friends of Knowland Park for the No on A1 side and Nik Dehejia of the Zoo for the Yes side. It will air this coming Monday, October 22, 930-10 am. Check the website http://www.kqed.org/radio/programs/forum/ for updates. This is an exciting opportunity for our side - it comes at such an important time for our campaign because people are already starting to vote, and as you know, we have struggled with such a small budget to get our message out in time to reach enough people. PLEASE tune in and call in with your comments and show that the public really does read the fine print!
OTHER BIG NEWS: The Ohlone Audubon Society, serving Southern and Eastern Alameda County, has endorsed the No on Measure A1 campaign! Please let them know you appreciate their willingness to stand up for authentic conservation values! You can visit their website at http://www.ohloneaudubon.org/ and like them on Facebook! There’s also a contact form at http://www.ohloneaudubon.org/index.php/contact-us to send them a note of thanks.
ZOO GOING NEGATIVE: Those supporters living near Knowland Park were probably surprised this week to see a mailed hit piece from Zoo CEO Joel Parrott accusing Ruth Malone of Friends of Knowland Park and Laura Baker of the California Native Plant Society of “spreading misinformation” about the measure. We were expecting something like this, which comes on the heels of a letter to the East Bay CNPS board which accused CNPS of lying - when a campaign is losing ground, they go negative.
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14. Antiscience Beliefs Jeopardize U.S. Democracy
The United States faced down authoritarian governments on the left and right. Now it may be facing an even greater challenge from within
Image: Ricardo Martinez
In Brief
A large number of major party contenders for political office this year took antiscience positions against evolution, human-induced climate change, vaccines, stem cell research, and more.
Such positions are surprising because the economy is such a big factor in this election, and half the economic growth since World War II can be traced to innovations in science and technology.
Partisans at both ends of the political spectrum have been guilty of science denialism. But the Republican version is particularly dangerous because it attacks the validity of science itself.
U.S. voters must push candidates and elected officials to express their views on the major science questions facing the nation or risk losing out to those countries with reality-based policies.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=antiscience-beliefs-jeopardize-us-democracy
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15.
Ted Kipping pot luck/slide shows
4th Tuesday of the month at 7 pm (slide show at 8 pm) at the San Francisco County Fair Bldg, 9th Av & Lincoln Way in Golden Gate Park
Served by Muni bus lines #6, 43, 44, 66, 71, and the N-Judah Metro
*Please bring a dish and beverage to serve 8 people
October 23 - Ted Kipping (channeling Victor Reiter, Jr):
A Mediterranean Rock Garden
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16.
Mansion
So it came time
for me to cede myself
and I chose
the wind
to be delivered to
The wind was glad
and said it needed all
the body
it could get
to show its motions with
and wanted to know
willingly as I hoped it would
if it could do
something in return
to show its gratitude
When the trees of my bones
rises from the skin I said
come and whirlwinding
stroll my dust
around the plain
so I can see
how the ocotillo does
and how saguaro-wren is
and when you fall
with evening
fall with me here
where we can watch
the closing up of day
and think how morning breaks
~ A. R. Ammons ~
(The Selected Poems)
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17. Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics
Chipmunk tests positive for plague – Tahoe Daily Tribune
Local, state and federal officials are urging caution after a chipmunk near Taylor Creek Visitor Center in the Tahoe Basin was found with plague last week.
The rodent was rolled up in a ball, shaking and struggling to breathe when it was discovered by a U.S. Forest Service employee, Forest Service spokeswoman Cheva Heck said.
Climate Change Could Cripple Southwestern Forests – University of Arizona News
If the Southwest is warmer and drier in the near future, widespread tree death is likely and would cause substantial changes in the distribution of forests and of species, researchers report this week in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Explosive growth in sudden oak death – San Francisco Chronicle
Aerial and ground surveys conducted by the U.S. Forest Service documented 375,700 new cases of dead live oak and tan oak trees over 54,400 acres of California where the pathogen is known to exist. That's compared to 38,000 dead trees covering 8,000 acres a year ago.
Forest Service awards grants for tree plantings to boost water quality in Great Lakes region – The Republic
The U.S. Forest Service is awarding nearly $3 million for projects using trees and forests to improve water quality in the Great Lakes region.
As fire issues grow, forest management more important – Yakima Herald
The annual number of wildfires exceeding 25,000 acres in 11 Western states has quintupled since the 1970s, according to a Climate Central report released last month.
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