2021 Community Scientist Volunteers needed!
Hello Community Scientists,
We at the Garden hope you are doing well and have been able to continue to enjoy our local landscapes through the fall and winter despite COVID restrictions! We are excited to announce that we will be conducting a second year of surveying – and we are offering abbreviated trainings for folks who were already trained last year and are interested in helping us continue mapping this spring.
If you are interested in mapping a trail this season and were trained or partially trained last year, you can sign up for a virtual hour-long returning scientist training on the following dates with these links:
Saturday, March 13th from 9 - 10 am: https://sbbg.regfox.com/tf-returning-scientists-313-9-am-training
Saturday, March 13th from 12 - 1 pm: https://sbbg.regfox.com/tf-returning-scientists-313-12pm-training
Saturday, April 3rd from 9 - 10 am: https://sbbg.regfox.com/tf-returning-scientists-43-9am-training
Saturday, April 3rd from 12 - 1 pm: https://sbbg.regfox.com/tf-returning-scientists-43-12pm-training
You only need to attend one returning scientist training, and there will be no mandatory field training this year to better keep everyone safe. We’ll be opening training for new volunteers in the next two weeks as well – keep an eye out if you have a friend who would be interested in joining the project!
Finally, to give you a quick update on what we’ve been up to (and what has happened with your data!) since summer 2020, we have been busy looking for patterns, building models to identify high priority restoration areas, and planning another year of field work this season. We’ve noticed that there are some major differences between the weeds you found in Santa Barbara and Ojai – take a look at the map below to see that there is a lot more cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) at high elevation near Ojai, while Santa Barbara has a large infestation of sticky snakeroot/croftonweed (Ageratina adenophora). And of course, the plant we recorded the most (fennel, Foeniculum vulgare) is everywhere.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. I’m looking forward to seeing you all again, if virtually, over the Spring!
Best,
Josie
