Holly Sletteland - Contact Holly
 Egret
 Wildflowers at Sweet Springs
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Together Green
by Holly Sletteland
This past month brought with it some wonderful news! Morro Coast Audubon has been awarded a grant by National Audubon to engage more volunteers in restoration efforts at Sweet Springs. It's part of a five-year initiative called "Together Green" that was launched by Audubon and Toyota in 2008 to sponsor projects throughout the nation that bring together volunteers to significantly improve the environment in their communities. It is funded by a $20 million gift from Toyota gift to Audubon, the largest in the conservation group's long history.
The grant also brings with it a major challenge. We are required to recruit 200 new volunteers over the coming year. That's 16 people a month, which didn't sound too difficult when I was applying for the grant. It was only afterwards that it dawned on me that I'm often lucky if I get 16 people to show up on any given volunteer day. Most of the people who come from month to month are people who have invested a lot of sweat equity into the preserve. We always get new people as well, but certainly not 16 new people every month! Dear readers, I need your help! If you have never volunteered at Sweet Springs, now is the time!
The sorry state of our environment is a recurring topic these days in the media and in our conversations with one another. Environmental problems often seem overwhelming and solutions out of our reach—the melting ice caps, the dwindling rain forests, the bleached coral reefs, the vanishing snow leopard. But as Wendell Berry pointed out, the challenge is to reduce such problems to our level of competence. He noted "The question that must be addressed is not how to care for the planet, but how to care for each of the planet's human and natural neighborhoods, each of its millions of small pieces and parcels of land, each one of which is in some precious and exciting way different from all of the others." With this in mind, I need your help in caring for a small parcel of land that's right here in your neighborhood – the Sweet Springs Nature Preserve in Los Osos. The preserve provides a hugely important refuge for people, plants and animals, but it is a little rough around the edges in places. It's certainly looking much better than it did just a few short years ago, thanks to the concerted efforts of hundreds of volunteers, but it is still a work in progress. It needs your help to take it all the way.
The grant funding provides the opportunity we've been looking for to complete the restoration of the coastal scrub habitat on the west side, as well as to begin restoration on the new eastern section. Much of the heavy lifting has already been done. We have spent literally thousands of hours removing the invasive weeds that once dominated the area—mallow, mustard, veldt grass, ice plant and many more. It has truly been a Herculean effort. The ground has largely been prepped for planting of native vegetation this fall and winter, and I hope to schedule several planting days. It is incredibly rewarding to be a part of the transformation and know that you played a role in healing the part of the planet we call home. Small steps taken by all of us really can turn things around. Even the biggest environmental challenges can be tackled if we work together and all do our part.
Our next volunteer day party is Saturday, June 11th from 9:00am to noon. The primary focus of this event will be on reworking the Pond Trail by replacing the rotten border logs, but we'll also have a need for people to help with restoration tasks like seed collection, watering, and weeding. We'll provide the tools, tips, and refreshments. We just need you to show up wearing gloves, long pants, and sturdy shoes. For more info, call Holly at 239-3928 or find directions to the preserve at Morro Coast Audubon.
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