Valentines Volunteers Turn out in Force

by Holly Sletteland

We had quite a turnout at our restoration party this past month with over 50 volunteers!  A good many of those volunteers were from the Cal Poly chapter of Alpha Phi Omega, the largest collegiate fraternity in the country.  Alpha Phi Omega is a co-ed fraternity whose primary focus is to provide volunteer service within four areas: service to the community, service to the campus, service to the fraternity, and service to the nation as participating citizens.  And provide a community service they did!  They tackled some really difficult jobs on the new, eastern section of the preserve.  Experienced weed warriors Dave Keeling and Eric Wier guided volunteers in the removal of some sprawling patches of ice plant and African daisy.  Doug Anderson led the attack against a number of myoporum trees that had established themselves then in the salt marsh.  Volunteers braved muddy channels and Spiny rushes (Juncus acutus) to get out to the work sites and proceeded to reduce the trees to a pile of twigs and branches in no time. Meanwhile, another contingent of volunteers fanned out over the recently restored areas of the central preserve, pulling every weed that they could get their hands on.

Sometimes people ask me what this thing is that I have against non-native plants.  And the fact of the matter is, I really don't have anything against them.  I don't begrudge anyone for planting a daffodil or a lilac or an elm tree.  These plants have all proven to be not only beautiful, but well behaved in the sense that they stay put.  I don't really have anything against invasive non-native plants either.  I often marvel at how adaptive and tenacious they are.  How can you not appreciate a plant that produces seeds that are viable for up to 30-40 years (French broom - Genista monspessulana)?  Or how can you not be in awe of a plant that can regenerate from a tiny stolon fragment after days, even weeks, sitting above ground (Cape Ivy - Delaria odorata)?   Or not be bowled over by a plant that can produce as many as 75,000 seeds per plant each year that has managed to become the most common plant in California in a little over a century (Yellow starthistle - Centaurea solstitialis)?  These truly are remarkable plants! But they are also very much "plants out of place" (Blatchley 1912).  They have a grossly unfair advantage in their non-native range, having escaped the predators, diseases, and other factors that keep them in check where they originated.  They succeed at the expense of the plants and animals that belong here.  It is simply another one of those "unintended consequences" of human "progress," not unlike too much carbon dioxide or chlorine molecules in the atmosphere.  Who knew?  But we can hardly hide behind ignorance as a defense any longer.   The cat's been out of the bag for some time now.

We have another volunteer day coming up on Saturday, March 12th from 9am to 12 noon.  We'll continue to focus on removing invasive weeds, although we'll also have a number of other tasks to work on as well.  We'll also make sure we take time out to appreciate the splendor of the season.  With the advent of the vernal equinox later this month, we will officially usher in Spring and its profusion of flowers.  We have a number of tentative blooms . . . the first poppies, the cheery yellow of a beach primrose here and there, the demure lavender of phacelia.  The blossoms will only multiply in the days ahead, creating a mantle of color over the ground.  I hope you'll join us. We always welcome new comers and old hands alike.  There's something everyone can contribute . . . and take away.

Western Pond Turtle image on banner by Dave Johnson