Pollinator Week 2024: Guided BioBlitz at the Refuge

In honor of Pollinator Week, join us for a fun-filled BioBlitz at the Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge to learn about the Refuge and the iNaturalist App!

This family-friendly event welcomes beginners as well as experienced users of the iNaturalist app. With this community science platform, you will get a guided experience observing and identifying our local flora and fauna as we venture along the all accessible trails at the Environmental Education Center (EEC). All you'll need is a smartphone, comfortable outdoor wear, and 1.5 hours of your time!

The Alviso Unit of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge is an excellent location for viewing local wildlife and checking out native plant species.

The restoration and upkeep of our upland and salt marsh habitats is an ongoing project. We need your help to track and identify the California native plant and animal species that call the refuge home. We also need help observing which non-native or invasive plants have found their way into the area to help plan for future restoration that benefits our local pollinators. We are so happy to have you join us and are excited for you to get out on the trail and observe as many species as you can! We are looking to get as many quality observations as possible - please check out iNaturalist's recommendations for making observations via your smartphone: https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/video+tutorials.

New to iNaturalist? Follow this link for instructions for setting up your iNaturalist account and how to make observations via your smartphone: https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/getting+started. Once you create a username and password, you are good to go out and explore the trail. Then join our weeklong project here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/pollinator-week-2024-self-guided-vo... or search for "Pollinator Week 2024: Self-Guided BioBlitz at the Refuge" and join! This way, all of your observations will make it into our project for the week.

Tips & Considerations:
* Staff will be on-site to assist during our Guided BioBlitz on June 23.
* Driving Directions: We recommend using Google Maps and mapping to the "Environmental Education Center (EEC)" or 1751 Grand Blvd, Alviso, CA 95002.
* The Refuge gates may close at 5pm in the evenings; please park outside of the gate if you plan on being in the area after hours. But please keep in mind that the Refuge officially closes around sunset.
* It is also important to note that the Alviso Unit is the home of the South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Levee Project, and while it has been quieter around the EEC, visitors should expect increased truck traffic on the roads and some minor noise disturbances. For more information, please email watershedwatchers@sfbayws.org.
* ADA-compliant parking spaces, trails, and restrooms are available on-site.
* Restrooms are available on-site in the form of an ADA-compliant portable toilet and hand-washing station.
* The information you are helping us to collect makes a difference! As we actively restore our upland habitats, the healthier and more resilient our ecosystems will be, and the more we can reduce water runoff and urban runoff pollution. For information on how you can help keep our watersheds and the Bay clean by preventing urban runoff pollution, visit: http://www.mywatershedwatch.org.

This program is brought to you by the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society (SFBWS), the Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP), and Cargill, Inc.