From our blogs

Nature-themed Gifts

This holiday season, share your love of nature and the National Wildlife Refuges by gifting your loved ones nature-themed gifts.

You can buy the nature-themed gifts online or you can mail us a check along with an order form.

⮇ Click here to order nature-themed gifts for your loved ones this holiday season. ⮇

All proceeds from the book sale benefit the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society.

Gift a membership

Help a loved one become a Supporter of the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society. If you are an existing member of the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society, you can gift a membership to a friend or family member.

⮇ Click here for the membership form. ⮇

If you have placed an order with the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society for a Nature Gift, you may even do so at no cost to yourself or the gift recipient.

⮇ Click here for the Gift Membership form. ⮇

Your gift recipient will enjoy all the benefits that come with membership: a subscription to the digital, quarterly newsletter Tide Rising and a 15% discount at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Nature Stores at the Visitor Center in Fremont, and Environmental Education in Alviso.

by Ceal Craig

Tide Rising: Volume 6, Issue 1, Fall 2024.

The San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society is happy to publish the latest issue of its digital newsletter, Tide Rising: Volume 6, Issue 1, Fall 2024. This issue’s theme is Partnerships & Supporters.

In this issue:

• Partnerships and Supporters: Representative from long-term SFBWS partner answers questions about why the work they support is important to them. Community comes together for Latino Conservation Week; groups highlight resources of and raise awareness of Salinas River NWR. Volunteer hunters use own time, money, equipment to help maintain dozens of duck blinds across 10,000 acres of tidal areas and salt ponds. SFBWS, USFWS, Tamien Nation co-host US Rep. Ro Khanna’s staff for retreat at EEC, discussing challenges and need for Refuge funding.
• SFBWS Perspectives: Volunteers keeping Visitor Contact Station open on weekends; SFBWS co-hosts Rep. Khanna staff visit; CORFA hosts open meetings.
• Reports from the Field: CORFA shirt reminds public of importance of their votes for wildlife. Watershed Watchers outreach and education continues to educate communities about the importance of keeping our watersheds clean. Marsh-In Summer Camp encourages and inspires youth to grow up with a passion for science, conservation, and environmental activism. SFBWS associate explains why cow grazing is essential tool for maintaining the health of vernal pool grasslands.
• Community Voices: Young environmentalists consider seasonal changes in marshland, call on community to reduce pollution.
• News: SFBWS Staff Changes. FWS VC Retires. New Ravenswood Trail Opens October 19. Upcoming activities on the refuge and in the community: check them out!
• SFBWS Volunteer Opportunities: Learn about places to support the Complex and the SFBWS: Nature store volunteers, SFBWS Operations support.

Editors: Clayton Ou, Ceal Craig, PhD
Contributors: SFBWS: Ceal Craig, Mary Deschene, Sirena Lao, Danielle McCormick, Armando J Valencia. USFWS: Melisa Amato, Matt Brown. Volunteers: & Supporters: Billy Roark, Da Potato Sisters. Photographers: C. Craig, SFBJV, A. Goswami, Delta Waterfowl, USFWS, CORFA, S. Lao, D. McCormick, A. Kakouros, A. Valencia, M. Marquez.

Thanks for reading!

Do you want to help wildlife and the environment? Join the thousands of people around the world for International Coastal Cleanup Day. It is an international day of action to protect our oceans, watersheds, and wildlife from trash and debris. This massive volunteering effort has an astounding impact on many of our local natural habitats and communities. In 2021, the Ocean Conservancy reported that over 318,000 volunteers collectively removed more than 5,595,000 million pounds of trash from beaches and waterways around the world.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Coastal Cleanup Day and is one of California's largest volunteer events with sites all over the state participating. Help us pick up litter from the roads and trails around the Environmental Education Center (EEC) to help keep our waterways and wetlands clean!

At Don Edwards SF Bay NWR you can remove invasive weeds or pick up trash along the parking lot and trails. We’ll supply plastic gloves (or bring your own) and trash and recycling bags. You supply energy, sturdy shoes, sun protection, and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Bring a reusable water bottle.

The month of June is National Pollinator Month, and June 17-23, 2024 is Pollinator Week this year.

Pollinator Week 2024 is a celebration of the vital role that pollinators play in our ecosystems, economies, and agriculture. Under the inspiring theme "Vision 2040: Thriving ecosystems, economies, and agriculture," this year's event urges us to envision a future where pollinators not only survive but thrive.

Pollinators visit flowers to drink nectar or feed off of pollen and transport pollen grains as they move from spot to spot. Birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small mammals, and most importantly, bees are pollinators.

Pollinators play a crucial role in flowering plant reproduction and in the production of most fruits and vegetables. Without the assistance of pollinators, most plants cannot produce fruits and seeds. The fruits and seeds of flowering plants are an important food source for people and wildlife.

Self-Guided Volunteer BioBlitz at the Refuge

In honor of Pollinator Week 2024, please join us for a self-guided BioBlitz event, a volunteer opportunity that you can do outside on your own or with your family. It's a great way to explore nature and contribute to science. You may participate at any time from Monday, June 17 to Sunday, June 23. 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. Register here: https://PollinatorWeekBioBlitz2024.eventbrite.com and join the project here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/pollinator-week-2024-self-guided-vo...