From our blogs

28 Jul 2015

Environmental Education Associate

Update on Aug 17, 2015: This position is now filled. Thank you for your interest.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Environmental Education Associate position is located at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Environmental Education Center in Alviso, CA. The Environmental Education Center provides free programs to schools and the public, while teaching about the local wildlife, conservation, and how to help the environment. The Living Wetlands program is designed to teach about wetlands and the properties of wetlands including watersheds and water conservation. We need a highly motivated individual who has an interest in education and visitor services and will assist in educating, planning, and developing the Living Wetlands program.

The Environmental Education Associate will be a part-time employee for the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society (SFBWS), a non-profit friends group to the Refuge. The primary mission of SFBWS is to promote public awareness and appreciation of the San Francisco Bay and its natural history, and to conserve and preserve the remaining Bay lands as essential wildlife habitat.

12 Jul 2015

BioBlitz at Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge - July 25, 2015

Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge and Nerds for Nature are hosting their first ever Bioblitz! Join us as we try to document every living thing on the Stamm Unit of the refuge.

What is a Bioblitz?

A Bioblitz is an intensive one-day study of biodiversity in a specific location, bringing scientists and volunteer citizen-scientists together. We’ll look for birds, mammals, reptiles, butterflies, insects, spiders, trees, flowers, mushrooms, even slime molds! Using your smart phone, you will take pictures of every living thing you see. We’ll wrap up at the Antioch Library where we will enjoy light refreshments, upload our findings onto iNaturalist, share our photos, and help identify the species.

When is it?

July 25, 2015 from 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

What do I need to bring to participate?

Bring your smart phone for sure and a water bottle. It can get pretty hot in Antioch in July!

12 Jun 2015

2015 Marsh-In Summer Day Camp • August 3 - 7, 2015

A FREE summer camp filled with fun activities, games, crafts, and adventures.

Date and Time
  • August 3 - 7, 2015
  • Grades 1-6: Monday - Wednesday 9:15 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
    • Monday - Bird Day
    • Tuesday - Fish Day
    • Wednesday - Mammal Day
  • Grades 4-6 only: Overnight 6:00 p.m. Thursday - 9:00 a.m. Friday
    • Overnight - Night hikes, star gazing, sleeping under the stars and ice cream making!
Location

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Environmental Education Center
1751 Grand Blvd, Alviso, CA 95002

05 Jun 2015

National Fishing & Boating Week • June 6 - 14, 2015

National Fishing & Boating Week - June 6 - 14, 2015

Learn how to fish on the Dumbarton Fishing Pier in Fremont!

Saturday, June 13, 2015 9:00 a.m. – noon

Have you ever wanted to try fishing but didn’t know how to begin? Learn the fundamental basics of catch-and- release fishing at the Dumbarton fishing pier! Discover the types of wildlife living in the San Francisco Bay, learn the safety and ethics of fishing, and then try your luck out on the pier with our fishing poles.

This event is free! Space is limited to 50 people. All equipment will be provided. Please come on time. Register at donedwardsfishing.eventbrite.com or call 510-792-0222 ext. 476 for reservations.

30 May 2015

Volunteer Opportunities: Summer 2015

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer Opportunities: Summer 2015 at the Environmental Education Center (Alviso, California).

If you have an interest in wildlife and their conservation, enjoy working with people, and are enthusiastic and dependable, the Environmental Education Center’s Volunteer Program is for you! As a volunteer, you’ll receive on-the- job training from staff and other volunteers in the project area you choose.

Prior to volunteering at the Environmental Education Center, you must attend a Volunteer Orientation. You can also attend the orientation just to see what opportunities there are, and if it is the right fit for you.

22 May 2015

Join the Litterati movement!

Litterati was created by Jeff Kirschner after his family went for a walk in the Oakland hills and encountered a plastic tub of kitty litter dumped in a stream. His four-year-old daughter — baffled by what she saw — exclaimed, “Daddy, that doesn’t go there!” which prompted Jeff to think more deeply about what he could do to leave a more environmentally stable planet for his children. Drawing on his background in start-up technology, Kirschner envisioned a way to engage and inspire individuals to take action whenever they could, wherever they were.

Since April, the Environmental Education Center has been hosting an exhibit displaying photographs the public have taken of litter. The exhibit will be on display until June.

The goal is also to stop litter before it starts, and photographs of cigarette butts and fast food containers are a stark reminder of the need for new strategies for reaching the public who still casually discard such items. Through keyword tags, the project also documents the products and brands that generate the most litter, enabling Litterati to take a data-driven approach towards smarter solutions. As Jeff says,

Individually, one can make a difference. Together, we can create an impact.

The Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge is asking for your help to keep your national wildlife refuge free of litter and to help document where and what is being thrown on our lands.

15 May 2015

Two California residents honored as 2014 Endangered Species Recovery Champions

Florence LaRiviere and Gary D. Wallace, 2014 Recovery Champions. Photos courtesy U.S. FWS.

Florence LaRiviere and Gary D. Wallace, 2014 Recovery Champions. Photos courtesy U.S. FWS.

- via a press release from the Sacramento office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest Region.

The story of endangered species conservation in the United States involves many heroes. Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognized 69 of these heroes for their outstanding efforts to conserve and protect endangered and threatened fish, wildlife and plants by designating them 2014 Recovery Champions. Among the award winners honored for their work from the Pacific Southwest Region were two California residents, Florence LaRiviere and Dr. Gary Wallace.

"If we want to sustain the diversity and abundance of our nation's fish, wildlife and plants for future generations, we have to find places for them to coexist with humans on the landscape. That's why wildlife conservation is as much about working with people as it is about protecting animals and habitat," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe. "The leaders we honor as Recovery Champions understand that crucial truth, and continue to build and strengthen partnerships with community leaders and institutions to make a real difference for imperiled wildlife."

15 May 2015

Free online screening of documentary film Rebels with a Cause

Rebels With a Cause documentary film
Kelly + Yamamoto Productions are offering a free online screening of their documentary film Rebels with a Cause.

The screening is free to the first 250 people from May 15, 2015 through May 21, thanks to a partnering with an anonymous donor and the advocacy group Save the Valley. There is also an upcoming broadcast of the film on Sunday May 31, 2015 from 2 PM to 3 PM on the WQLN Public Media (Channel 54) based out of Erie, Pennsylvania.

The documentary Rebels With a Cause provides the David and Goliath origin for America's most visited, and arguably its most beautiful, urban national parks - San Francisco's Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It was originally released in May 2013.

14 May 2015

New web-based mapping tool from US FWS Pacific Southwest Region

Map depicting the Pacific Southwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Screenshot courtesy US FWS.

Map depicting the Pacific Southwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Screenshot courtesy U.S. FWS web mapping portal.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Pacific Southwest Region has launched a professional but easy-to-use web mapping portal that is available for use by employees, partners, and the public. Little or no GIS skills are needed to use this portal.​ Take the tour and let U.S. FWS know what you think.

The web mapping portal is managed and curated by members of various programs and cooperator groups within the Pacific Southwest Region. It is designed to showcase data and maps of spatial information for particular geographies, topics, projects and administrative offices. Various searchable topics and data layers presented on this site include subsets of the data available across the platform.

13 May 2015

California 2015-2016 Duck Stamp Art Contest

American green-winged teal. Photo by Vince Pahkala courtesy Wikipedia.

American green-winged teal. Photo by Vince Pahkala courtesy Wikipedia.

Artists are invited to submit their original artwork to the 2015-2016 California Duck Stamp Art Contest. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will accept submissions from May 1 through June 3.

The contest is open to U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older as of March 4, 2015. Entrants need not reside in California.

The winning artwork will be reproduced on the 2015-2016 California Duck Stamp. The top submissions will also be showcased at the Pacific Flyway Decoy Association’s art show in July.

The artwork must depict the species selected by the California Fish and Game Commission, which for the 2015-2016 hunting season is the American green-winged teal.

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