Community ENGAGEMENT

Engaging in community science includes volunteer monitoring, collection of data, interpreting results, and contributing to research efforts, enabling individuals in the community to contribute to a larger body of knowledge. Engagement in community science has been shown to increase receptiveness of a community to new interventions in an area, and to tap into the local expertise.

To engage the larger San Rafael community and to foster a greater sense of connection to the rewilded area, we propose the following programs as part of the San Rafael Rewilding project.

San Rafael Amphibian Monitoring Program

We propose the establishment of the San Rafael Amphibian Monitoring Program which is based on the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP), which stopped in 2015. The program was a collaborative community science effort between the US Geological Service and 26 partners to monitor amphibian populations in the eastern and central United States. The Amphibian Monitoring Program would use a network of routes with listening stops to collect amphibian occupancy data. Stops would be equidistant from each other and located through the wetland habitats. Volunteer observers would be given training on how to conduct observations independently. Such a structured program could attract interested adults and community service organizations. Middle- and high-schoolers could also take part in the program as part of a school club or science class field project, where they would spend a stipulated time each week on site to contribute to data collection.

San Rafael Urban Wildlife and Ecology TEAM

Another useful program we suggest is the San Raphael Urban Wildlife and Ecology Team. This program would aim to engage volunteer observers for outreach, education, management and research through monitoring plant and animal life cycles in the site. This may be useful in helping to establish the effects on biodiversity due to rewilding such as observing what other species are drawn to the site because of the new infrastructure. These data can be captured using iNaturalist.

UC California Naturalist Program

With UC credits through UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education being available for a fee upon completion of the California Naturalist program, this program would be particularly suited for high-schoolers. Students in the program could cover topics such as ecology, plant communities, forest resources and management, wildlife and participatory science. Current program sites include the Oakland Zoo and Point Reyes National Seashore, so having a program site in San Rafael would support the more immediate area. The program would equip community members with the knowledge they need to coexist with rewilded urban habitat and animals that come along with it.

Strolling the stepping stones

Community members could be encouraged to explore the different segments of the stepping stone habitats through guided walks led by speakers from the Marin Audubon Society. Talks would focus on the target species of the rewilding project, and participants will get the chance to visit other habitats in the city besides ours that are home to these animals.

Recreational education outreach

Marin County Parks hosts recreational education programs such as birding sessions, where participants can try to identify the voices of different bird species, and learn why birds sing, and how groups develop their individual songs. Events based on precedents such as S’mores and Stories nights have also been hosted, targeted towards children to enjoy the outdoors. Larger events such as Earth Day celebrations could be held in or near the rewilded area. Booths and activities could be set up temporarily in the parking lot, while education tours could be structured along the human-access trail through the rewilded area.

managing pesticide and herbicide use

San Rafael Creek drains into the Bay, contributing to already high level of contaminants in the water. Surface runoff from areas such as parking lots will also contribute to pesticides dissolving in the water or binding to suspended sediments. Preserving water quality is important because it affects aquatic life and amphibians who use the waters as habitat. Pesticides not only affect fish directly as a toxin, but also disrupt the food chain as they may affect underwater plants and smaller organisms which are food sources for larger fishes. The health of amphibians is often the first indicator of the environmental pollution due to their sensitivity to contaminants, and pesticides are a major disruptor to their health. On land, pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides (especially those containing glycophosphates or neonicotinoids) also affect many beneficial insects besides target pests (especially pollinators and insect larvae and catepillars consumed by birds), while herbicides may negatively affect non-target plants upon which wildlife depend.

A collaboration with YardSmartMarin, an organization working to raise awareness on the negative effects on using pesticides, could be initiated to help teach nearby residents how to eliminate the usage of pesticides in their yards, as well as discover other gardening practices that support wildlife. Alternatives could be provided to residents who are looking to eradicate particular pests from their gardens, or materials could be created to educate residents on why certain animals which are regarded as pests are important for the ecosystem.

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