We’re back! Second Saturdays have resumed

Posted on by friendsofthewildernesspark

The City of Claremont has lifted the restrictions that prevented the Friends from holding Second Saturday events in the Park. We had a “soft open” with a few volunteers on July 10, when we were visited by Claremont Mayor Jennifer Stark, and a regular Second Saturday event on August 14.

The second Saturday volunteer program is a collaboration of the Friends of the Wilderness Park, CHWP Rangers, and City Staff.  On the second Saturday of each month, for four hours Friends’ volunteers:

  • Answer questions about the Park.
  • Provide directions (with a map that visitors can photograph).
  • Remind visitors to take adequate water for themselves and their dogs.
  • Give water and/or refillable water bottles (or a drink from a dog bowl) to those in need.
  • Remind visitors to keep dogs on leashes and not play music out loud. 
  • Hike the loop, picking up trash and answering questions along the way.

We are always looking for volunteers for Second Saturday, so if you’re interested, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Vicki Salazar at vickisalazar01@gmail.com, or if you’re in the Park, stop by and say, “Hi”.

A bagful of trash collected by some of the the Friends on the August 14 Second Saturday. ©Greg Glass.

Celebrate Biodiversity Day at the Wilderness Park!

Posted on by friendsofthewildernesspark

September 7, 2019 marks the first official celebration of California Biodiversity Day, an annual event created last year to celebrate the state’s exceptional biodiversity and encourage actions to protect it.  The city of Claremont Park Rangers together with the Friends of the Wilderness Park will be observing California Biodiversity Day 2019 at the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park.

Join us this Saturday, September 7th from 6:30am to 9:30am and learn how to use your phone to contribute to science and the Wilderness Park with iNaturalist!  Just look for the canopy near the North Mills entrance for more information!

Already an iNaturalist user?

Please come and help show others to use the iNaturalist app!

New to iNaturalist?

iNaturalist is an online social network of people sharing biodiversity information to help each other learn about nature. iNaturalist is a collaboration between National Geographic and the California Academy of Sciences.  Anyone can participate in iNaturalist!

Before arriving on Saturday please:

  1. Go to iNaturalist.org and create a free account. You should see “SIGN UP” featured prominently on the homepage.   Otherwise, there’s a “Sign Up” link in the top right corner.
  2. On your smart phone, go to the Apple Store or the Google Play store and download the iNaturalist app.

Once you’ve signed up, you can enter observations from either your phone or computer.  The iNaturalist site has a really good explanation here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/getting+started

The page also has links to video tutorials.

The Wilderness Park Biota Project:

iNat_project_header

The Friends of the Wilderness Park have created an iNaturalist project for documenting the plants and animals of the Wilderness Park.  If you make iNaturalist observations in the Park, they will automatically be collected and added to the project!

If you’d like to check out the CHWP project and see what’s already been reported, just go here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/biota–of–the–claremont–hills–wilderness–park

A few tips for best practices:

  • If feasible, crop your photos to feature the subject, especially if it’s not clear whether the subject is the bird or the tree, for example.
  • Include a little description. For one thing, you can use the description to say what’s the subject.  But you can also note any additional details, interesting behavior, type of habitat, odors, etc. that may not be obvious from the photo.
  • Give the most specific ID you can, even if it’s not to the species level. For instance, “insect”, “snake”, or even “plant” or “animal” is better than just having “unknown”.
  • Give a little info about yourself in your profile — it increases your credibility.

 

Saturday sights

Posted on by friendsofthewildernesspark

March 9th was the Friends’ Second Saturday program, and we saw lots of folks enjoying the Park, including some large groups:

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Some folks recorded the sights with photos:

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The recent rains had swelled the seasonal stream near the entrance, making entering the Park a bit tricky. One pup wore booties:

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While mountain bikers just powered through:

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Leaviong hikers to carefully pick their way across the rocks in the stream:

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Sometimes with a little help from their Friends:

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We hope you’re out enjoying the Park! If you’re there on a second Saturday, please say, “Hi,” or, even better, come volunteer with us!

Scenes from Second Saturday

Posted on by friendsofthewildernesspark

A dead tarantula found by a hiker.
Dr. John Greenwod and his dog hiked the trail and picked up trash.
The 8:30-10:30 shift – Vicki, Nancy, Jim, and Terry.
A new invasive plant – Brassica fruticulosa.
A thirsty dog enjoys water from our dog bowl.

December 8 was a lovely, clear day for the Second Saturday program. Here are a few scenes, including the greeters and trash picker-uppers, a thirsty dog, a tarantula, and a new invasive plant – Brassica fruticulosa (Mediterranean Cabbage or Twiggy Turnip).

Remember to Volunteer in December!

Posted on by friendsofthewildernesspark

Please join our team Saturday December 8th 2018 at the Claremont Wilderness Park!

Our Second Saturday of month volunteers will greet visitors to the park, provide maps/directions and reinforce desirable park behavior  Hike the Loop! Volunteers are welcome to hike the loop, pick up trash and assist park visitors with information along the way.

  • Two shifts (6:30-8:30 AM and 8:30-10:30 AM) at the Main Gate.
  • We meet for a brief information and safety training session at the Euro Café (Mills and Baseline) at 6:15 or 8:15 and then carpool to the entrance.  Volunteers will receive free T-shirts on the second day they volunteer!

Let us know which shift you are available to volunteer on December 8th and if you are interested in future opportunities.  We look forward to hearing from you.

For more information about volunteering contact:

  Vicki Salazar   Email: vickisalazar01@gmail.com

                     Or

 Meg Mathies Email: mmathies@scrippscollege.edu