Meetup groups can be a great way to make connections, to do and learn about new things. Lately, I have been going on walks with the local Nature Conservancy group, and enjoying it immensely. I am amazed at what I see and what I learn. There are a lot of sharp eyes – the leaders spot things I wouldn’t notice, like horned lizards, and mountain lion tracks. Yesterday, we wandered over to Santa Paula, California, to explore the property the Nature Conservancy has there. It is up against the mountains and along the Santa Clara river, which is one of the last open rivers in Southern California – “unmolested” as Amy (the leader) says.
This hike consisted of a group of young men from a church in San Bernardino to a couple of young kids who found a horseshoe with the nails still in it and a feather from a red tail hawk. All told, there were about 15 of us. There were people I had met earlier – I expect they are regulars, as I am becoming – and newbies, too, who weren’t “new” to the world of nature, but just to me. Some had amazing knowledge of plants and animals and the ecosystems involved.
Probably the most interesting part of this hike, for me, was to learn about the invasive species here in California, and their negative impacts. These plants include arundo donax, black mustard, and fennel. They are everywhere. The arundo donax is an import from India and was used to control flooding along rivers. The problem is that it is very invasive and dense, crowding out native species. Black mustard was spread (supposedly) by the Spanish missionaries as the wended their way up from Mexico into California, using it as way to mark the trail from Mission to Mission. Finally, fennel (which has a taste similar to anise or licorice) is an import from the Mediterranean. Each of these plants are very familiar to the California landscape, but extremely, extremely difficult to eradicate. Each has changed the native landscape in its own way, not for the better.
Native species along the Santa Clara river include mountain lions, badgers, egrets, herons, coyotes, pond turtles, yucca, buckwheat, cat tails, bull rushes, black walnut, red tail hawks, and a lot of other plants and animals adapted to the dry climate. The Santa Clara river itself is not a river as one might think – not like the Mississippi – but a seasonal one which varies depending on the rainy season. Some years we might see it wide and filled, other years a bit more than a trickle. Where we trekked there were scattered ponds, low areas surrounded by cat tails and clogged by the arundo.
Many people think that everything in So Cal is just a freeway . . . it’s not. There are a lot of open areas filled with life. You just have to get out to look for it! Below is a gallery of images.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 