World Wetlands Day is celebrated every February to raise awareness about wetlands. This day also marks the anniversary of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, which was adopted as an international treaty in 1971.
 
Wetlands are critically important ecosystems that contribute to biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, freshwater availability, economies, and more. Wetlands provide a variety of environmental services, including hosting migrating birds, providing a safe environment for animals to raise their young, containing rising water levels and preventing flooding, and protecting and purifying water supplies.
 
In the past 50 years, 35% of the world’s wetlands have been lost to development and environmental degradation. It is urgent that we raise awareness about wetlands in order to reverse their rapid loss and encourage actions to conserve and restore them.
 
We were happy to host a World Wetlands Day celebration in Watsonville with our partners at the City of Watsonville. Thank you to the 150 community members who joined us at Struve Slough on February 4th! Together, we planted 680 native plants and removed invasive plants to restore the wetland habitat, with assistance from California Conservation Corps members. Special appreciation to the California Ocean Protection Council and Habitat Conservation Fund for providing grant funding for these wetland restoration projects.
 
We also learned about our environment and local wildlife through fun activities led by our Wetland Stewards and Climate Corps Leadership Institute interns and local partner organizations. Many thanks to the youth mariachis from Activities 4 All / Mariachi Ilusión, Bay of Life, The Bird School Project, Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, MILPA Collective, the Pajaro Valley Ohlone Indian Council, Pajaro Valley Unified School District Extended Learning, Santa Cruz Metro, the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, Save Our Shores, and Watsonville Brillante for making World Wetlands Day so much fun!
 
To learn more about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and view photos of wetlands around the world, visit ramsar.org and worldwetlandsday.org. For staff recommendations on wetlands to visit around Northern California, see the Nature Corner article below.

Frog Pond
Photo Credit: Trip Advisor

This month, in honor of World Wetlands Day, we are highlighting some other amazing wetlands in northern and central California that you might like to visit. Visiting wetlands in person is a fun and engaging way to learn more about these important ecosystems that offer so many environmental benefits and recreational enjoyment. Our Education Coordinator Stephanie Rios recommends these three wetlands for day trips from our local area.
 
Frog Pond, Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District (approx. 26 miles from Watsonville)
 
A local treasure in Del Rey Oaks, the 17-acre Frog Pond (pictured above) is composed of a unique arrangement of habitat including frogs, deer, hummingbirds, towhees, mallards, and western fence lizards. The habitat housed in the Preserve offers great opportunities for nature study, recreation, and inspiration. Plant life in the preserve includes beautiful Coast Live Oak, Arroyo Willow, and Monterey Pine trees, as well as colorful Big Leaf Periwinkle (blue flowers appear in the spring). It is an excellent place for birding. The ¾ mile trail loop is family- and dog-friendly (dogs must be leashed).
 
In an increasingly urban world, open spaces such as the Frog Pond Wetland Preserve provide a refuge for resident and migratory wildlife as well as humans. An isolated remnant of a much larger ecosystem, the Frog Pond is an important wetland habitat. To maintain a balance between ecosystem preservation and public access, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District provides perimeter access to the central pond / wetland habitat via Canyon Del Rey Road between General Jim Moore Boulevard and Highland Street. Parking is limited, along the shoulder of Canyon Del Rey Road. Access is limited to daylight hours from sunrise to sunset. Please stay on designated trails and be sure to pack out what you pack in (there are no waste receptacles on the trails).
 
Merced National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (approx. 88 miles from Watsonville)
 
Merced National Wildlife Refuge (7430 W Sandy Mush Rd, Merced, CA) encompasses more than 10,200 acres of wetlands, native grasslands, vernal pools, and riparian areas. The refuge hosts the largest wintering concentrations of lesser sandhill cranes and Ross’s geese along the Pacific Flyway. Wildlife are showcased from a 5-mile auto tour route and four nature trails, which are open daily throughout the year for visitors to observe and photograph wildlife.
 
The habitats of the reserve host a diverse variety of inhabitants throughout the year, including both resident and migratory bird species, spring wildflowers, tule elk, coyotes, salamanders, Monarch butterflies, and more.
 
Suisun Marsh, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (approx. 122 miles from Watsonville)
 
The Suisun Marsh, within the Bay-Delta estuary, is the largest contiguous brackish (a mixture of fresh and sea water) wetland in the western United States. The lands and waters of this unique ecosystem of 84,000 acres serve as the resting and feeding ground for thousands of waterfowl migrating on the Pacific Flyway and provides essential habitat for more than 221 bird species, 45 mammal species, 16 different reptilian and amphibian species, and more than 40 fish species. The Marsh supports sensitive plant species such as the Suisun thistle, which is endemic to the marsh and found nowhere else in the world.
 
Public access to Suisun Marsh is available via the Grizzly Island Trail (a bicycle and pedestrian path) in Suisun City. Look for the trail monument at the corner of Marina Blvd. and Highway 12. Featuring educational interpretive signs, an overlook area, and benches, the mile-long trail skirts the edge of the Suisun Marsh.

Miranda Carrillo joined Watsonville Wetlands Watch last fall as our Administrative Assistant. She grew up in Castroville and is a graduate from John Muir Charter School in Salinas where she also obtained her Culinary Certificate from the Rancho Cielo Culinary Program. She went on to work in catering, restaurants, and breweries and also studied horticulture at Cabrillo College. Miranda brings additional work experience from the local private and non-profit sectors as well.
 
Miranda has lived in the Pajaro Valley since 2015, currently on a 10 acre property in Royal Oaks, along Elkhorn Slough, where she and her partner farm hops and sell fresh chicken and duck eggs and carnation bouquets. They operate their farm in cooperation with nature. She says, “The Elkhorn Slough is our backyard … we do our best to keep our 10 acres habitable for all the birds and animals that migrate through the area.”
 
Miranda likes working in an administrative role because she can “make people’s lives easier” through organization and process improvement. She finds inspiration in the work of WWW and her co-workers, and she enjoys being a part of an organization that teaches youth the importance of preserving and restoring the wetlands. She looks forward to learning more about the organization’s restoration and tree work and applying that knowledge to her own farm and fruit trees.
 
Miranda loves spending time with her animals on the farm (see Miranda with her baby chicks in the photo above), and she also enjoys ceramics. She recently impressed all her co-workers by crafting these fun animal-themed vessels at our recent team-building art session at Restoration Specialist Daniel Casella’s home ceramics studio (see photo below).
 
We are so glad to have Miranda on our team!