This winter continues to bring disruptive weather to the Pajaro Valley, with this weekend's inundation of the town of Pajaro following the breaches of the Pajaro River levee (see photos below), repeat flooding of neighborhoods near local creeks in the Interlaken area and the Pajaro Village and Bay Village senior communities, road and highway closures, and landslides. 

We are heartbroken for those whose lives have been so significantly impacted.  We are deeply committed to the short- and long-term resilience and recovery efforts needed.  As an organization that has advocated for the care of the Pajaro River and advancement of the flood control project for decades, it’s a very challenging moment as we feel both the impacts to the community and to the natural environment from this catastrophe. 

We are working to understand how flooding will affect all living beings in the watershed, especially those most vulnerable to these impacts. We’re working to respond, to build resilience, to aid in recovery, and ensure we rise together. There is much work ahead to aid our neighbors in recovery efforts, once the flood waters recede, and to monitor and respond to the environmental impacts associated with the breaching and flooding events in a way that helps to ensure the long-term health, wellness, and prosperity of our community.

We will continue to collaborate with local government, non-governmental agencies, and community organizations on clean up efforts to assist residents impacted by flooding, and we will keep you informed about related volunteer opportunities. Both the Community Foundation for Monterey County and Community Foundation Santa Cruz County have set up storm disaster relief funds, if you would like to make a contribution. Donated funds will be distributed as grants to local non-profits aiding affected community members.
 
In our work with local youth, we sow the seeds for a more resilient future for our community, and we are now witnessing the growth and flourishing of student climate action. Read about Pajaro Valley High School’s Green Grizzlies Club in the “Student Spotlight” and check out a short film about the Farm to Cafeteria project initiated by our Climate Corps Leadership Institute interns Karla Leyva and Jesus Basulto in partnership with Esperanza Community Farms (article and link below). These students are making an impact today and developing the knowledge and skills to lead our community and address future environmental and climate challenges. We are pleased that one of our recent program alumni, Jennifer Hernandez, has joined our Board of Directors to contribute her perspective and talents to our efforts (see article below).

We will continue to work with policy makers and community stakeholders to devise restoration project plans and environmental infrastructure improvements that are community-centered and community-led, to increase our collective resilience to climate change impacts.

Above: Sorting lunchtime food waste at Pajaro Valley High School.

Green Grizzlies is a student club at Pajaro Valley High School that meets weekly at the Fitz Wetlands Education Resource Center to plan and implement climate action projects and green their school community. Our Watershed Education and Restoration Specialist Yesenia Jimenez advises the club and mentors the Green Grizzlies in their on campus waste reduction efforts.
 
In 2019-20, the Green Grizzlies implemented an on-campus composting project, collecting 250 pounds of food waste. Club members teach their fellow students how to sort their lunch leftovers into the waste, recycling, and compost bins (see photo above). Students that sort their lunch waste are rewarded with “composting dollars” to spend at the Green Grizzly Store, which offers green living incentives such as reusable produce bags, metal straws, bamboo cutlery, reusable water bottles, green personal care products, and Swedish dishcloths to encourage eco friendly habits.
 
They are also working on creating additional on-campus pollinator gardens for native bees and butterflies, building on the success of their first garden, planted during the 2019-20 school year, and they have started designing and planting a permaculture food forest to add to the school tree canopy and make fresh produce more available to students.
 
The Green Grizzlies have also organized clothes swaps at Pajaro Valley High School, both this year and last year (see photo below), to raise students’ awareness of the impacts of fast fashion. Discarded clothes in landfills contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. By reducing the amount of new clothes we purchase, swapping clothes, and mending clothes to extend their use, we can reduce the climate impacts of fashion. They are working toward holding clothing swaps monthly.
 
Last school year, they were recently recognized as School Waste Reduction Hero Award winners by the school district and the City of Watsonville. In the first term of this school year, they already surpassed last year’s total collection of over 500 pounds. Their goal is to collect at least 750 pounds by the end of the year, and they are expanding their efforts to reach students who eat outside the cafeteria. In addition, the students are working to increase the amount and variety of TerraCycle items collected on campus for recycling, expanding beyond their focus on chip bags, which they initially piloted during the 2019-20 school year.
 
Thank you, Green Grizzlies, for your dedication to mindful climate action and greening the PVHS campus!
 
You can view their composting video here and follow their efforts on Instagram @pvhighgreengrizzlies.

Native California Bees. Illustration by Obi Kaufman
Source: Peninsula Open Space Trust, https://openspacetrust.org/blog/native-bees/

Of the roughly 20,000 bee species found throughout the world and 3,600 native bee species in North America, California is home to 1,600, making the state “the Amazon Basin of bee diversity.” Some are tiny, like the fruit-fly-sized Perdita minima, which pollinates minute desert wildflowers such as whitemargin sandmat (Chamaesyce albomarginata). Others are big, like the male Valley carpenter bee (Xylocopa varipuncta), a fuzzy golden bee that some scientists refer to as a “teddy bear.”
 
Unlike the social, non-native western honeybee (Apis mellifera), most of California’s native bees live solitary life-styles. Some bees nest in the ground in abandoned cavities; others, like the wool carder bee, dig or build their own nests. Some shelter inside trees, others in rock walls or even abandoned snail shells. There are red, black, and blue bees, and metallic green “sweat” bees that drink human perspiration.
 
In the early 2000s, scientists coined the term “colony collapse disorder” (CCD) for a mysterious syndrome that was decimating domesticated honeybee populations. Although scientists still aren’t sure what causes CCD, they think it arises from a combination of pests such as the varroa mite parasite, disease, poor nutrition, pesticide exposure, and other stressors, such as being transported by truck from farm to farm. From April 2019-2020, beekeepers lost more than 40 percent of their colonies to CCD, according to the USDA .
 
Although most native bees don’t live in colonies like honeybees do, they too are susceptible to poor diet, loss of habitat, neurotoxic pesticides like neonicotinoids that may interfere with bees’ ability to forage, pathogens like varroa mites and nosema disease, and environmental factors like drought. Protecting native bees can be an important insurance policy against the loss of honeybees. A number of studies have shown that native bees can outperform honeybees in pollination. Bumble bees, for example, use a messy method called buzz pollination to vibrate the flower and shake more pollen loose.
 
For gardeners and others who want to support native bee populations, increasing the number of flowering plants that are available starting in February and lasting into the fall can provide critical support.
 
Need more native plants in your garden? Come to our Spring Native Plant Sale on Saturday, May 20th from 9am to 1pm at the Fitz Wetlands Educational Resource Center (500 Harkins Slough Road, at the top of the Pajaro Valley High School campus).
 
Source: https://www.cnps.org/flora-magazine/small-wonders-the-plight-and-promise-of-californias-native-bees-23883