In honor of Valentine's Day and our 30th anniversary, we've been asking you to share your stories of Elkhorn Slough with us. This month we wanted to share some love stories that began at the slough:
You might not be so surprised to learn that the Elkhorn Slough Foundation's Executive Director , Mark Silberstein, fell in love with his wife at the Reserve. Jane decided to do her undergraduate fieldwork at the Reserve after hearing Mark speak at the Malacological Society (a meeting about mollusks) in 1983. Mark, who back then was just getting the fledging ESF up and running, said with a little smile, "Such a cute little thing running around here -it was hard not to notice her". Their love story followed a path as meandering as the slough itself, and eventually tied the knot. The Silbersteins now have twin sons and will be celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary this year.
We also have "slough love" to thank for so many of those wonderful photos of the slough. Lisa was working as a Visitor Center naturalist at Elkhorn when Paul joined the docent class of 1998. They met at docent orientation during a game of 'get to know you bingo' - and discovered they were the only ones in the room with hairy knuckles. While exploring the slough that spring, they discovered they had a lot more in common including a love of photography, nature and the out-of-doors. Today, Lisa is our web guru and Paul is a professional photographer (who very generously shares many of his Elkhorn Slough photos with us) and tennis instructor. This year the Zaretskys will celebrate their 10-year wedding anniversary, two kids and a happy life together.
Former Reserve Manager Becky Suarez (then Becky Christensen) met her match in Fish and Game Assistant Jorge Suarez. Becky and Jorge met in 1989 when Becky attended a meeting at ESNERR of DFG Interpreters. Jorge was the Fish and Wildlife Assistant for the Reserve, and soon after their meeting Becky moved to Elkhorn to be the Education Coordinator. Many years later, Jorge proposed to Becky as they sat on the bench overlooking Rookery Lagoon on the South Marsh Loop Trail... and of course she said yes. The Suarezes are active cheerleaders for the slough and visit often to support it in many ways.
One of our most dedicated volunteers also met his special someone at the Reserve and shared his touching story with us. In 1996 Alex Darocy met his future wife, Colette, while training to become a volunteer at the slough. They volunteered together, sometimes several days a week, working on restoration projects around the Reserve. Alex and Colette got permission to get married at the Reserve-the most recent couple of a small handful to do so. Their wedding included a beautiful potluck dinner surrounded by their fellow volunteers. Alex and Colette bought a house close to the slough so that they could visit often, and today Colette has an oak tree in the memorial grove. Alex still volunteers every week, carrying on the work they both loved to do together.
Other love birds who might think fondly of the slough when they recall their budding romances:
- David Sowash, a former Reserve employee, married his wife and Rona at the overlook
- Lt. Craig Wilson, Santa Cruz County Sheriff, met his wife Diane while both were working in the CCC crew stationed here
- David Friedman and Diann Russell met while working with Friends, Artists and Neighbors of the Elkhorn Slough (FANS)
- Lucy Montez and Neil O'Connor and Sam and Dorothy Laage met here as volunteers
We are honored that so many people could find each other and fall in love because of their passion for working to restore and protect Elkhorn Slough. If you have a story you'd like to share with other slough fans, send it to us at stories@elkhornslough.org. If we use your story, we'll send you a $10 gift certificate to our Visitor Center gift shop.
