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This is Slough Buzz, your email update from the
Elkhorn Slough Foundation. We invite you to
share this email with a friend by scrolling
to the link at the bottom of this page.
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Submit Your Photos
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This photo is September's Best Shot winner, photographed by Julie Chen.
There are less than four weeks left to submit your photographs to our annual calendar contest!
Photos tell a story words can't express, from the peace of a sunset to the surprise in spotting a deer grazing in the tall Harding grass. With so many opportunities to photograph the beauty of Elkhorn Slough--native plants, playful seals and otters, majestic birds and more--we're sure you have one or two photos you've been thinking of sending in. And now is the perfect time!
Send in your photos of the Elkhorn Slough watershed for a chance to be featured in our 2013 calendar, win a personal photography tour of ESF's protected lands and share your personal view of Elkhorn with fellow slough fans from around the world! The deadline is October 1st, so send them in today!
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Oaks to Otters: A Celebration for Elkhorn Slough Foundation
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The Elkhorn Slough Foundation is marking its 30th anniversary this year, and we want to celebrate the occasion with you. We could not have accomplished so much in three short decades without the support of our community.
This November 2nd from 7pm to 11pm the Elkhorn Slough Foundation will celebrate thirty years of accomplishments at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Oaks to Otters: A Celebration for Elkhorn Slough Foundation will be an evening you won't want to miss, featuring:
- a Celebrity Chef Cindy Pawlcyn-inspired 'Farm-to-Table' menu (you may know her from Top Chef: Masters)
- a silent auction celebrating the adventures to be had in and around the Elkhorn Slough
- and our guest speaker: Time Magazine's first "Hero for the Planet" and internationally-recognized oceanographer, author and lecturer, Sylvia Earle.
Tickets are available online now and benefit the Elkhorn Slough Foundation.
If you are interested in helping sponsor this event, contact Lorili Toth at lorili (at) elkhornslough (dot) org or at 831-728-5939.
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Sea Otter Awareness Week
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Photo by Jim Duckworth
The last week of September marks Sea Otter Awareness Week, and we're kicking it off with a day of special events. On September 23rd you can join Elkhorn Slough specialist Ron Eby and Otter 501 star Katie Pofahl on a guided kayak tour of the slough. We'll launch from Kirby Park and paddle with the tide to the harbor. Afterwards we'll shuttle back to the Reserve for a boxed lunch and an otter Q&A with Ron and Katie, followed by a screening of Otter 501, a sea otter documentary filmed right in Elkhorn Slough. Ron will also present some of his research findings on behaviors of Elkhorn Slough otters after the movie.
But that's not all... if you can't make the paddle, but still want to see Otter 501 and hear from Ron and Katie, we'll be hosting the movie and otter presentation two other times that day at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve.
You can sign up for the kayak tour, lunch, Q&A, movie and lecture on our website, or just the movie and lecture. Whichever you choose, we know you'll come away with a deep appreciation for our furry sea otter friends.
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Fall Waterbird Monitoring
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On September 28th teams of volunteer birders will be counting waterbirds along the main slough channel (by boat), and at four walk-in estuarine sites at the Elkhorn Slough.
We particularly need help from expert birders (i.e. those that can readily identify the various species of waterbirds and shorebirds), but also welcome less experienced birders to count easily identified species. Walk-in sites will take a total of about 2 hours to complete, while the boat trip will be a 3-4 hour outing. Please RSVP to skfork (at) gmail (dot) com if you can help and list your first and second choice locations:
- Main channel boat survey, 3:30-7:00pm
- North Harbor (Jetty Road), 3:30-5:30pm
- Parson's Overlook, 3:30-5:30pm
- South Marsh, 3:30-5:30pm
- North Marsh, 9:00-11:00am
At least two volunteers are needed for each team (at least one superb birder to do identifications and counts and at least one person familiar with the protocol and datasheets to take notes). More birders to help with identifications and counts are preferred, especially for the boat trip, and more novices to help with counts of easy species and with note-taking are welcome.
Research Biologist Susie Fork will compile a master list and contact you a week before the monitoring to tell you which team you're on and where to meet.
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Native Plant Fair
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October 6th ESF and ESNERR will hold their Second Annual Native Plant Fair. This event is free and open to all. Proceeds from the sales will benefit the ESF/ESNERR greenhouse.
This event is sure to be fun for the whole family.
- Great prices on native plants
- Learn to avoid invasive species
- Talk with Master Gardeners
- Visit the Education Lab
- Enjoy family activities
- Raffle prizes, Reserve tours and more!
The fair is from 9am to 3pm, rain or shine. We hope to see you there!
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A Blast from the Past
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In honor of ESF's 30th anniversary we will be sharing a little of our history with you. Stay tuned to our website for fun tidbits from 'way back when.' You might be surprised how much has changed!
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