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Hello Friends of the Coastal Watershed Council, Wow, what a busy time for CWC! We're vying for a spot in New Leaf's Envirotokens program, we just completed our biggest volunteer event of the year with Saturday's Snapshot Day, and donations are steadily coming in the door in recognition of our hard work. The rainy season surely looks to be winding down. But as we all spend time in our gardens, doing yard work, and enjoying the outdoors, CWC will be active over the coming months sharing ideas of how, even in the dry season, we can all have a positive impact on water quality. Looking for ideas on how you can improve water quality? Check out CWC's Stewardship Toolkit. Also, we're really getting a critical mass of volunteers, ideas, donations and hard work towards CWC's mission of preserving and protecting coastal watersheds through community stewardship, education and monitoring. Thanks to all of you who have become a part of CWC's unique work. See you soon!
Greg Pepping
Executive Director
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Snapshot Day A Success!
The 12th Annual Central Coast Regional Snapshot Day occurred on Saturday, May 7th and was a fabulous success!
Thank you volunteers for your incredible role in our community as stewards of our watersheds!
We definitely had beautiful weather on our side for the Event and hope everyone had a fantastic time in the field!
In Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties there were 82 volunteers monitoring 100 sites and in Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties 96 volunteers monitored 85 sites. In total 178 volunteers tested water quality in 185 sites covering 300 miles of California coastline. Awesome job teams!
Water samples are currently being processed for bacteria and nutrients at Monterey Bay Analytical Services Laboratory and the San Mateo County Department of Health Laboratory. A report will be provided once all results have been received and data analysis performed.
Remember to send in your photos for submisison to the 2011 Snapshot Day photo contest. We'll be judging 3 categories (best site representation, best technique and funniest) and awarding prizes to winning teams. Please send your photos to: djchirco@coastalws.org.
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New Leaf Envirotoken Program - Vote For CWC in May
Exciting news! The Coastal Watershed Council is on this month's ballot for the Envirotokens program at local New Leaf Markets! During the month of May you can vote once for 3 to 6 non-profits to receive money from New Leaf everytime a customer uses a re-usable bag in a New Leaf Market. It's free and it brings money to CWC!
It's easy! Vote now for CWC! Be sure to vote for CWC on TWO ballots: the "Santa Cruz and Capitola" ballot as well as the "Felton and Boulder Creek" ballot. Pass the word along to all your friends too. All voting is done on-line this year (yeah paperless!) and each computer can vote one time.
Spread the word - help to support CWC's programs - and vote for CWC! Just a few clicks, and you're helping New Leaf to donate to CWC! Help us win!
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Environmental Film Series Continues Wednesday, May 18
What was it like when there were nearly limitless fish in California's rivers and streams? The film Rivers of a Lost Coast chronicles the history and culture of fishing in our bountiful rivers. This awarding-winning film will be shown at 7 pm on Wednesday, May 18, as the Coastal Watershed Council's free environmental film series continues.
Please note the change in location: Due to flood damage at Capitola City Hall, this event will be held at the Mid County Senior Center, 829 Bay Avenue in Capitola (near Nob Hill). See you at 7pm on May 18!
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Work Continues in May on Carneros Creek
 May on Carneros Creek is beautiful and green, with the willows leafing out and native smartweed (photo to left) and cattails growing vigorously in the wetland areas. However, it could be the last month of the winter monitoring season for the ALBA project. With dry weather since the end of March creek levels are quickly dropping and some areas are becoming stagnant.
It's been a fabulous monitoring season, with 13 volunteers, 8 laboratory collection dates and 22 monitoring dates overall since December. CWC will continue this research when the rains return later this year.
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Children's Day at Alianza Charter School
 CWC staff Bridget Posson and Nancy Scarbourgh participated in Alianza Charter School's annual Dia del Nino, or Children's Day, in April.The 3-D watershed model was a hit with students and parents.Students also had a chance to make a fish print to take them home.Other activities during the event included face painting, a rock climbing wall, a reptile exhibit, clowns and music. It was a great day and community event for the parents and students. Thank you to all who organized this event.
CWC is busy wrapping up the school year with Alianza and the last visits come in early May. 4th and 5th grade students will learn about the importance of electrical conductivity as a water quality parameter. Using home-made circuits, students will test the conductivity of slough water, rain water and soda pop. Alianza's first year participating in CWC's B-WET Get Outdoors (GO!) Program has been fun and rewarding. Thank you to all the staff and students at Alianza. We hope to see you again next year!
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Students at San Lorenzo Schools Discover Aquatic Life!
6th grade students at San Lorenzo Valley Middle School participated in biological monitoring on two beautiful days this month. Students hiked to the junction of Fall Creek and Bennett Creek during their science class with their teacher Erin Mongiello. CWC Education Coordinator, Bridget Posson,  was waiting for them with all the necessary equipment and supplies to conduct a stream study. Using nets, magni-viewers, dichotomous identification keys and holding containers, students searched for and identified dozens of different benthic macro invertebrates (BMIs).
Students learned that different BMI species can handle different amounts of water pollution; some are sensitive to pollution while others are tolerant to pollution. Based on the diversity of BMIs found, students determined that the creek was healthy. To find out how to conduct a BMI study, many field guides and other resources can be found through Save Our Streams' website. Spring is a great time to hit the trails and visit our beautiful creeks and streams; take a minute (or hour) to observe the amazing creatures that live in these waters.
Check out this You Tube video of the beauty and diversity of benthic macro invertebrates!
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