Harbor seals are one of the species you can see on our Marine Mammal Field trip.

Spring is one of the most beautiful times to visit Elkhorn Slough, which is why we plan so many of our events for this season. We'll have some classic events including the guided kayak tour of the slough and an expert-led birding walk on our protected land, but this year we have a few additional outings planned.

We'll be hosting a walk on the Reserve focusing on edible and medicinal plants in the area. The walk will teach you how to spot these helpful plants, their names, and some of their cultural uses by the Ohlone Native Americans who lived in this area. We will also be doing some taste testing.

For our Stewardship Circle, Conservation Circle and Land Partner members, we invite you on a unique field trip. Join us for a lecture on the slough's marine mammals (including some of their unusual behavior), chat with your fellow members over lunch, and then get out into the field with our citizen scientist experts to see these magnificent animals in a less visited area of the slough. This event will be a great way to see exactly why Elkhorn Slough is one of the top ten places in the country to see wildlife.

This spring will be packed with fun, and we hope to see you here. For more information about these events, including dates, times and restrictions, check out our website.

"Oaks to Otters" by Jordan Plotsky.

This weekend the Elkhorn Slough Foundation will be represented in the 10th Annual San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival.

A variety of films of different lengths will be shown at the festival, including "Oaks to Otters: A Slough Story," the film made for the Elkhorn Slough Foundation by Jordan Plotsky Productions. This film recaps the importance of conserving the slough while also looking at the history, and future, of the Elkhorn Slough Foundation.

See the weekend's program, buy tickets and even watch a trailer of featured films at the Festival's website. Or if you prefer you can see the short (9 minute) film from the comfort of your home on our YouTube channel.

We are excited to be part of this international event, where we can share our tale with people who may not even know of this amazing place. We hope that we will inspire audiences at the festival to join us in conserving this unique place for future generations through this beautifully filmed narrative. See you at the movies!

ESF Director mark Silberstein, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Reserve Manager Dave Feliz.

The Reserve recently welcomed a very special guest: retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Find out more about Justice O'Connor's visit to the slough on our website.

See how Elkhorn Slough is changing over time.

What's going on in Elkhorn Slough? What trends are researchers uncovering? Find out in our most recent State of the Estuary report. Whether you care about rare habitats like wetlands and eelgrass beds or simply a particular species (How are chestnut-backed chickadees doing? How are otter populations?) this document provides you with an at-a-glance update on what the Reserve's research has uncovered.

The Reserve's newest volunteer class has just made the grade! If you see new faces around the Visitor Center, helping researchers in the field, or clearing a path, stop and say hi! These passionate people have undergone weeks of training to help make the slough a wonderful place to visit.

This year the Reserve celebrates thirty years of volunteer classes--quite an achievement. We are grateful for all that our volunteers do. We couldn't do it without you!