August News
Month's Highlights
This past July we have been busy keeping our native plants alive and well thanks to the DONS. Our education team organized a succesful family outing and is getting ready for the August rush! Scroll down to learn about what we have been up to in the past month and if you want to learn about what is blooming in our area. We hope you get outside at least once a week this month!
Upcoming Community Events
Everyone is welcome to our family-friendly FREE community events.
We provide gloves, tools, and supplies.
Sun protection, reusable water bottle, and closed-toe shoes are recommended.
We are currently in the process of planning upcoming community weekend events, keep checking our "Events Calendar" for updates or join us at DONS which runs year long!
EVERY TUESDAY | 10:30AM-12:30 PM
DONS (Docents of Native Species), greenhouse native plant volunteer group. Click here for more info.
Trailside Colors
by Laura Lee Lienk, HSP Director
These images were taken by Laura Lee on a summer hike.
These images were taken by Laura Lee on a summer hike.
Go for a hike to enjoy trailside colors-lots of oranges and yellows. The HSP greenhouse propagates Sticky Monkey Flower (Diplacus aurantiacus) and Deer Plant (Acmispon glaber) for out planting in disturbed habitats.
Deer Plant in bloom.
Sticky Monkey Flower Plant in full bloom.
The beautiful Silktassel
by Laura Lee, HSP Director
Garrya elliptica or Silk-tassel has separate male and female bushes. Mostly known by the long male tassels the lovely female fruit trees can also be found locally. These pictures were taken by Laura Lee in Garland Park near Sniveles Ridge. They are also found in the Ft Ord chaparral habitats .
Vamos Afuera Family Outing
by Nancy Vielmas, HSP Education Program Coordinator
In early July, the HSP Education team took a group of families in Salinas to a beautiful Elkhorn Slough Foundation property in Las Lomas. Juan Ramirez from the Elkhorn Slough Foundation graciously invited us to this place we had no idea about. Our group was made up of people between ages 2-60 with different abilities, we began our journey with a "platica" which means conversation in Spanish. Everyone got to share something about the seeds they are planting in this world, it was a great way to break the ice before going on a 3 hour out and back hike. The walk up to this lookout was gorgeous. We learned about plants, birds, insects and about the history and work that took place in the property. We walked by many types of plant communities: grassland, oak woodland, eucalyptus groves, wetlands and ended up looking out at Elkhorn Slough in all its glory. We were even able to see the ocean! Our participants were so proud of themselves for completing the journey. On our walk down, we bonded by talking about our day to day and about fun experiences outdoors. I enjoyed families simply connecting outdoors after a long week of work! It is an honor putting together these experiences for hard working folks. After our challenging hike, we drove to Salinas River State Beach for some lunch and relaxation. It was a perfect day! We are very grateful for Juan Ramirez for hosting us and for being so welcoming, patient, and helpful. We look forward to taking a group out there again next year.
Here are some photos from our trip, taken by Nancy Vielmas.
