Central Coast
Natural History Association
and California State Parks
partners in sponsoring the
Morro Bay Museum of Natural History
and other Central Coast State Parks
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Walks Come to a Nature Program every Monday from January through March at 10:15 AM at the Museum. The free programs last about two hours and cover a wide range of topics. February and March walks are listed below. February 3 Inhabitants of the Morro Bay Estuary will be featured in a slide show that both defines what an Estuary is and those that draw our attention to it as we are driving by on South Bay Blvd. Rich will also discuss recent changes in the Estuary and possible futures of California's Estuaries in general. February 10 In February and March of 2002, Dennis Sheridan accompanied Dr. Edward Ross of the California Academy of Sciences to the tropical research station Cabanas Alinahui. This facility is on the upper Rio Napo in the Oriente District of Ecuador, on the eastern side of the Andes. Dennis spent 30 days with Dr. Ross photographing wildlife in the rainforest with a concentration on the insects. Ecuador borders on the Amazon, just across from Peru. The area Dennis visited has some the highest species diversity on the planet. There will be a hands-on exhibit of interesting insects and a question and answer session on local insects. Dennis has traveled extensively and is a published author. product animation February 17 The Condor Lookout Project is a joint venture between the Morro Coast Audubon Society, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Hi Mountain Fire Lookout Station has been restored as a functioning biological research station and educational visitors center. Here new current and updated information on the Condor Recovery Program researched in 75 study plots by Cal Poly students. The research covers Chaparral, Woodland and Riparian Woodland Habitats. Schubert is a well know naturalist and interpreter. Garagedeur February 24 The last ice age ended 18,000 years ago with the shoreline located seven miles out from the present coast. As the climate changed, ancestors of the Chumash retreated before the advancing ocean. At about 10,000 years ago, they witnessed, and perhaps participated in, the extinction of many species of large mammals no longer present in North America. 5,000 years ago the sandspit formed, resulting in present Morro Bay. Using updated visuals, geologist George Mason will lead us through these profound changes. Mason is a Nature Walks Docent in SLO county. March 3 Discussion will involve “Doing History for Caltrans, steps involved in CalTrans projects, special tasks assigned to environmental planners and special tasks assigned to architectural historians. Examples of projects Carr has worked on include Arroyo de los Chinos (Chinese seaweed farmers on the North Coast) and Harmony (cheese factories an creameries.) Carr graduated from UCSB with a degree in Anthropology. Carr helped found Heritage Shared.
March 10 A photographic record of a journey in the Peruvian jungle and cloud forest along the Rio Madre de Dios featuring the natural sights and the people found there. Highlights include a Macaw clay-lick and an Andean Cock-of-the-Rock lek. Also included is a visit at the beginning to the Pacific coast at Pucusana and on the way out an Andean interior valley religious festival at Paucartembo. Boyd teaches at the University of Utah. March
17 How does an organism who can’t run and hide, protect itself against preditors? One common strategy organisms use is to arm themselves with toxic chemicals. Learn about clever techniques that organisms use to out-compete their neighbors, avoid being eaten and find a tasty meal by using poisons. Dr. Dalman is a biology instructor at Cuesta college and once led a tide pool talk and walk to President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore. March 24 Energy from the radioactive decay of uranium melts rocks, moves continents, makes the Earth's core almost as hot as the surface of the Sun, feeds alien forms of life on the seafloor and deep inside rocks, maintains life on Earth. What the heck is going on down under and how does it affect the life of the planet? Field spent twenty years in the aerospace industry. He is a state park docent and a volunteer research professor at Cal Poly where he supervises senior projects. March 31 The program will discuss when and how the Morros and Morro Bay were formed. Geological formation of Morro Rock will be examined as well as the coastal erosion and sand drift that formed the sand spit and how the resulting bay and drainage system nurtured the development of the estuary. McCabe is a tutor of geology at Cuesta College. |
