Citizen Science Friday

Fri, Feb 8th 2019, 8:30am - 12:30pm
Rockville Trails Preserve. From the corner of Rockville Road and Suisun Valley Road (a carpool location if needed at the "ice house" -please don't take up parking spaces for the coffee shop-park behind.) drive west along Rockville Road past the City Park and continuing 1.2 miles. There is a curve in the road and the East Gate entrance is immediately after the curve -Watch out for cars and people! Pull in through the gate and there will be someone to help you park.

Sample invertebrates in a small spring and creek that holds water year round, and using our finding to assess stream health using the California Streamside Biosurvey protocol. As one of the few perennial water sources on the property, Solano Land Trust is very interested in learning more about the aquatic creatures that rely on this meager seasonal refuge. Solano Land Trust has not deeply investigated aquatic invertebrates in their springs before, and they would like to begin to assemble a basic understanding of these small, but likely important, habitats. This activity will be a repeat of sampling done in September 2018, and results will be compared to examine seasonal variation in the stream community.

Citizen scientists can expect to use small dip nets to collect invertebrates and temporarily hold them for identification, using guides provided. Based on our observations, you will attempt to assess the health of the entire creek system, using invertebrates as indicators. Participants will be standing, bending, and kneeling for potentially prolonged periods of time. Since the site is in a remote portion of the property, staff will be driving participants in, and walking will be minimal, less than a half mile.

Bring a hat, water and a snack. IF USING SUNSCREEN OR BUG SPRAY, PLEASE WASH YOUR HANDS VERY THOROUGHLY AFTER APPLYING, as the chemicals in them can be harmful to many small aquatic creatures which we will be handling. Dress for the weather and wear sturdy shoes/boots. If you have waterproof boots, please bring them. They will need to be decontaminated on site before entering any water to avoid the potential spread of aquatic pathogens.

RSVP is required. Reply to the email or contact: ryan@solanolandtrust.org or 727-412-3862. (please note area code is 727, NOT 707) Space is limited to the first 10 participants to RSVP.

Click here to view the Solano Land Trust website.