CNDDB News Blog

September 7th marks the second annual celebration of California Biodiversity Day, an event set to celebrate our beautiful and species-rich state. Biodiversity refers to the variety of life at the genetic, species, and ecosystem level, and as the state with the most species of plants and animals in the U.S., we have a lot to celebrate!

Biodiversity Day is not only about celebrating our wildlife; it is also about protecting it. On September 7th, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown launched the California Biodiversity Initiative to integrate biodiversity protection into the state’s environmental and economic efforts in order to keep species secure and protect them from climate change and other threats. This initiative was the origin of California Biodiversity Day.

American black bear (Ursus americanus). Photo by Jan Dawson.

Along with being the state with the highest number of species, California is also one of the most biodiverse regions in the world and is classified by Conservation International as one of 36 Global Diversity Hotspots. California is home to over 30,000 species of insects, 6,500 plants, 650 birds, 220 mammals, 100 reptiles, 75 amphibians, and 170 species of fish and marine mammals. This species richness is likely due to our rich Mediterranean climate as well as our state’s complex geology and geography, allowing for the existence of many different habitats and biomes for a variety of different species to live in.

California poppy (Eschscholzia californica). Photo by Laura Shaskey.

This year, several partners will be hosting both virtual and in-person events from September 5th through September 13th in celebration of California Biodiversity Day 2020. These events include bioblitzes on iNaturalist, lectures highlighting various California species, and online arts and crafts activities for kids. For more information about this year’s events, please see the California Biodiversity Day 2020 web page.

We encourage you to get outside and celebrate the wonderful biodiversity that our state has to offer! If you happen to find a rare California plant or animal, be sure to submit your sighting through our Online Field Survey Form.

It’s back-to-school season, and this year parents are faced with new challenges around distance learning and COVID-19. Thankfully, Nature’s classroom is always open! We spoke with Le’a Gleason and Meg Seifert from Headwaters Science Institute to get some inspiration on how to take advantage of this moment and incorporate more environmental education into family life.

Meg created Headwaters with the aim to bring more hands-on-learning to students in science classes through field research, which was one of her favorite parts of her academic journey to earn her PhD. Headwaters programs have been built around students designing their own original research projects and conducting data collection in the field. When Coronavirus became a threat to in-person learning, Headwaters aimed to help students stay mentally engaged in learning by creating online programs that still encourage interaction with the environment. The goal of their online learning programs is to still inspire students to complete activities on their own outside, but through lessons that are delivered digitally.

You can visit Headwaters Science Institute’s website for more info on their Fall 2020 online offerings, including programs designed to engage high school-age students in extracurricular scientific research.

Now more than ever, it’s important to keep kids engaged in the outdoors. Seifert hopes that by fostering curiosity through science, programs like these are educating the problem solvers of tomorrow.

Some of Meg’s favorite online-accessible offerings include Science Friday and Sierra Nevada Journeys.

Here are some other top picks for kids of all ages:

• California Natural Resources Agency online Educational Portal: Includes links to a wide variety learning tools from across all CNRA departments.
• Seek by iNaturalist: This app uses photo-recognition software to help ID plants and animals captured on your phone’s camera.
• Sac Splash: Sacramento-based education organization focused on vernal pools and hydrology.
• Animalogic: A weekly in-depth exploration of the animal kingdom on YouTube.
• SciShow: A daily YouTube show that delves into the scientific subjects that defy our expectations and make us even more curious!
• ESRI educational resources: Tons of free lessons for young mappers.
• Ecosystems of California with Erika Zavaleta: In-depth tour of the state’s natural history, for high school age youth.

Books:

• Sharing Nature with Children, Joseph Cornell
• The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada, John Muir Laws (who also has nature journaling resources on his website)
• Atlas of the Biodiversity of California, CDFW (new edition coming soon!)

Do you have a favorite environmental education resource you’d like to share with our readers? Email us and we’ll include it in a follow-up blog!

Lewisia kelloggii ssp. kelloggii – Kellogg’s lewisia
Submitted by Ellen Sampson and Randy Roig

This inconspicuous flower was found by Ellen Sampson and Randy Roig in Sierra County. Lewisia kelloggii ssp. kelloggii was listed in 2013 as Rank 3.2 (more information needed, but moderately threatened in California) in the California Rare Plant Ranking System. Plants listed as Rank 3 all lack enough information available to consider them rare (Rank 1B or 2B) or of limited distribution (Rank 4), but the information that is available indicates that they are in need of conservation. Once a plant has been determined to be Rank 3, the hope is that new information will be generated from additional surveys, which will allow for a reevaluation of the rank at a later time. Lewisia kelloggii ssp. kelloggii is found in openings and ridgetops of upper montane coniferous forest often in slate or sometimes in rhyolite tuff along the Sierras. It blooms from May through August with the occasional early bloom in April. Keep an eye out for this little gem when taking those summer hikes through the Sierras. Thank you, Ellen and Randy, for finding this amazing flower and adding to what we know about it!

Eumetopias jubatus – Steller (northern) sea lion
Submitted by Ryan Elliott of the California Natural Diversity Database

CNDDB’s very own Ryan Elliott was able to snap this awesome profile shot of a Steller sea lion at Cape Mendocino. Cape Mendocino is home to one of California’s largest breeding rookeries and has been active for over a century. The Steller sea lion was first described in 1741 by Georg Wilhelm Steller and therefore named after him. Steller sea lions spend most of their time in the water feeding, but haul-out onto rocks and shores to rest, reproduce, and raise their young. Their range spans from Japan to California and are split into two distinct population segments, eastern and western, at Cape Suckling in Alaska. California is home to the Eastern DPS which has seen major population declines due to intentional culling and commercial harvests. Currently, Steller sea lions are protected under both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and are considered a California Species of Special Concern. The California Natural Diversity Database has 38 rookery and haul-out occurrences along the coast. Many thanks to Ryan for submitting this stellar observation!

Do you have some great photos of rare plants or wildlife detections? Submit them along with your findings through our Online Field Survey Form and see if your photos get showcased!