Eleven volunteers completed docent training in January 2022, The training session was focused on Duxbury Reef flora and fauna, intertidal zonation, reef ecology, anthropogenic impacts, tidepool etiquette, docent protocols, and California Marine Protected Areas and relevant regulations.
Instructors included: Joe Mueller, Kathy Ann Miller, Rebecca Johnson, Leslie Adler-Ivanbrook, and Kent Khtikian.
Our first cohort of trained docents are locally based, care deeply about the ecological health of the reef and dedicate their time, knowledge and experience to educate visitors. When taking shifts on the reef, the docents enjoy teaching visitors about the amazing marine life found there, about rocky intertidal ecology, how Duxbury Reef marine life is protected by regulations, and how visitors can also help protect the reef as they explore. Docents also contribute to community science by conducting an MPA Watch survey during their docent shift as well as a shift report.
Docents have completed 60 shift reports this year through November, have engaged with over 975 visitors, and have helped to prevent over 30 instances of harmful activities that do not comply with MPA no-take regulatory protections.
Duxbury Docents’ continually learn about the reef’s marine organisms every time they visit, and from the docent resources and enrichment training provided by the Duxbury Docents program, including through partnerships with other tidepool docent groups in California.
Comments from two Docent Shift reports:
“Folks thanked me for being a docent and for engaging them in learning. Lots of first-time visitors to Duxbury (from San Rafael, Concord, Fairfax).” - Courtney
“All interactions I had were very welcome and appreciated. Most people really wanted to know the "right" way to tread on the land in this environment." - Heather
