We are excited to announce our 2023 cohort of volunteer docents at Duxbury Reef! A fantastic and curious group who are enthusiastic and looking forward to taking shifts on the Reef.
Our docent program started in January 2022 and has now grown to a team of 21 people. Our volunteers generously donate their time to provide outreach and education to visitors to the reef during low tides and days we estimate will have high visitation. We were thrilled to learn that some of our new docents joined the program this year because they engaged with our docents on the Reef in 2022!
The foundation of our program is to provide positive outreach and engagement with the visiting public on the Reef and inspire curiosity and stewardship. To meet these goals, our docents go through a 5-week training course to learn about the ecology and species on the Reef and the regulatory and management framework of the area.
The docent training includes an emphasis on Duxbury’s Marine Protected Area designation as a State Marine Conservation Area that protects the rich and diverse marine life prohibiting the collection of any living, geologic, or cultural marine resource with two exceptions; 1) seasonal recreational fishing from shore with a pole, hook, and line; and 2) collection of abalone when permitted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (The red abalone fishery is closed through April 2026).
The docent training is coordinated by Leslie Adler-Ivanbrook, our Program Director overseeing community science and volunteer programming, along with our longtime community partner, Kent Khtikian. This docent training session began in January and will wrap up on March 18th. Our docents are being trained collaboratively by local experts in the field and will have enrichment training opportunities throughout the year.
We are grateful to everyone who helps to make this program possible by sharing their knowledge with us. Thank you to our instructors Kathy Ann Miller, UC Berkeley; Joe Mueller, College of Marin; Rebecca Johnson, California Academy of Sciences; Kent Khtikian, Cal Academy of Science Rocky Shore Intertidal Naturalists; and guest presentations by Nova Hairston, Marin County Parks; Sarah Worden, California Department of Fish and Wildlife; Jennifer Stock Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries; Dave Press, Point Reyes National Seashore; Ben Becker, National Park Service; and Dean Hoaglin, the Coast Miwok Tribal Council.
You can expect to find the new cohort of docents out on the Reef at the end of March ready to share their knowledge with you about the fascinating intertidal world. Next time you are visiting Duxbury Reef, please look for our docents and say Hi! They will be in their new uniforms that were made possible by a community service grant from the County of Marin.
You can help support this grassroots effort by making a contribution to this program online today. We are operating on a shoestring budget to bring this important program to life.
