By Jessie Kamman, Coastal Advocate Intern
As an EAC Coastal Advocate intern, I am in the process of training, and learning how to train others for the community science surveys through the MPA Watch Program, which tracks how people use MPAs and adjacent areas. I was particularly excited to start working with our local Marine Protected Areas, and so my first training day at Corte Madera Marsh on June 3rd was highlighted bright blue on my calendar for quite some time.
The training began by meeting up with my fellow interns Cate Olrich and Ben Hodgson, as well as Leslie Adler-Ivanbrook, EAC’s Program Director and our primary mentor here at EAC. As the leftover fog burned off we learned about California’s MPA Network and its impacts, the state of the oceans, and how to engage future volunteers. We loaded up clipboards with our survey sheets and headed out to get data on how the public interacts with the wetlands and surrounding bay.
The Corte Madera Marsh is currently a State Marine Park and Marine Reserve, not an MPA, however it has been proposed for that environmental status upgrade, and the EAC is currently monitoring it through the same system as other Marine Protected Areas. This monitoring is done by surveying and data collection in separate zones. At Corte Madera specifically, there are two monitoring zones, one in the southern portion and one in the northern portion of the marsh.
The first step of conducting the following surveys was identifying where the boundaries of the Corte Madera survey zones were. It was overall a very learn-by-doing experience, in which Leslie pointed out the boundaries to us visually, and then helped us take note of them as well for future reference. Maps and descriptive resources were also provided to make it easier on the trainees. The binocular observation of a bush-lined trail on the very south end of the marsh came first. With no people, no violations, and plenty of specific questions from our enthusiastic intern collective, we concluded the CMM 03 zone survey in under 10 minutes.
As we moved on to our walking survey transect, traveling north out into the marsh on an elevated trail, being a volunteer for scientific research initially faded from daunting into a pleasant morning stroll in the sun, accompanied with birdsong and light conversation. We learned to count only those people and activities that passed us on the way out, and only to monitor to our right inside the park boundary. We saw snakes, birds, seals and friendly locals out for walks and jogs. It truly did feel like community based science as we had pleasant interactions.
CMM 04 zone spanned from one side of the park to the other, and out into the bay. The most difficult survey area was out in the water due to having to imagine the surrounding boundary lines of an imaginary geometric shape. However after learning helpful landmarks and with supportive guidance, it was totally manageable. We walked back towards the highways, monitoring the marsh to the right again, and then concluded our survey in around 45 minutes, heading back to the parking lot feeling accomplished and excited to start future entries as an excuse to get back onto the marsh. I found that it was a constructive, positive way to give back in a small way while spending time outdoors and with others. I’m even more excited to visit other sites to learn their survey process and teach, spread and share what I’ve learned with others.
