Sonoma State Historic Park Hosts Women's History Crawl at Sonoma Barracks
Story from: Christen Bechert, Bay Area District
 The Bay Area District Interpretation Team with Relevancy and History Program Manager Blythe Wilson (standing second from right). Photo from Bay Area District.
Bay Area District interpretive staff kicked off Women’s History Month on March 1 with a Women’s History Crawl. The event took place in the courtyard of the Barracks Building at Sonoma State Historic Park (SHP), located on historic Sonoma Square. The courtyard featured tables highlighting notable women of the past. Tables were hosted by State Parks staff and various local community partners, including the Petaluma Library, Sonoma Historical Society, The Walt Disney Family Museum and many more.
The main activity of the crawl for visitors was to complete a questionnaire about the historical women highlighted at the event. This required participants to visit each table to learn about each woman. At the end of the day, participants with completed questionnaires had their names placed in a raffle for a chance to win a slew of fantastic prizes generously donated by community members. Other highlights included two featured speakers, a children’s coloring station with women’s history-themed pages, and snacks for the public generously donated by Sonoma Petaluma Parks, the cooperating association for Sonoma and Petaluma Adobe SHPs.
The day started with a little over 100 people who RSVP’d; however, the count at the end of the day was 350 participants. This event went above and beyond expectations and because of the positive reviews, it will be coming back again next year. Everyone was so pleased the community showed up to celebrate the strong women of the past with such enthusiasm.
A big thanks to all Bay Area District interpretive staff, the Relevancy and History Program Team, our community partners, and visitors. A special shoutout to Relevancy and History Interpreter I Debbie Lee for leading this charge. Yay women!
 Clockwise from left: Angel Island Interpreter II Casey Lee staffing her table. A welcome sign for guests attending the event. Bay Area interpreters Kourtney Boone (left) and Kaylie Williams (right) host a garden party table. Photos from Bay Area District.
Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve Opens for 2025 Wildflower Season
Story from: Callista Turner, Great Basin District
 Top: State Parks staff and volunteers braved blustery conditions on opening day of the visitor center at Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. From left to right: Interpreter II Callista Turner, Park Aide Levi Freed and volunteers Susy Martin, Marsha McNeil and Susan Burke. Photo from John Martin, Great Basin District. Bottom: Callista stretches her arms out wide to demonstrate that big leaves in the desert get sunburnt easily so many desert plants have very small leaves instead. Park Aide Christopher Kofman follows along. Photo from Kara Lu, Interpretation and Education Division.
Even though Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve has only received 3.54 inches of rain and may not have any poppies open currently, there is still plenty of excitement. The visitor center opened March 1 to roughly 20 confused visitors who didn’t realize that winter was still hanging heavy at the reserve.
Park Aide Christopher Kofman and I bring the reserve directly to schools around California and even to Canada on virtual fieldtrips with the PORTS (Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students)® Program. Programs are hosted by interpreters live in the reserve, which sits on the western border of the Mojave Desert. During programs, interpreters explain what a desert is and how plants have evolved strategies to survive. As we broadcast live, we never know what local fauna might wander by, like side-blotch lizards, white-crowned sparrows or a pinacate beetle.
Over the short three-month season, PORTS programs are offered every Tuesday and Wednesday from March to mid-May and the schedule is fully booked. In total, we will present 60 programs to over 1,900 students from 17 California counties and one school in Canada. Webinar-style PORTS programs will be offered once the wildflowers start to show up.
It is always a good idea to check the Poppy Reserve Live Cam before coming for a visit. Poppies open on nice days but they curl up in the late afternoon or if it’s cold, so visitors should check the weather forecast before arriving. Visitors may also check the reserve’s social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook for wildflower updates.
Navigating Underwater with the Orange Coast South Dive Team
Story and photos from: Todd Shanklin, Orange Coast District
 Lifeguards from the Orange Coast South State Parks Dive Team recently completed a challenging training session in the waters off San Clemente State Beach. Pictured (from left to right): State Park Peace Officer (SPPO) (Lifeguard) Wes Ewart, Supervising SPPO (Lifeguard) Dennis White, Supervising SPPO (Lifeguard) Nick Milward, Lifeguard III Johnny "Sweet" Hernandez, Supervising SPPO (Lifeguard) Brian Staudenbaur and Lifeguard Supervisor II Jeff Kennedy.
Fog loomed a mile offshore all morning like a damp curtain as head-high waves detonated onto the shallow sandbar at San Clemente State Beach. Intrepid State Parks dive team members watched the sets come in. The assembled group consisted entirely of lifeguard divers, all longtime surfers, as they watched each wave measuredly and questioned whether they would be better off surfing instead of diving. They knew what would happen to the visibility underwater with this much energy coursing through the ocean.
The dive team had a task: run underwater navigation drills, rain or shine. The conditions the team encountered made for a realistic and challenging scenario. A course was set up using anchored buoys, and each buddy pair of divers kicked out 200 yards from the beach through the surf and then attempted to kick a known distance underwater while counting kick cycles, ensuring accurate reckoning of underwater distance. Divers also practiced navigating to targets while on the bottom in 18 feet of water with less than 2 feet of visibility. The most challenging aspect for divers was simply not losing their dive buddy, who couldn’t be seen even in close proximity.
State Parks' dive team has several missions, but this latest training for the Orange Coast South Team was based on public safety diver tasks. Navigation is a critical skill for the rescue and recovery of submerged persons or locating potential evidence of a crime that is lost underwater. The ability to navigate well underwater is a sign of being a professional diver and our members did an excellent job in very difficult conditions that day. As the saying goes, “practice as you play,” and members of the dive team understand that when they get the call, it will most likely be to dive in cold, dark, surging and miserable conditions. This training helped our divers become even more comfortable in adverse conditions and further honed their high-level diving skills.
 Lifeguards Ewart (left) and White float on the surface for their 10-minute surface interval between dives. A course buoy is visible behind them.
Junior Lifeguard Coordinators Meet in Channel Coast District
Story and photos from: Todd Shanklin, Orange Coast District
 Junior lifeguard coordinators after their mini-competition. From left to right: Justin McHenry, Obadiah Wheeler, Kaitlyn Tolin, Luke Polonchek, Ben Donahue, Alex Roberts, Chris Egan, Cameron Tucker, Kyra Sheeper, Zoe Chait, Robyn Doler, Gaia Hinds, Kevin Selna, Nate Elmore, Ryan Allen, and James Bray. Photo from Jack Futoran, Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Division.
Junior Lifeguard program coordinators from around the department met at the Channel Coast District office on Feb. 27-28 for an opportunity to share and learn about the successes of other programs across the state. Fourteen programs were able to send in-person representatives, with another five programs attending virtually. Coordinators had the opportunity to hear from Desert Division Chief Greg Martin and Assistant Deputy Director of Park Operations Adrien Contreras.
The second day of the meeting included instruction on webpage content management and developing interpretive materials for Junior Lifeguard programs. At the conclusion of the second day, the coordinators participated in the first ever Coordinators Cup, a miniature lifeguard skills competition. The competition demonstrated how programs can quickly host teambuilding and skill development events at local beaches. Coordinators participated in two events: run-swim-run and beach flags. There were no prizes awarded, just bragging rights. Conditions for the run-swim-run were challenging, with significant swells and currents, making the course difficult to navigate. Chris Egan from Orange Coast District won the run-swim-run with an impressive performance, and Luke Polonchek from Santa Cruz District edged out Obadiah Wheeler from Oceano Dunes District for a win in the beach flags event.
Special thanks are due to our host district, Channel Coast. Thank you to Channel Coast District Superintendent Dena Bellman and Lifeguard Supervisor II James Bray for allowing us to use your facilities and for providing snacks and refreshments. Special thanks to the district's own Junior Lifeguard Program Coordinator Carrie Johnson, who was instrumental in planning and orchestrating this year's meeting.
 Junior lifeguard coordinators run for beach flags during the Coordinator Cup. Photo from Justin McHenry, Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Division.
Monterey State Historic Park Honors Volunteers
Story from: Stuart Thornton, Monterey District
 Left: Monterey State Historic Park celebrated its volunteers in the First Theater of California. Right: Interpreter I Aaron Gilmartin presents longtime volunteer Lindy Perez with the Medallion Award. Photos from Julia Madden-Fulk, Monterey District.
A rainy winter day did not dampen spirits at Monterey State Historic Park’s (SHP’s) annual volunteer tea party and awards ceremony on March 5. Initially envisioned as a garden party, the event moved inside the renovated First Theater in California for the festivities.
Nearly 20 volunteers from Monterey SHP enjoyed hot tea and appetizers in the historic building and mingled with grateful park staff. After getting seated at a long table, the awards ceremony got underway, led by Interpreter I Aaron Gilmartin and myself. Longtime volunteer Lindy Perez, who has volunteered at the park for nearly 25 years, received the prestigious Medallion Award for her innumerable contributions to the park. Next up, her husband, retired volunteer Louie Perez, was given a Poppy Award for over 15 years of service and for especially helping with the park's fourth grade school programs.
To highlight a relatively new batch of volunteers, district awards were presented to Yvonne Ricketts, Virginia Keener, Annie Howley and Marilynn Whitcomb. All these volunteers have quickly become frequent and helpful faces in the park. By the end of the event, spirits were buoyed by camaraderie and bodies were warmed by tea making it easier to enjoy the rest of a rainy, chilly afternoon in downtown Monterey.
Great Basin District Holds Annual All-Hands District Staff Meeting
Story and photos from: Lori Wear, Great Basin District
 Clockwise from top: The district's cornhole tournament. Maintenance Aide Nick Hartz (with District Superintendent Russ Dingman on the left) won the district-wide chili cook-off. District staff discussing their accomplishments. District staff on the parade grounds at Fort Tejon State Historic Park.
Great Basin District held its annual all-hands district staff meeting at Fort Tejon State Historic Park (SHP) in February. District Superintendent Russ Dingman expressed his gratitude to park staff members for their hard work and dedication throughout 2024, including in the aftermath of the Post Fire at Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA). The park reopened for off-highway vehicle recreation in November, just four months after the devastating fire burned 10,064 acres in the eastern and southern portions of the recreation area. Desert Division Chief Greg Martin also expressed his gratitude to staff during the meeting.
Highlights of the meeting included a potluck featuring a chili cook-off and a cornhole tournament. The meeting concluded with the firing of a mountain howitzer cannon and a photograph of the district staff on the parade grounds.
  Please submit your photos HERE. Please send questions to WeeklyDigest@parks.ca.gov.
|
