Project Grow

Project Grow’s Bird of the Week 🌱
Week 2: Belding’s Savannah Sparrow 🐦
Text in Post:
Belding’s Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis beldingi) reside in Southern California marshes. This species is unique in the fact that it is one of only two wetland dependent avian species who live year-round in these coastal salt marshes here in Southern California. They nest in the picklew**d salt marsh vegetation that typically are located along the outer levees of salt ponds. They nest semi-colonially. Additionally, their breeding season is from April to July. One of the main threats to their survival is loss of habitat; the salt marshes they reside in are steadily disappearing. Another threat is the increasing growth in invasive species in these areas, like Algerian Sea Lavender. Ecological restoration efforts with Project Grow work in removing invasive plant life, including Algerian Sea Lavender.
Federal Status = Not Listed
State Status = Endangered

Come celebrate Earth Month by helping us restore some of California's most vulnerable habitats. Please use our website to sign up and to check for upcoming public events (in the link).

Infographic credit: Dorothy Truong, UCI Global Sustainability Project

A little late on this shout out...We want to thank UCI SRC volunteers, UCI CEB interns, and all of our volunteers from the community for continuing to partner with us as we work to create more biodiverse habitats for our wildlife.

A little late on the post but we wanted to give a big THANK YOU to Saddleback's Environmental Awareness Club members for coming out and working with us the last two Saturdays! It is always a pleasure to have a group of environmentally passionate individuals come and help us care for our natural spaces.

Thank you to everyone who came out to help us in our salt marsh this past Saturday! A special thanks to our Saddleback and UCI CEB interns, UCI SRC, UCI MCRS, and dedicated volunteers!

A beautiful Saturday morning working in the marsh. Thank you to all our participants for helping us remove fat hen (Atriplex prostrata) and Algerian sea lavender (Limonium ramosissimum) from our salt marsh site.

A big thank you to UCI SRC volunteers and our interns for all your hard work this Saturday! You helped us remove some of our most notorious invasive plants. Special thanks to our Saddleback interns for leading the groups!

Thank you to everyone who came out this past Saturday. Your work helps us keep our commitment to supporting biodiversity in our most vulnerable ecosystems. We filled 15 bags with invasive plant matter and still had piles left over! Special thanks to UCI CEB interns, UCI SRC volunteers, Saddleback interns, and our dedicated volunteers. Looking forward to our next big event!

Want to learn about some of Southern California's most diverse ecosystems? Join us for hands-on restoration and education on Tuesdays and Saturdays! Help us continue to be responsible stewards of California's vulnerable habitats.

Please check our website calendar for available event dates, times, and to sign up! For questions and general inquiries check our bio. We hope to see you out there!

This past weekend marked Fall Equinox, signaling the beginning of the fall season and our decent into shorter days and cooler temperatures. We are not the only living things that acknowledge this change and prepare for it. Our native plant and wildlife communities also show their preparation for this change in season and express it in a variety of ways. At Newport Back Bay some of our plants in Coastal Sage Scrub and Riparian Scrub have have begun to show their responses to the new season. Many of the Coyote bush (Baccharis piluarlis) have formed flower buds and are on the verge of blooming brilliant cream colored flowers, while their close cousins, Mulefat (Baccharis salicifolia) have already begun to bloom. Our annual native forb, Marsh fleabane (Pluchea odorata) has begun to pop up in some of our shadier, wetter sections of our site and are showing off their vibrant pink flowers. This might seem like a strange time for flowers to emerge, but many of our native plants have bloom periods that begin in the cooler seasons or experience periods of bloom on and off throughout the year. Shared are some images of the native plants mentioned, in order. If you have a moment, stop to take in the changes going on in natural habitats in your area. Happy Fall everyone!

Sara Cuadra has been with the program since November of 2022. In that time she has helped build strong relationships with volunteers, interns, and other organizations, bringing her wonderful personality and keen expertise in the field of ecology and restoration to everything she did. Thank you for everything you have contributed to Project Grow, Sara! We're sad to see you go. You'll be missed. Good luck on your next adventure. Cheers!

Today we say farewell to our Restoration Manager, Noreen. Noreen started with Project Grow in March 2022 as an environmental leader and later began her role as manager in August 2022 while pursuing her master’s degree at UCI. Noreen has played a great role in the growth of our volunteers in Newport Bay, eagerly sharing her knowledge of restoration with others.

Her favorite part of Project Grow is getting to work with all the amazing people. The moments of enthusiasm and sparks of curiosity are what motivated her to keep coming back and share the blessings of nature with everyone. She would like to thank the wonderful volunteers and interns who made every program special!

We’re going to miss your amazing energy, Noreen! Best of luck in your future endeavors.

As the school year comes to an end, we’d like to give a big THANK YOU to all of the student volunteers that have grown with us. Our staff has had a great time connecting with you all and we deeply appreciate your help with our projects! 💚

Hooray, the salt marsh bird’s beak is in bloom!

This rare native plant (Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimum) has been on the endangered species list since 1978. According to the Fish & Wildlife Service’s latest review, the main threats to salt marsh bird’s beak are climate change, altered hydrology, and competition from nonnative plants. Upper Newport Bay is one of only nine marshes where the species is found.

Attack of the Clones!
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Look at this formidable batalion of clone troopers! Many species, including the arroyo willow (Salix lasiolepis) and mulefat (Baccharis salicifolia) can be grown from stem cuttings. Plants grown from cuttings are genetically identical to their parent plant. While this asexual method of propagation can allow you to quickly create a clone army, having many genetically identical organisms also makes the population more vulnerable to disease.

Can you tell the difference between native and invasive sea lavender?

The native variety is California sea lavender (Limonium californicum). It has rounder, sparser, lighter leaves.
The invasive variety is Algerian sea lavender (Limonium ramosissimum) It has more slender, dark green leaves that grow in denser bunches.

We spent some time in the northern part of Upper Newport Bay removing invasive sea lavender and trash from the marsh. Go team! 🌱

Happy Earth Day from the team at Project Grow! How will you be celebrating Earth Day this year?

This past weekend was a success! Our team had the opportunity to learn about what others in the restoration community are working on throughout the state at SERCAL 2023. We enjoyed meeting new people and spreading the word about Project Grow! If you are interested in habitat restoration, we encourage you to sign up for a SERCAL membership to take advantage of the resources they have to offer!

Check out these runners! 🏃‍♀️🏃🏃‍♂️
Yerba mansa (Anemopsis californica) is a native plant that sends out stolons, commonly called “runners.” These long red stems can form their own roots and create a clone of the parent plant. We’ve been checking in on the yerba mansa plants periodically and we’re excited to see how much they’ve grown!

Allen's hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin) is a common sight in coastal Southern California parks and backyards. There are two subspecies: S. s. sasin, which is migratory, and S. s. sedentarius, which has set up permanent residence in the Channel Islands and neighboring California coastal areas.

Pictured is a female or immature male. The mature male has bright red-orange feathers on its throat which glitter in the sunlight. Interestingly, this patch of colored feathers on a hummingbird is called a "gorget" after a part of armor worn on the throat!

All this rain is great for plants, but that means w**ds are really taking off! Luckily, we got a great start on removing invasive mustard last week.

Want to join us? We’re at Upper Newport Bay every Wednesday and Saturday morning! Sign up on our website - link in our bio.

Plant facts: Wild celery (Apium graveolens)

Yup, just like you might find at the grocery store! This marshland plant is non-native, but not generally considered invasive. At the Back Bay, we find an abundance of celery plants and w**d them out to give native plants more room to grow. While w**ding these plants, you can smell the celery aroma in the air!

Our program is cancelled today, but here's a peek at some of the mushrooms we spotted at our sites after the last big storm. These fungi normally live beneath the surface as mycelium; in soils or within decomposing plant matter until the conditions are right to form sporocarps or fruiting bodies-- what we normally call mushrooms! The fruiting bodies are part of the reproductive phase of the fungi life cycle, in which many of these structures release spores to create the next life cycle. Please enjoy the fungi of the Newport Bay! 🍄

1. Mycena
2. Bolbitius titubans
3. Agrocybe
4. Unidentified saprotrophic fungus
5. Unidentified fungus, possibly in the genus Tubaria

Our staff is still learning how to photograph and identify mushrooms. Let us know if you have any tips or leads on the unidentified species! 🤓

Snack time🐟
Did you know that because of their unique adaptations for feeding on fish, the osprey exists in its own taxonomic genus (Pandionidae) and family (Pandion)?

Love is all around us at our sites, like the white cochineal scale on this coastal prickly pear (Opuntia littoralis) pad. Cochineals occur in the western U.S. and Mexico, feeding on prickly pear cactus species. The female insect feeds on the nutrients and moisture by adhering to the plant through her proboscis.

Cochineal scales defend themselves from predators by producing carminic acid, which has been used historically by the Aztec and Mayan peoples to make carmine, a red dye for textiles. Modern western society uses carmine to color food and makeup.

We think the relationship between cochineal scales and the prickly pear cactus is an undye-ing love. Happy Valentine’s Day! ♥️

Thumbs up for data collection! Monitoring our restored areas lets us know how the landscape is changing over time. Yesterday, we recorded point intercept transect data, which allows us to quantify plant cover.

Happy World Wetlands Day from the team at Project Grow!

We are pleased to have UCI CEB interns return to our weekly programs! With the winter quarter in full swing, students have been helping us with various tasks such as invasive removal and seeding at our restoration sites. We look forward to having them grow with us! 🌱

Say hello to the Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)!

This little guy is one of California's most common reptiles. They are known for their distinctive blue bellies, which are brightest on adult males. Although this lizard has adapted to survive in urban environments, restoring natural habitats give them more space to thrive.

The recent rains have been great for our newly restored sites, but it has brought on new growth of non-native plants as well! Pictured here is our restoration manager, Noreen, standing next to Brassica napa or field mustard. Field mustard can grow to approximately 1 meter tall in disturbed areas, with its flowering time occuring from January through May. Lucky for us, the moist soils have allowed for easy removal of this species.

You can help us remove field mustard and other non-native and invasive species by signing up for our Wednesday and Saturday volunteer programs that run from 8:30am-11:30am. To sign up, please follow the link in our bio.