Past Events
Nature Walk at Wright's Field - Saturday, Nov 10, 2007
Wildlife biologist Michael Klein, the enthusiastic host of the popular Bug Nite event held in June (see below), hosted a relaxing nature walk at Wright’s Field. Traversing the oak woodlands, sage scrub, chaparral, and then through the riparian area up to the preserve's grasslands, Klein focused on the animals and insects found in the preserve, along with how plants and animals are surviving the drought years.
Annual BCLT Native Plant Sale - November 3, 2007
The November 3rd annual BCLT Native Plant sale was a big success, with Don Hohimer's talk prior to the sale a popular addition. Don, whose native plant garden has been featured on several CHIRP (The Center to Help Instill Respect & Preservation for Garden Wildlife, Inc.) Garden Tours, provided particulars about each plant for sale, along with the water-saving and wildlife attributes of natives.
Read some of Don Hohimer's native plant tips on his favorite native plants for a good start on your own garden.
A big "Thanks" to Don Hohimer!
"Black Light Bug Night" at Wright's Field - June 23, 2007
It’s true – the critters come alive in the nighttime. Michael Klein, the entomologist and leader of Alpine’s first Bug Nite at Wright’s Field, estimates participants captured and released 35 to 40 different insects during the Saturday June 23rd event. An added plus was a group of participants were surprised by a rare and secretive snake.
A popular event at other nature preserves, more than 35 adults and children attended the event sponsored by the Back Country Land Trust (BCLT). Klein started the event with some bug facts, including that about 80% of the food we eat is due to direct or indirect pollination from an insect. "So the next time you go to the salad bar, thank an insect," Klein told the crowd.
For the event, white sheets set up next to ultraviolet lights duped insects into thinking the bright sheet was a huge flower. Insects land on the sheets searching for nectar, allowing children, with the help of adults, to collect them into small cubes with a magnifying lens on the top. As Klein identified each insect brought to him, both adults and children huddled around his table. After excitement about a scorpion sighting under the sheet, which was never found, a western corsair assassin bug was one of the first lucky finds. Klein explained that the assassin bug is more active at night and had a very painful bite, "considered more painful than a honey bee sting," says Klein, who made sure the bug’s release occurred away from the group. Children trooped in with a variety of moths, wasps, beetles, including the larger Junebeetles, and even robber flies, a bumblebee-looking fly that feeds off the blood of other insects.
One boy abandoned the sheet method and turned over rocks to see what he could find. Moments later he presented his cube containing a harvester ant, with an egg in its mandible. "Since the nest was disturbed, the ant was in the process of moving its nest that night and that is why we saw the egg in its mandibles," Klein, who explained the importance of harvester ants since they make are the primary diet for horned toad’s diet.
A group of seven adults and children who arrived late to the event encountered their own surprise on the trail, a skinny, foot long tan snake with a black head. Later identified as a Western Black-headed snake, Dr. Brad Hollingsworth, curator at the San Diego Museum of Natural History, says the snake is rare because it’s so secretive. They’re more common in Texas and on the East Coast but "down here not much has been turned up about what they’re like. Usually you find them six to eight inches long, so your find was a mature one. It’s usually found under loose soil or a rock so the group’s sighting of it crossing the trail was a good find," he said.
Participants leaving the event asked if there would be another one next year. Due to the positive response, BCLT plans include another Bug Nite event next summer.
We had such a fun and fascinating time on Bug Night!! Both my kids loved it! I am recommending it to everyone that I know with (or without) kids and even the slightest interest in insects. Thanks for putting on a great event! We look forward to coming again next year. ~ Monica Mroz-Oliver
National Trails Day Work Party at Wright's Field - June 2, 2007
We had over a dozen people, including BCLT members, Alpine residents, along with Alpine Planning Group Trails Subcommittee members and friends, show up to improve the trails in Wright's Field. We accomplished a lot, including major digging and moving of boulders (thanks to a resident's rock mover) to stop eroding trails.
Sacred Earth Sacred Sky - April 29, 2007
On Sunday, April 29th, the Alpine's Artist Association and the Back Country Land Trust sponsored Sacred Sky Sacred Earth, an event that encompassed music, dance and a dramatic light installation by Peter Terezakis. The evening included performance dancers emerging from behind the boulders in Wright's Field, choreographied by by Allyson Green, the director of dance at UCSD. Flute music by Steven Garcia accompanied the performance.
For more on the Sacred Sky event, read review in the Alpine Sun.