The Flows To Bay Eco-Day on Saturday, May 19th was a resounding success with its hands-on-activities and community engagement. Flows To Bay organized this event as a way for community members to put into practice new knowledge and passion from the Flows To Bay Challenge: In the Garden and the Community. The San Mateo county-wide event gave residents the opportunity to come together as a community to learn more about and to make a positive impact on our environment.
The Flows To Bay Eco-Day consisted of three events held by community partners throughout San Mateo County and was open to all residents.
The Pacifica Beach Coalition hosted a beach cleanup at Linda Mar State Beach in Pacifica. Despite chilly weather, there was a solid turn-out at the beach! Kids, teenagers and adults all braved the weather, picking up piles of small and large trash at one of Pacifica’s most popular and beloved beaches. According to this Daily Journal article, it is also the third most polluted beach in California.The ratings are based off of water-quality sampling that give the beaches a rating of A+ through F. If we are to change this, we all must continue to work together do our part in preventing litter pollution.
The Pacifica Beach Coalition is a volunteer-run non-profit that advocates for and practices responsible stewardship of our oceans, beaches, creeks, wildlife and native habitat. They hold events and programs for people of all ages to teach and help community members take care of the environment. You can learn more here.
Friends of Edgewood celebrated the beauty of the peninsula with a native plant nature walk at the Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve. With a small group attending, the nature walk was an intimate affair where the participants were led by docents on a 2.5-hour native wildflower journey. Between learning tricks for getting to know native plants and taking in vast views of oak woodlands and the Bay, this was a terrific chance to get outside and up close with nature.
The Friends of Edgewood is a volunteer-run public benefit corporation that works to allow community members to sustainably and thoughtfully enjoy the Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve in a multitude of ways. Some of the those include docent-led interpretive walks, habitat restoration, litter cleanups and running the Education Center. You can learn more here.
The Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) led an Integrating Edibles into your Existing Garden class at Redwood City Public Works. At the class, attendees learned about the benefits of having native and drought-tolerant plants in their homes and gardens. After the talk, they were able to get their hands dirty by planting and learning how to maintain the plants! One fun fact they learned about native plant maintenance? Since native plants are adapted to our cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers, they actually need to be watered less frequently when the temperature warms up in the summer!
BAWSCA was created to speak on the behalf of 24 cities and water districts and two private utilities that buy water from San Francisco Regional Water System. The agency’s goals are to have a reliable water supply, to provide high-quality water, and to supply it at a fair price. You can learn more here.
Overall, the Flows To Bay Eco-Day was a fun and learning-filled day! Residents of San Mateo County were able to get outside and get together to learn about different aspects of stormwater pollution prevention. From observing what’s often left behind on the beach to getting to know our open spaces and native plants to understanding why native plantings are so great, everyone was able to take away some knowledge of how they can change their behavior to help keep our water and land clean, safe and beautiful.
