Week 19 Activity Digest: Weekly suggestions from Napa RCD's Education & Outreach Team

Helping you care for our land, water, soil, and wildlife

Napa RCD Weekly Activity Digest - 19th Edition

Greetings from Napa RCD!

We live in a uniquely beautiful and diverse watershed. A large contributor to this is the wonderful water all around us! We’ve got everything- springs, waterfalls, a diversity of creeks, freshwater lakes, a tidal river, wetlands, and groundwater basins. This precious resource has a lot to offer beyond human use and recreation. While we enjoy all that water has to give, let’s remember that we are responsible to our current community and future generations to be the best water stewards we can be.

Check out this week’s digest for water-related activities and resources.

We're migrating! Like salmon to headwaters, we'll be moving activity suggestions to our social media feeds. Follow @NapaRCD on Facebook and Instagram for a weekly activity from our Education & Outreach Team.

Tag us on social media @NapaRCD and #WILDnapa, or email Education@NapaRCD.org.

* * * * * * * * *

Many thanks to the following education and outreach activity sponsors for their support: NOAA, County of Napa, Napa County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program, City of Napa, the Watershed Information and Conservation Council, and Friends of the Napa River.

What's up with our water?

Visit the EPA’s How’s my Waterway site to learn all sorts of things about your local waterways. Just type in an address and check out water quality, what’s being tested for in the water, swimming and fishing conditions, as well as aquatic life status.

You can also learn about the quality of the water in our local rivers, creeks and lakes by what kinds of bugs you find in the water! Benthic macroinvertebrates are aquatic animals without a backbone. They are great water quality indicators because some are very sensitive to pollution, while others are more tolerant. With a water net in hand, investigate water quality by surveying what kinds of water critters you catch. Use the Water Quality mobile app to identify your macroinvertebrate, then research it’s pollution tolerance .

The Wonder of Wetlands

Wetlands play an important role in all watersheds. They provide flood protection and habitat for hundreds of plant and animal species. Wetlands Edge Park in American Canyon is an amazing spot to witness all that wetlands have to offer. Join Doug McConnell on a 3-mile audio tour of this local gem.

Wetlands are also nature’s water filters and help clean the water that flows through them. Follow this activity and build your own wetlands model to experience this wetlands superpower.

How can you help our watersheds?

Visit the City of Napa’s Water Conservation and Water-wise Landscaping pages to learn more about how to help protect our local resources. Get tips and resources for irrigation, grey water harvesting and a sprinkler timer tool.

Calculate how much water you use with this Water Footprint calculator and challenge yourself and/or family to cut back on your usage. How innovative can you get?

Nature Journal Prompt

This week, try drawing a map or cross section following these tips from John Muir Laws . Maybe choose to map a place that is special to you and see if you can notice anything new!

Don't forget, we'd love to see what you're up to! Tag us in a photo of your journal entry on social media, or email Education@NapaRCD.org

Weekly Nature Nugget

This week's pompom-looking nature nugget was found in abundance at Bothe-Napa Valley State Park this past weekend!

Elk's Clover, Aralia californica , is a native plant here in Napa County. Despite its name, this plant is not closely related to other clovers; it is actually in the ginseng family! Look for it towering over you in riparian areas -- it can grow over 8 feet tall.

You can learn more about Elk's Clover from CalFlora and iNaturalist.

Help support Napa RCD Programs - Donate Today!

Napa County Resource Conservation District | 707-252-4189 | NapaRCD.org