Osher Lifelong Learning Institute - Humboldt State University Extended Education

THE SCIENCES

Behind the Scenery: Redwood National & State Parks

North Coast Wildflowers: Where to see them, how to ID them

Razor Clamming

Birding Begins at Home

Those Spineless Wonders: Tidepooling on California's North Coast

Climate Change: Science, Policy & the Human Response

North Coast Weather from Forecast to Sandbags

COURSE LOCATION KEY

Behind the Scenery:
Redwood National & State Parks

This course will provide students with a “behind the scenes” look at how resource specialists manage the diverse array of natural resources found in Redwood National and State Parks. RNSP contain a range of ecological conditions from the towering ancient redwood groves to highly disturbed land that was logged prior to the park expansion in 1978. This dichotomy between pristine and disturbed habitats creates unique and challenging management issues, including:

• How to control erosion from failing and abandoned logging roads;

• How to protect the threatened marbled murrelet from ravenous ravens;

• How to protect native vegetation from exotic invasive species;

• How to manage and monitor bear and mountain lion interactions with visitors.

The course will be taught by resource professionals from the National Park Service during three separate two-hour sessions followed by a field trip to the park to view first-hand some resource management projects.

Bring water and a bag lunch for the field trip.

THIS COURSE HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

Razor Clamming

Razor clams are both fun to catch and delicious to eat. An abundance of clams are found on our North Coast beaches and this class will teach you about the equipment you need, where to go and how to successfully catch them. And then we’ll get up early and put our knowledge to work catching them.

date .......... Fri./Tues., May 2 & 6

time/place .......... Fri.: 3-5 p.m.
HBAC Multipurpose Room
Tues.: 5-9 a.m., Moonstone Beach

fee/members .......... $40 (crn 23603)

fee/nonmembers .......... $50 (crn 24398)

instr .......... Mike Zamboni

Those Spineless Wonders:
Tidepooling on California’s North Coast

Take a walk beneath the waves on a good minus low-tide morning at the North Coast’s premier tidepooling location. We’ll prepare for our field trip with a class where we’ll learn how the tides work. Learn about what lives in a place alternately covered with water and out in the open air, sun and wind – and that’s subject to battering storm waves. Not to mention hungry predators and competition for space. We’ll discuss the unique adaptations that help tidepool inhabitants thrive under difficult conditions. The fieldtrip heads to Palmer’s Point, in Patrick’s Point State Park, where 40 acres of some of the most diverse and abundantly populated tidepools in the northwest are uncovered during a good low tide. We’ll explore and marvel at the beauty and the ingenuity of tidepool life in a place where every surface provides a special niche for some unique creature.

Come prepared for walking up and down stairs on a beachside cliff. The tidepools are slippery and have many uneven surfaces. We’ll move slowly and carefully, but good physical condition is essential. Rubber boots or shoes and clothes that can get messy are advised.

Bring water and a bag lunch.

date .......... Thurs./Sat., May 8 & 10

time/place .......... Thurs.: 6-8 p.m. HBAC Multipurpose Room
Sat.: 8 a.m.-noon, Patrick’s Point, by bus

fee/members .......... $40 (crn 23837)

fee/nonmembers .......... $50 (crn 24432)

instr .......... Eileen Wolf

North Coast Wildflowers:
Where to see them, how to ID them

Do you enjoy seeing wildflowers and would you like to learn more about our local species? This course will first teach you the basics of wildflower identification and then give you the opportunity to put your knowledge into action on an all-day field trip. You will visit some of the North Coast’s loveliest wildflower “hotspots” while you explore a variety of plant communities ranging from coastal scrub to riparian to old growth redwood forest. Note: Participants must be able to walk a total of at least two miles on uneven but maintained park trails. Participants will each receive a copy of the Redwood Region Flower Finder by Phoebe Watts. A 10X hand lens is recommended but not mandatory.

Bring water and a bag lunch.

date .......... Wed./Sun., May 14 & 18

time/place .......... Wed.: 6:30-8:30 p.m.,
                             HBAC Multipurpose Rm.
                             Sun.: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.,
                             Various locations by bus

fee/members .......... $55 (crn 23834)

fee/nonmembers .......... $70 (crn 24391)

instr .......... Gisela Rohde

Climate Change:
Science, Policy & the Human Response

Gain understanding of an issue often considered the most pressing concern facing humankind today. Review the state of the science of climate change and the data (or lack thereof) driving the issues, and engage in class debates about the uncertainty that surrounds estimates of potential climate change. Review and discuss actual and proposed policy responses at the international, national, state and local levels, using role playing to highlight differing views. Look at the range of options confronting the individual, and ask if, and if so, how individuals can empower themselves to positively interact with the global climate.

THIS COURSE HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

North Coast Weather
from Forecast to Sandbags

Got weather? The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Meteorologist-in-Charge Nancy Dean will begin this half day seminar by providing a lecture on the mission and organization of the National Weather Service. Weather forecasting basics will include a forecast exercise using information gathered that morning, with a tour of the station including sandbag training. Don’t miss this fascinating entry into the atmospheric science that affects us in so many ways!

SESSION 1:
date                  Sat., March 15
time/place        9-noon, HBAC
                         1:30-3:30 p.m., NOAA Weather Station,
                         Woodley Island, Eureka
fee/members                  $15
fee/non-members                  $20
instr                  Nancy Dean
crn                  23610

SESSION 2:
date                  Sat., March 15-22
time/place        March 15: 9-12:30 p.m., HBAC
                         March 22: 9-11 a.m., NOAA Weather Station,
                         Woodley Island, Eureka
fee/members                  $15
fee/non-members                  $20
instr                  Nancy Dean
crn                  23816

Birding Begins at Home

This 6-part course will be an in-depth look at food, feeders, baths, water features and more! Learn about proper bird houses, the best field guide for you and peer into optics. Slides, hand-outs, demonstrations and a field trip.

THIS COURSE HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

COURSE LOCATION KEY