Education Program

Identification, Ecology, and Management of the Most Invasive Plants of California's Wildlands
This workshop has been cancelled.

Wetland Plants of the Sacramento Valley and Lower Foothill Region
Primary Instructors: Virginia Dains, Bob Holland, and Jeff Hart
Location: Two days of field instruction in the lower foothills and upper valley habitats plus a final day aboard a floating classroom in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and touring a wetland plant nursery.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This short course on wetland plant identification in the Sacramento region will examine a range of common wetland habitats from seasonal wetlands of the lower foothills to the freshwater marshes of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The course is specifically designed for environmental consultants or agency staff undertaking wetland delineations using Corps of Engineers hydrophytic vegetation criteria and the FWS National List of Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands.

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Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Boat Tour to the Tule Wilderness
Primary Instructors:Virginia Dains, Bob Holland, and Jeff Hart

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This trip is the last day of a three-day Wetland Plants of the Sacramento Valley and Lower Foothill Region workshop, but stands alone as a one-day workshop as well. In other words, you are welcome to sign up for the three-day workshop (class limit 20) or the one-day boat and nursery tour (class limit 45).

On this 3- 4 hour boat trip we will visit remnant, pre-Gold Rush, in-channel islands and several plant communities including riparian forests and tule wetlands. Jeff will discuss the geologic history of the Delta and Central Valley landscape and the origins of different groups of plants in the Delta. Upon return, we will take a willow walk through a long arcade with five species of willows to learn character differences in all seasons. Jeff will give us a tour of Hartland Nursery, where they propagate many species for revegetation and mitigation projects. This is a chance to see some many wetland species up close and labeled.

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Carex Identification and Ecology
Primary Instructors: Kerry Heise, Geri Hulse-Stephens, Peter Warner
Location: Sagehen Field Station

COURSE DESCRIPTION: COURSE DESCRIPTION: This workshop will integrate field study of sedge ecology and morphology, group observations and discussion, and intensive lab sessions to familiarize students with the techniques and terminology required to navigate through a dichotomous key to the sedges. We will use the keys in the Jepson Manual and in the Flora of North America to accomplish Carex identification.

The genus Carex is the largest in the sedge family (Cyperaceae), with about 2,500 species described worldwide. More than 600 Carex species are native or naturalized in North America, including California with about 190 taxa. While common in wet places, many sedges grow in mesic to dry habitats, where they often comprise a dominant component of the herbaceous vegetation.

More information and Registration available soon