loscerritos | Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust (LCWLT)

People’s State of the City: Community Action & Involvement

People’s State of the City is this Thursday, April 28 at 6:30 PM. It’s a wonderful event that always helps me understand how the lives of those of us who live in Long Beach are intertwined. I always learn something new when I attend the People’s State of the City. Long Beach is a diverse city and a great city, but there is still work to be done to make it an equitable city for all who live here. I urge you to attend the People’s State of the City and learn the latest on what is being done to make Long Beach the fair and equitable city that we all want it to be. Click here for details about how to watch the event online. Rsvp through this link.

Let’s keep Earth Day going. Stop the Poseidon Desalination Plant.

The Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust, and many other environmental groups, are concerned about what the Poseidon desalination plant, proposed for the coast of Huntington Beach, will do to our marine sea life and our climate. We are concerned because:

Poseidon’s outrageous energy requirements will increase greenhouse gases that exacerbate climate change.

Poseidon’s desalination plant will harm marine life. Immense amounts of sea life that feed the ecosystem will get sucked into Poseidon’s intake pumps and be destroyed. Furthermore, desalination produces a toxic brine discharge that will pollute our ocean, harm local marine life and our ocean water quality for as many as the 50 years that Poseidon could be in operation.

Poseidon is not needed. Demand for water in Orange County has been decreasing for years, despite population growth and economic development. Conservation, recycled water, and rainwater harvesting are better for the environment and our community – and are much cheaper.

Hear for yourself, from Dr. Charles Lester, a leading expert, what’s wrong with Poseidon desalination and how it will harm our coast and our marine environment. Join a virtual community briefing (via Zoom) on Monday, April 25th at 7:00 PM. RSVP here.

To learn more, check out California Desal Facts. And while you are on the site, take a moment to sign the petition opposing Poseidon. Hope to see you Monday, April 25th at 7:00 PM.

Elizabeth Lambe
Executive Director
Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust

Kayak Los Cerritos Wetlands.

You are invited to join us for a refreshing kayak trip to Steamshovel Slough, an amazing watery portion of Los Cerritos Wetlands.
The kayak trips are about 2 miles out and back and will launch from Mother’s Beach. On the kayak trip, you will learn about the history of the wetlands as well as about other amazing wetlands sites that are being restored.
It will be a unique and fascinating experience and we hope you will join us. It’s a chance to check out Steamshovel Slough which, at this point, can only be viewed via kayak.
Rules for kayaking: You must be able to swim. You must be in decent shape to handle the paddle – about 2 hours of kayaking (with some breaks). It is recommended that you have been kayaking before, but novice kayakers are welcome to join us. Wear proper attire for kayaking; you will get splashed (no jeans and tennis shoes). If you are 12 years of age (or older) you are welcome to join us as long as you meet the above requirements and are accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Logistics: Meet at Mother’s Beach near the children’s play area. You will need to pay for your parking. The cost to kayak with us is $40 (which is an amazing deal!) to help cover the expenses of the kayaks, paddles, life-vest rental, and tour guides. You must sign up and pay via Eventbrite.
Tour leaders will be experienced kayakers from LA River Expeditions as well as naturalists from Tidal Influence.
Reserve your spot through Eventbrite to kayak with us. We just have a few spots left for our trip on April 30th, so don’t delay.
If you have questions or need more information send an email to Elizabeth.

Turtle Trek with Us on Saturday, April 2

Join us to trek for Sea Turtles in the San Gabriel River on Saturday, April 2. It’s a lot of fun! Not only will you observe sea turtles but also interesting wildlife like egrets and perhaps a great blue heron or two.

Environmental educators from, Tidal Influence, will lead you on a wonderful walk along the levy of the San Gabriel River, which bisects Los Cerritos Wetlands. Attendees will be led on a tour of Los Cerritos Wetlands that will take us to the spot along the San Gabriel River where the sea turtles love to hang out.

For part of our tour, we will view and discuss the Zedler marsh ecosystem while keeping an eye out for local wildlife. Much of our walk will take us through the Signal Hill Petroleum oil operations, where walk attendees will learn about the history of oil extraction and its impact on the wetlands.

We will stroll past Calloway marsh, take the PCH bridge over to the western levee, and walk past both privately and publicly owned wetlands on our way back to our meeting spot.

WHAT: Turtle Trek at Los Cerritos Wetlands.

WHEN: Saturday, April 2, 2022 at 8:00 am sharp! The parking lot gate will open at 7:45 am and close at 8:10 am. No latecomers can be admitted for the tour, and all participants must stay for the entire tour, which will end by 10:00 am. Kids are welcome, but they must be closely supervised and able to walk for 2 hours without needing to turn back. Closed-toe shoes are required!

WHERE: Meet in the driveway/parking area at the corner of 1st Street and PCH in Seal Beach. Please wear close-toed shoes, and kids under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information or to rsvp, email elizabeth@lcwlandtrust.org.

Hope to see you there!

Elizabeth Lambe
Executive Director
Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust

Marketplace Marsh nature walk is coming up!

The unusual Marketplace Marsh is an amazing feature of Los Cerritos Wetlands. Check it out for yourself on Saturday, February 5th. There will likely be water within Marketplace Marsh, and lots of interesting plants and animals that attendees will learn about along the way. Our tour is led by environmental educators from Tidal Influence, who will take participants on a walking tour that will take us to Marketplace Marsh on the City of Long Beach’s wetlands and over to the San Gabriel River to property held by the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority. We will likely come across great blue herons, as well as egrets and other water-loving wildlife.

During this 2-mile urban hike, you will learn about the history of land acquisitions in Los Cerritos Wetlands, and leaders will show us some freshwater marsh habitats that few people have ever viewed. Participants will get a behind-the-scenes look at how wetlands and oil operations co-exist at Los Cerritos Wetlands.

WHAT: Nature walk of the Marketplace Marsh at Los Cerritos Wetlands.

WHEN: Saturday, February 5th, 202, at 8:00 AM. The parking lot gate will open at 7:45 AM and close at 8:10 AM. No latecomers can be admitted for the tour, and all participants must stay for the entire tour, which will end by 10:00 AM.

WHERE: Meet in the driveway/parking area at the corner of 1st Street and PCH in Seal Beach. There will be signs.

Close-toed shoes are required to attend the walk, and kids under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. For more information or to rsvp, send an email to Elizabeth.

Hope to see you on Saturday, February 5th!

P.S. We were so happy that acclaimed local journalist Franklin Sims attended our most recent nature walk, the Turtle Trek. He did a great job of summing up the need for nearby open space for all of those who live in Long Beach to enjoy. We like to think our free-of-charge community nature walks help address that deficit. Check out his insightful video report below. Regular nature walk attendees will recognize Jayde Bahrami of Tidal Influence doing a great job of describing the need to protect wetlands and the need for nearby accessible natural open space.

Attend a Fun Nature Walk

Our next nature walk will be the Raptor Ramble on the Hellman property at Los Cerritos Wetlands.

Why not kick off the holiday season with a guided nature walk at Los Cerritos Wetlands? I hope you will join us, and educators from the environmental consulting firm Tidal Influence, on a wonderful nature walk at Los Cerritos Wetlands on Saturday, December 4th. I urge you to get outside and enjoy some of our natural open space.

We will be following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines (CDC) for our outdoor nature walk, which means vaccinated people can attend mask-free. However, as the CDC recommends, face coverings and physical distancing for unvaccinated attendees are required. Of course, anyone can wear a mask if they prefer.

Per the CDC. . .people are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at two or more weeks after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), or two or more weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson [J&J]/Janssen). If you feel sick and/or exhibit any symptoms of COVID-19, please stay home, and we hope to see you another time.

Our nature walk will begin with a brief orientation to our wetlands. We will stroll through heritage coastal sage scrub and historic dredge spoils while looking for raptors (birds of prey) and a number of other species that nest in the area. As we pass the salt flats, we may see tiger beetles and coyote tracks before hiking up to the Heron Pointe Cultural trail to discuss how tidal circulation shapes our local wetlands.

We will complete our walk by heading back to the access parking area. Bring binoculars, if you have them; we will observe many different kinds of interesting wildlife.

WHAT: Raptor Ramble on the Hellman Portion of Los Cerritos Wetlands.

WHEN: Saturday, December 4th, at 8:00 am sharp! The parking lot gate will open at 7:45 AM and close at 8:10 AM. No latecomers can be admitted for the tour, and all participants must stay for the entire tour, which will end by 10:00 AM.

WHERE: Meet in the driveway/parking area at the corner of 1st Street and PCH in Seal Beach. Close-toed shoes are required, and kids under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information about the nature walk or to rsvp (which is now required) please email Elizabeth.

See below for a map of where we meet. Hope to see you there!

Walk the Los Cerritos Wetlands With Us- Saturday, October 2

Join us to trek for Sea Turtles in the San Gabrial River on Saturday, October 2nd. It’s a lot of fun! Not only will you observe sea turtles but also interesting wildlife like egrets and perhaps a great blue heron or two.

Environmental educators from, Tidal Influence, will lead you on a wonderful walk along the levy of the San Gabriel River, which bisects Los Cerritos Wetlands. Attendees will be led on a tour of Los Cerritos Wetlands that will take us to the spot along the San Gabriel River where the sea turtles love to hang out.

For part of our tour, we will view and discuss the Zedler marsh ecosystem while keeping an eye out for local wildlife. Much of our walk will take us through the Signal Hill Petroleum oil operations, where walk attendees will learn about the history of oil extraction and its impact on the wetlands.

We will stroll past Calloway marsh, take the PCH bridge over to the western levee, and walk past both privately and publicly owned wetlands on our way back to our meeting spot.

WHAT: Turtle Trek at Los Cerritos Wetlands.

WHEN: Saturday, October 2nd, 2021, at 8:00 am sharp! The parking lot gate will open at 7:45 am and close at 8:10 am. No latecomers can be admitted for the tour, and all participants must stay for the entire tour, which will end by 10:00 am. Kids are welcome, but they must be closely supervised and able to walk for 2 hours without needing to turn back. Closed-toe shoes are required!

WHERE: Meet in the driveway/parking area at the corner of 1st Street and PCH in Seal Beach. Please wear close-toed shoes, and kids under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information or to rsvp, email elizabeth@lcwlandtrust.org.

Hope to see you there!

Elizabeth Lambe
Executive Director
Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust

P.S. Also on October 2nd, from 10:30 AM-12:30 PM, is the Aquarium of the Pacific-sponsored, community-based restoration event. Our wetlands are on their way to being restored and made more attractive. That’s because of all the hard-working folks who have volunteered their time to remove invasive plants and other weeds and plant in their place new, “habitat friendly” native plants. It’s fun; it’s fulfilling and it requires no special skills or experience–just enthusiasm and a willingness to learn. Your contribution of time and effort is vital to the success of the restoration and would be greatly appreciated!

For more information or to RSVP email iwanttohelp@tidalinfluence.com.
Click here for a comprehensive list of all the upcoming stewardship events at Los Cerritos Wetlands.

Help Restore Los Cerritos Wetlands. Attend our upcoming Nature Walk and Community Restoration Event.

Join us to trek for Sea Turtles in the San Gabrial River on Saturday, October 2nd.
It’s a lot of fun!

Join us and environmental educators from the environmental consulting company, Tidal Influence, on Saturday, October 2nd for a wonderful walk along the levy of the San Gabriel River, which bisects Los Cerritos Wetlands. Attendees will be led on a tour of Los Cerritos Wetlands that will take us to the spot along the San Gabriel River where the sea turtles love to hang out.

For part of our tour, we will view and discuss the Zedler marsh ecosystem while keeping an eye out for local wildlife. Much of our walk will take us through the Signal Hill Petroleum oil operations, where walk attendees will learn about the history of oil extraction and its impact on the wetlands.

We will stroll past Calloway marsh, take the PCH bridge over to the western levee and walk past both privately and publicly owned wetlands on our way back to our meeting spot.

WHAT:  Turtle Trek at Los Cerritos Wetlands.

WHEN:  Saturday, October 2nd, 2019, at 8:00 am sharp! Parking lot gate will open at 7:45 am and close at 8:10 am. No latecomers can be admitted for the tour, and all participants must stay for the entire tour, which will end by 10:00 am. Kids are welcome, but they must be closely supervised and able to walk for 2 hours without needing to turn back. Closed-toe shoes are required!

WHERE:  Meet in the driveway/parking area at the corner of 1st Street and PCH in Seal Beach.  Please wear close-toed shoes, and kids under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information or to rsvp email elizabeth@lcwlandtrust.org.

Hope to see you there!

Plant a wetlands plant with us on Saturday, October 2nd. It’s a lot of fun!

Our wetlands are on their way to being restored and made more attractive. Thanks to all the hard-working folks who have volunteered their time, tons of trash has been removed from Los Cerritos Wetlands. Invasive plants and other weeds have also been removed, and new, “habitat friendly” plants are replacing them. It’s fun, it’s fulfilling, and it requires no special skills or experience–just enthusiasm and a willingness to learn. If you have either of those qualities, then we hope you will join us on Saturday, October 2nd for a habitat restoration volunteer day at Los Cerritos Wetlands. Your contribution of time and effort is vital to the success of the restoration and is greatly appreciated!

What: Volunteer Habitat Restoration of Los Cerritos Wetlands.
When: Saturday, October 2nd, 10:30 am-12:30 pm, (directly after our nature walk.)
Why: To help grow native salt marsh plants and help remove a persistent nonnative plant called Black Mustard or Brasica nigra that dominates and damages wetlands habitat.
Where: Meet at the corner of 1st Street and PCH in Seal Beach.

To volunteer, close-toed shoes are required, and please bring sunscreen and water. Participants are eligible to win prizes such as a T-shirt or tickets to the Aquarium of the Pacific.

For more information or to RSVP email iwanttohelp@tidalinfluence.com.
Click here for a comprehensive list of all the upcoming stewardship events at Los Cerritos Wetlands.

Support LCWLT through Long Beach Gives

Thanks to the vision and the tenacity we have accomplished amazing things. Since our founding, now over half of Los Cerritos Wetlands is in the public trust, we have beaten back some really bad and damaging development proposals and provide unique, on-the-ground educational experiences, for local school children, especially those who reside in the most urban parts of Long Beach, where natural open space is at a premium.

We have so much to celebrate locally when it comes to protecting and restoring our local wetlands habitat. I am especially looking forward to the transfer of more of Los Cerritos Wetlands into the public trust and that plans to restore the wetlands are moving forward.

I am proud that even with the world locked down for much of 2021 we provided educational virtual wetlands field trip for kids who were attending school virtually. Even though we are still unable to lead on-the-ground field trips for students (yet) our community nature walks are back and we encourage you to join us at the next one, which will be on Saturday, October 2nd.

Of course, defending undeveloped, and therefore rare, coastal open space from those who wish to exploit our local wetlands requires community support, and we are so appreciative of all of who have joined our fight to protect Los Cerritos Wetlands.

The Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust is participating in Long Beach Gives, a one-day giving cycle for Long Beach non-profits. On September 23, 2021, we will raise funds for the protection and preservation of Los Cerritos Wetlands via Long Beach Gives. Our organizational fundraising goal is $10,000. Supporting the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust helps to ensure the protection, preservation, and restoration of our unique and vital local wetlands habitat. Additionally, with help from supporters such as you, we will continue to educate students in Long Beach and Orange County public schools about wetlands, and provide them with tours and lessons in order to foster a connection to nature and each other and help bring classroom concepts to life.

Your donation, large or small, will make a difference and help move the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust closer to our fundraising goal.

Please don’t wait. Donate now.

Please follow the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust on Facebook and Instagram, visit our website, and forward this email to your friends and family to get the word out. We appreciate your support!

Our next nature walk is Saturday, October 2nd.
We will be trekking for sea turtles in the
San Gabriel River.

Join us to trek for Sea Turtles in the San Gabrial River on Saturday, October 2nd.
It’s a lot of fun!

Join us and environmental educators from the environmental consulting company, Tidal Influence, on Saturday, October 2nd for a wonderful walk along the levy of the San Gabriel River, which bisects Los Cerritos Wetlands. Attendees will be led on a tour of Los Cerritos Wetlands that will take us to the spot along the San Gabriel River where the sea turtles love to hang out.

For part of our tour, we will view and discuss the Zedler marsh ecosystem while keeping an eye out for local wildlife. Much of our walk will take us through the Signal Hill Petroleum oil operations, where walk attendees will learn about the history of oil extraction and its impact on the wetlands.

We will stroll past Calloway marsh, take the PCH bridge over to the western levee and walk past both privately and publicly owned wetlands on our way back to our meeting spot.

WHAT:  Turtle Trek at Los Cerritos Wetlands.

WHEN:  Saturday, October 2nd, 2019, at 8:00 am sharp! Parking lot gate will open at 7:45 am and close at 8:10 am. No latecomers can be admitted for the tour, and all participants must stay for the entire tour, which will end by 10:00 am. Kids are welcome, but they must be closely supervised and able to walk for 2 hours without needing to turn back. Closed-toe shoes are required!

WHERE:  Meet in the driveway/parking area at the corner of 1st Street and PCH in Seal Beach.  Please wear close-toed shoes, and kids under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information or to rsvp email elizabeth@lcwlandtrust.org.

Hope to see you there!

Take Action. Take a Walk.

Putting a price on carbon is a fast and effective way to bring down greenhouse emissions quickly AND benefit the economy. Click TAKE ACTION!

Did you know that a strong, economy-wide price on carbon could reduce America’s carbon pollution by 50% by 2030, putting us on track to reach net-zero by 2050? HR 2307 is the legislation that can make that happen.

When long-time Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust activist Tom Hazelleaf came to talk to us about the Citizen’s Climate Lobby and their simple proposal to put a tax on carbon production to save the planet, we were inspired by the simplicity of the idea. Talking with Tom I learned that:

A strong, economy-wide price on carbon could reduce America’s carbon pollution by 50% by 2030, putting us on track to reach net-zero by 2050.

A carbon tax fast tracks the pathway to affordable clean energy because when the government puts a price on carbon, it sends a signal through the economy.

A carbon tax is affordable for ordinary Americans because the money collected from fossil fuel companies is given as a dividend, or “carbon cashback” to every American. It is estimated that 95% of low and middle-income earners will break even or save money while protecting our planet.

A carbon price will save 4.5 million American lives over the next 50 years by restoring clean air in communities across the country, something we sure could use in Long Beach.

Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust supports HR 2307, the Energy Innovation AND Carbon Dividend Act and we hope you will too. Please ask your representative to put a price on carbon into the budget reconciliation package. It takes 10 minutes (or less) to email and call.

If your Congressman is Alan Lowenthal, in your message please thank him for supporting HR 2307. Another cool thing about Congressman Alan Lowenthal is that he is a member of the bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus which includes 23 Republicans and 41 Democrats.

It will help the Citizens Climate Lobby more successfully advocate for this legislation if you can submit your comments by August 31st, so don’t delay!

I hope you take the time to submit your comment…It’s a simple, fast, and easy way to help protect the planet and our local wetlands, which are under the threat of sea-level rise (and more) due to climate change.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Lambe
Executive Director
Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trus

Our next nature walk will be the Raptor Ramble on the Hellman property at Los Cerritos Wetlands.

Why not kick off the beginning of the fall season with a guided nature walk at Los Cerritos Wetlands? I hope you will join us and our partners, biologists, and environmental educators from the environmental consulting firm Tidal Influence, on a wonderful nature walk at Los Cerritos Wetlands on Saturday, September 4th. I urge you to get outside and enjoy some of our natural open space.

We will be following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines (CDC) for our outdoor nature walk, which means vaccinated people can attend mask-free. However, as the CDC recommends, face coverings and physical distancing for unvaccinated attendees are required. Of course, anyone can wear a mask if they prefer.

Per the CDC. . .people are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at two or more weeks after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), or two or more weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson [J&J]/Janssen). If you feel sick and/or exhibit any symptoms of COVID-19, please stay home, and we hope to see you another time.

Our nature walk will begin with a brief orientation to our wetlands. We will stroll through heritage coastal sage scrub and historic dredge spoils while looking for raptors(birds of prey) and a number of other species that nest in the area. As we pass the salt flats, we may see tiger beetles and coyote tracks before hiking up to the Heron Pointe Cultural trail to discuss how tidal circulation shapes our local wetlands.

We will complete our walk by heading back to the access parking area. Bring binoculars, if you have them; we will observe many different kinds of interesting wildlife.

WHAT: Raptor Ramble on the Hellman Portion of Los Cerritos Wetlands.

WHEN: Saturday, September 4th, at 8:00 am sharp! The parking lot gate will open at 7:45 AM and close at 8:10 AM. No latecomers can be admitted for the tour, and all participants must stay for the entire tour, which will end by 10:00 AM.

WHERE: Meet in the driveway/parking area at the corner of 1st Street and PCH in Seal Beach. Close-toed shoes are required, and kids under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

See below for a map of where we meet. Hope to see you there!

For more information about the nature walk or to rsvp (which is required) please email Elizabeth.

IMPORTANT DETAILS:
Meet in the driveway near 1st street and PCH. Map of where we meet is below and you should park in the driveway. Event starts at 8:00 a.m. and the parking lot gate closes at 8:10 a.m. No latecomers can be admitted. Events are family-friendly but strollers are not permitted. Close-toed shoes are required. Please bring sunscreen and water.
Rain Cancels.

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