WATSONVILLE — Volunteers are needed to help plant trees and native plants throughout Ramsay Park and along Watsonville Slough on Saturday for the 12th annual World Wetlands Day celebration.
The annual event, coordinated by Watsonville Wetlands Watch and the City of Watsonville, will be held at the City of Watsonville’s Nature Center, 30 Harkins Slough Road, from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
While planting, volunteers will be serenaded by live music and will enjoy educational booths and activities for all ages hosted by the City of Watsonville, Watsonville Wetlands Watch, Regeneration Pajaro Valley Climate Action and Pajaro Valley Arts.
“We are excited to co-host this event with such great partners this year,” said Jonathan Pilch, executive director of Watsonville Wetlands Watch. “The event will be a lot of fun for the whole family while making a really positive impact on Watsonville’s wetlands and urban forest. These events show that when many people come together we can accomplish so much more.”
World Wetlands Day is an annual international celebration of the importance of wetlands and commemorates the signing of the Convention on Wetlands on Feb. 2, 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar. The 2019 global theme is “Climate Change and Wetlands.” This is a particularly apt theme, given volunteers will be helping with the Watsonville Urban Forest Revitalization Project, a city-wide tree planting effort designed to reduce the city’s carbon footprint and improve air and water quality. The project is funded by a grant from the California Climate Investment Program and the California Department of Fire and Forestry to Watsonville Wetlands Watch and the City of Watsonville.
The work day will also enhance Watsonville Slough, a central part of the 800-acre Watsonville Slough System that is one of the state’s largest remaining coastal freshwater wetlands.
The Watsonville Slough System supports more than 250 different migratory and resident bird species, including many ducks, waterfowl, and other birds that migrate long distances along the Pacific Flyway each year, and 23 different native plants and animals that are listed as threatened, endangered and species of special concern.
Volunteers are asked to meet at the City of Watsonville’s Nature Center at the back of Ramsay Park off of Harkins Slough Road. Tools, gloves and free snacks will be provided. The event will be hosted rain or shine.
For information, visit www.watsonvillewetlandswatch.org.
