Our 2021 Field Trips around San Diego:
Mission Trails: June 10th, 2o21
Figure 1: Dr. Flores-Renteria leading a plant identification discussion (Photo credits: Yazmín Lommel).
Figure 2: A honeybee (Apis mellifera) pollinating Romneya coulturii (Photo credits: Thomas Morales).
On June 10th, 2021 we went on a field trip to Mission Trails Regional Park which was lead by Dr. Sula Vanderplank and Dr. Lluvia Flores Renteria. After meeting at the parking lot, we tried our hands at using dichotomous keys and using iNaturalist in the morning to identify Jimson’s weed (Datura wrightii), white-bark raspberry (Rubus leucodermis), Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulturii), and Yerba Mansa (Anemopsis californica). We were also able to see Vincent Trang's plant that he has been researching, Quercus agrifolia for the first time this course!
Figure 3: Intern Vincent Trang posing alongside the plant that he is researching, Quercus agrifolia (Photo credits: Lluvia Flores Renteria).
After we finished identifying the majority of the surrounding plants within the parking lot, we decided to take lunch nearby the Old Mission Dam (Fig. 4). We finished the afternoon by going on a more brisk walk alongside the river while making sure to identify some previously unencountered plants such as the Chalk Dudleya (Dudleya pulverlenta) before calling it a day.
Figure 4: An Idyllic shady spot along the river where we had respite from the heat (Photo credits: Yazmín Lommel).
Figure 5: Chalk Dudleya spotted along a wash away from a river (Photo credits: Yazmín Lommel).
San Diego Museum of Natural History and Balboa Park: June 16, 2021
On the 16th of June, the interns of the Binational Studies Program headed to the historical site of Balboa Park. We started the day by meeting at the Moreton Bay Fig Tree (Ficus macrophylla). In 1996, when it was last measured, it stood at 78 feet tall and 126 feet wide, making it one of the three largest fig trees in the state of California. First we toured the varied and beautiful assortment of plants and gardens, including the Lily Pond, Desert Garden, and the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden, and worked on our plant identification skills along the way.
Figure 6: Left to right Reyna Sauza, John Evans, Alex Adame, and Eduardo Charvel, in front of the Lily Pond and the Balboa Botanical Building (Photo Credits: Reyna Sauza).
Figure 7: Balboa Park has a rich collection of plants and gardens. In the images above we see species from the genera Arbutus, Rosa, and Opuntia spp., representing the diversity of flora you can observe. (Photo credits: Reyna Sauza and Paulina Arellano).
After touring the gardens, we headed to the San Diego Natural History Museum to meet Curator of Botany, Dr. Jon Rebman. He has studied the flora of San Diego and Baja California for over 21 years and manages the Herbarium Collection for the museum. He welcomed us to his lab and talked to us about the biodiversity of San Diego, the California Floristic Province, the importance of herbarium collections, and how to maintain them.
Figure 8: Dr. Jon Rebman greeted interns Vincent Trang, Paulina Arellano, and Thomas Morales, as well as Dr. Sula Vanderplank. (Photo credits: Yazmín Lommel).
The San Diego Herbarium, which has been collecting specimens since the 1800's, has around 255,818 specimen records that detail 16,250 species. Students were able to explore the collection to find the plants that they were studying and analyze the different specimens for inclusion in their research.
Figure 9: Dr. Sula Vanderplank and John Evans, browsing the herbarium collection for specimens of Lathyrus splendens (Photo Credits: Reyna Sauza).
Cleveland National Forest: June 21, 2021
On the 21st of June, we arrived at the Cleveland National Forest where we were met with Lance Criley, a Rangeland Management specialist for the Forest Service. Lance led our caravan up the mountain and introduced us to two of his colleagues, Lee Hamm and Lauren Quon. Both Lee and Lauren work for the Forest Service, where Lee is the Resident Wildlife Biologist and Lauren is the Resident Botanist. The three of them proceeded with a tour of the lands and explained to us the dynamics of land management via federal agencies such as the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the Forest Service, the latter of which Cleveland National Forest belongs to. One of the most interesting parts of our tour was when Lance took us to a meadow and explained how a combination of climate change and overgrazing has led to a decline in native plants and an increase in invasive grasses. Later in the day, all three of our guides discussed the career paths they took that got them to where they are, and it really opened our eyes to the different kinds of work available in the field of Biology.
Figure 10: Lance describes firsthand the effects of overgrazing and climate change on the populations of native plants in a meadow in the Cleveland National Forest (Photo credits: Lluvia Flores Renteria).
Figure 11: Lance gives a talk to us about what the BLM does and what his job at the Forest Service entails (Photo credits: Lluvia Flores-Renteria).
Figure 12: Lauren Quon, Resident Botanist for the Forest Service, describing her career path prior to working for the Cleveland National Forest (Photo credits: Sula Vanderplank).
Figure 13: A lunch break with Lance under some Jeffrey Pines, he goes into further detail about his educational history and the kinds of job experience he had prior to working for the Forest Service (Photo credits: Lluvia Flores Renteria).
Cabrillo National Monument: June 29, 2021
On Tuesday June 29, we all met up at Cabrillo National Monument at 10AM. We met with Dr. Keith Lombardo who is a Coastal Ecologist and the Director of the non-profit Southern California Research Learning Center (SCRLC), however, his previous role was the Chief of Natural Resource Management & Science at Cabrillo National Monument. Keith managed the monitoring program within the intertidal habitat which included avian, herpetofauna, and rare native plant communities. He talked to us about his previous role as a Marine Biologist since the monitoring program also studied and researched ocean acidification in the intertidal zone. After brief introductions, we went on a walk from the flagpole to the Whale Overlook where we discussed a variety of topics with Keith such as rare coastal plants, including Shaw's Agave - Agave shawii. We later met up with Dr. Linh-Anh Cat who is the new chief of Resources Management and Science at Cabrillo National Monument. Linh Anh manages the natural and cultural resources at Cabrillo National Monument among other tasks. Lihn Anh told us about the upcoming fog internship that is being planned which will study the specific fog range that reaches Cabrillo National Monument but doesn’t extend farther. Vice versa, sometimes the San Diego Airport has fog whereas it won’t reach Cabrillo. We then went down to the tidepools to eat our lunch by the ocean.
Figure 14: Posing for a photo at Cabrillo National Monument with Dr. Linh-Ann Cat and Dr. Keith Lombardo after an enlightning talk regarding career advancement opportunities within the federal government and non-profits. From left to right: Dr. Linh-Ann Cat, Dr. Keith Lombardo, Dr. Lluvia Flores-Rentera, Dr. Sula Vanderplank, Yazmin Lommel, Reyna Sauza, Vincent Trang, Eduardo Charvell, Thomas Morales, Paulina Arellano (Photo credits: John "Johnny" Evans).
Figure 15: Posing on the ocean front of Cabrillo National Monument by the tidepools. From left to right: Thomas Morales, Vincent Trang, Reyna Sauza, Paulina Arellano, Eduardo Charvel, Yazmin Lommel, John Evans, Dr. Lluvia Flores-Renteria (Photo credits: Lluvia Flores Renteria).
Figure 16: Agave shawii var. shawii clones at Cabrillo National Monument (Photo credits: Reyna Sauza).
San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park Seedbank: July 1st, 2021
The internship group headed to the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park so we could get a tour of the Conservation Lab and the Seedbank. We first met with Dr. Carlos "Charlie" de la Rosa, who brought us to his lab and gave us a lecture on species conservation. In the lab, we were surrounded by some familiar equipment, but the most exciting part for me (Johnny) was receiving a package of Lathyrus splendens samples. Earlier in the year, our professors were preparing for the internship and collected some samples of my plant from Mexico. After seeing the lab, we headed to an outdoor theatre and learned a lot about zoo careers and Charlie's research.
Figure 17: Dr. Carlos "Charlie" de la Rosa giving us a tour around the San Diego Wildlife Alliance Conservation Lab (Photo Credits: Sula Vanderplank).
Figure 18: Dr. Carlos "Charlie" de la Rosa leading a discussion on the plights of conservation at the San Diego Wildlife Alliance Conservation Center (Photo Credits: Sula Vanderplank).
We ate lunch and could see all the zoo employees having a celebration, perhaps for a birthday. Overall meeting the staff at the Zoo was a very friendly and positive experience.
We then had the honor of meeting Stacy Anderson and her team at the seed bank. The work being done at the seed bank is important for cataloging essentially entire genetic pools to preserve them in the future. The seed bank was filled with hundreds – thousands – of samples collected using specialized machines or even by hand. Stacy told us about her 20 years of experience working at the Safari park seed bank. We discussed career paths and how the seed bank also provides seed bulking services. Stacy had two employees on her team, their names are Joe and Tobin. They were both diligently separating seeds form their fruits as we listened to Stacy’s talk. We got to learn about their experience joining the team, and Tobin gave us a look into a caged grow house. In this grow house Tobin works on raising seeds to maturity to collect their seeds for seed bulking. Seed bulking in the process of growing seeds in order to sell them.
Figure 19: Stacy Anderson (outside of the picture to the right) identifying some of the plant specimens that the Botanical Conservation Center, at the San Diego Wildlife Alliance have had sucess in propagating (Photo Credits: Lluvia Flores Renteria).
Figure 20: Stacy Anderson (left) explaining the seed collection protocol the Botanical Conservation Center, at the San Diego Wildlife Alliance adhere to (Photo Credits: Sula Vanderplank).
Overall, the staff at the Safari park all seemed like bright, friendly, and passionate people. Their career paths brought them to one of the most prestigious zoos in the world, so it was invaluable to hear their stories.
Figure 21: Tobin showing us the greenhouse located at the San Diego Wildlife Alliance: Botanical Conservation Center (Photo Credits: John "Johnny" Evans).
Mission Trails with Richard Bugbee: July 26, 2021
Our internship had the great opportunity to spend the day with Luiseño Elder Richard Bugbee at Mission Trails. Richard began introducing himself to us as a lecturer from the Kumeyaay Community College who had studied under the Kumeyaay Elder Jane Dumas. Under Jane, Richard was able to compare and contrast the different ways of life, language, and creation stories between the Luiseño and the Kumeyaay.
Figure 22: Two Mountains split by a river separate a Kumeyaay dialect; Ipai: Northern People, Tipai: Southern People (Photo credits: Sula Vanderplank).
While we were performing introductions, two rangers with the regional parks joined in our discussion and provided insight regarding their jobs and understanding of the environment around us. We followed up introductions with an informal question and answer session about the native plants and their uses surrounding the Mission Trails Visitor Center. During this tour, we were reintroduced to numerous plants that we had previously seen on our field trips, including Laurel Sumac (Malosma laurina), Lemonade berry (Rhus integrifolia), and a new plant family to us - Gooseberry (Ribes spp.). The diversity of San Diego can be seen in the vast amounts of plant species that can be found at the Mission Trails visitor center as well as the many trails within the area.
Figure 23: Standing outside of the Mission Trails Visitor Center listening to Richard Bugbee discuss the specific medical and cultural uses of native plants (Photo credits: Sula Vanderplank).
Figure 24: Standing in the outdoor amphitheater located at the Mission Trails Visitor Center listening to Richard Bugbee discuss the specific medical and cultural uses of native plants. (Photo credits: Sula Vanderplank).
San Diego Botanical Garden: July 28, 2021
On the morning of July 27th, 2021, we enthusiastically arrived at the San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas, CA for a day visit. We were greeted by the Director of Conservation and Horticulture, Tony Gurnoe, at the front gate and were escorted into the tropical greenhouse for introductions and information about the garden. As we walked into the greenhouse, we were struck with the mistiness of the artificial rainforest along with bright colored flowers, giant-sized leaves (Figure X) and floating islands of plants hanging midair from the ceiling which made it feel like being inside a magical garden. After introducing us to the very famous corpse flower, Tony moved on to introducing himself and then explained the important conservation work being done at the garden. We were joined later by Jeremy Bugarchich, curator of collections, who described his tasks at the garden before we continued with our own introductions and we shared a little information about the plants we are researching during our internship.
Figure 25: A view of the greenhouse that is present at the San Diego Botanical Garden (Photo Credits: Reyna Sauza).
Once we finished formal introductions, we were excited to begin the tour of the gardens. Our first stop was the California native plant habitat where we saw one of our intern’s plants, Agave shawii, and a hybrid between Agave shawii and Agave attenuata (agave blue flame). We also saw black sage, laurel sumac, lemonade berry and many other native plants (Figure 26). Our next stop was the Southern African habitat followed by a tropical habitat that featured a waterfall making it resemble a Hawaiian environment. Along the way we encountered many different plant species including beautiful cycads that were releasing pollen and seeds (Figure 27). As we entered the bamboo garden, we felt as though we were transported to the panda’s native land, China, where the bamboo reaches well over 20 feet tall. Furthermore, Tony continuously shared his impressive knowledge of all the plant species on our tour while we kept asking him questions about everything we saw. Many of the recent improvements he mentioned were from his hard work and dedication to improve the conservation of the garden.
Figure 26: Tony Gurnoe within the Botanical Garden's native plant section discussing the the impacts of climate change on fires in California on the landscape (Photo Credits: Sula Vanderplank).
Figure 27: Tony Gurnoe explaining the life cycle of cycads to the group (Photo Credits: Sula Vanderplank).
Tony then took us to the seedbank collection facility where he spends time cleaning and organizing seeds that will be stored in the freezer for future projects and for reference. Surprisingly, there is also an herbarium that Tony established when he became the Director of Conservation and Horticulture. After eating a quick lunch, we went on to explore the nursery filled with many different species of plants that are ready to be planted into the ground. Tony mentioned there was a shortage of volunteers due to Covid, therefore many plants are desperately waiting to be planted into their permanent locations. This led Dr. Flores and Dr. Vanderplank to offer our group’s help to plan a restoration project with Tony and to plant as many plants as possible.
Figure 28: Binational Plant Studies students posing in the San Diego Botanical Gardens with Tony Gurnoe, Director of Conservation at the San Diego Botanical Garden. From left to right: John Evans, Reyna Sauza, Eduardo Charvel, Thomas Morales, Paulina Arellano, Yazmin Lommel, Sula Vanderplank, Vincent Trang, Tony Gurnoe, and Lluvia Flores Renteria (Photo Credits: Sula Vanderplank).
Lastly, we ended our visit back at the tropical greenhouse, taking one last look at all the beautiful flowers and giant leaves. Before saying our goodbyes, we took a group photo with Tony (Figure X) while thanking him for having us, teaching us about the garden, and what he does. Overall, it was a memorable day at the majestic San Diego Botanic Garden.