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News Flash # 1 News Flash: Creek Clean-Up Day Luncheon Menu Expands Our luncheon menu for the Creek Week cleanup volunteers on April 28th just got bigger. Subway Sandwiches in Lincoln has donated three trays of sandwiches. Along with our barbeque hot dogs we now have a feast planned for the tired and hungry cleanup volunteers. Enjoy the meal at Markham Park at 1 pm, You will deserve it!
# 2 News Flash: 2007 Creek Week T-Shirts Now in Production The Creek Week t-shirts have gone to the printers, Creative Arts, for production. They are great. All of our volunteers and sponsors will be receiving a t-shirt. See our “T-Shirt” related link for a photo of the backside layout depicting all of the logos of Creek Week sponsors donating a minimum of $100.00 in cash or in-kind services. The t-shirts will be available for distribution starting with our first event on April 21st, at the Community Education Forum at the Lincoln Heritage Theatre. Thank you sponsors and volunteers. Enjoy your new t-shirt. #3 News Flash: Scouts are Creek Week Troopers
Many of the scout troops will be attending a Camporee
at Camp Far West on Saturday, April 28th (CW Cleanup day). They are available
during the first Creek Week weekend. Scouts are required to provide community
service hours as a means to earn merit badges. Therefore, many of the
troops have offered to assist us at both the Community Forum on April
21st and the Walk-Abouts on April 22nd. During the Community Forum they
will assist in setting up the display tables in the Lincoln Heritage Theatre
lobby. Some will even develop their own project displays which will be
entered into the Student Project competition. Many scouts will also attend
the Forum presentations to learn more about the values of the Lincoln
creek waterways. On April 22nd scouts will be carrying garbage bags on
the walk-abouts to pick up trash as they tour. Fantastic! # 4 News Flash: Take the Bus and then Walk About
Enjoy a full day of walking through the beautiful environs in and around Lincoln. What may be the best way to get to each of the four walk-about tours on Sunday, April 22nd? Take the Lincoln City bus on us. For complete bus schedule details please go to each of the four “walk-about” related links contained within our Creek Week webpage at http://www.markhamravine.org/CreekWeek.htm
# 5 News Flash: Community Education Forum Display Tables
What is a fantastic way to learn more about the values of our Lincoln creek and ravine waterways? Come to the Community Education Forum, to be conducted at the downtown Lincoln Heritage Theatre on Saturday. April 21st. This is the grand opening event of the 2007 Lincoln Creek Week. In addition to the speaker presentations there will also be twenty tables of displays. Informative brochures, maps and other handouts will be available to all attendees. Many of the Forum speakers will be available to talk directly with Lincoln residents and respond to your many questions. One display table will even focus on valuable tips for those residents who live adjacent to our ravines. A booklet entitled “Guidelines for River Friendly Landscaping” will be available as a handout. Several of the tables will have video presentations and working hands-on models focusing on water. In addition, Lincoln students will be displaying their own water related projects and/or artistic renderings. The display tables will be open for business between 9 am - 10 am, as well as 12 noon – 1 pm. News Flash # 6: Creek Week is a go RAIN or SHINE. Wear appropriate clothing.
All Creek Week events, including the walk-abouts and the Creek Clean-ups, will happen whether there is rain or shine. With this weird fluctuation of weather patterns we could have a storm or it could be hot. Be prepared in either event. Wear appropriate clothing, especially for the creek clean-up. Make sure your shoes (boots preferable) are comfortable. Utilize sun-blocking lotion and hats no matter what the weather. Gloves are very important for the clean-ups. Long sleeves and long pants are also recommended. And, if desired, a dab of bug repellant might help. Expect to get down and dirty, although no one is being asked or should get into the water. We are asking that all volunteers not disturb anything natural, including sticks, fallen tree limbs, grasses or even weeds. Beware of boards with nails, bees, snakes, broken glass or sharp metal. Everyone will be provided with sturdy garbage bags. We have plenty. There will be designated areas to place the filled garbage bags. There will also be a limited number of pick-up sticks. We will also have plenty of bottled water for all of the volunteers who participate in the creek clean-ups or the walking tours. Enough rules and warnings. Have fun out there! News Flash # 7 – What are Vernal Pools and Why do They Cause So Much Commotion? – Another Creek Week Educational Opportunity
Vernal pools are natural depressions in the ground covered by shallow water for variable periods of time from spring to winter. They are typically dry for most of the summer and fall. A diverse array of plants and animals adapted to a waterlogged spring and a parched summer have evolved to thrive under these conditions. Vernal pools were once widespread throughout the Central Valley. A number of vernal pools can still be found in our own Lincoln riparian habitat environs. However, they are fast disappearing as development encroaches. Today, many vernal pool inhabitants are threatened and listed as endangered species. Enjoy a slide presentation on this fascinating topic by author-editor Carol Witham, one of the State’s foremost experts in vernal pools. Ms Witham is a biologist and the past president of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS). This presentation will be held at the Loomis Library, located at 6050 Library Drive in Loomis, commencing at 7 pm, Tuesday, April 24th. This is a free public event. For more information call 652-7005 or go to the CNPS website at www.sacvalleycnps.org. Vernal pool information will also be available at several of the display tables being set up at our Lincoln Creek Week Community Education Forum on April 21st. Vernal pools will be visible for those participating on the Aitken Ranch / Auburn Ravine walk-about on April 22nd. News Flash # 8: Beavers – Friend of Foe? We will not Even Go There During our Lincoln Creek Week Events This Year
Beavers are a growing hot topic throughout the Central Valley. Their population has increased significantly during the past ten years, in part because many of their natural predators have already disappeared. Busy as a beaver! They are quite industrious. The damage they can cause to riparian habitats and the ecosystem, if left unchecked, can be significant. What to do about them in a humane way? That is the hot question. Even though beavers will not be a specific topic during our Lincoln Creek Week events there will be opportunities to learn more about beavers for those also participating in the Roseville Creek Week events. On Tuesday, April 24th Mary Tappel will be leading a beaver sightseeing walk-about through the Miners Ravine in Roseville. She will be sharing the lives of beavers and how various communities are learning to cope with their growing population. For further information contact Dry Creek Conservancy at 773-6575, or by email at dcc@surewest.net. Mary Tappel is a biologist and considered one of the foremost experts on beavers. For additional beaver information you can also visit the internet at the following addresses: (1) http://www.beaversww.org/Protect%20Trees.html, (2) http://www.apvnm.org/2007 News Flash # 9: “They’re Back!” Mosquitoes, West Nile Virus and our Lincoln Waterways
Walking along our beautiful Lincoln waterways can be breathtaking, but it also means “They’re Back.” As we come upon the Summer season it is time to start preparing for mosquitoes. West Nile Virus is a serious concern. We will be dispersing quite a bit of information about mosquitoes and West Nile Virus during our Community Educational Forum on Saturday, April 21st. A special display table with literature will be set up courtesy of the Placer Mosquito & Vector Control District. For those unable to make our Creek Week forum we have provided website links to some of this valuable information.
News Flash # 10: Creek Week Is Not Just About Lincoln!
The Lincoln Creek Week is full of interesting and exciting events. But, there are other Creek Weeks being conducted throughout the country during the third week of April this year. Locally there will be Creek Week celebrations in Roseville, Loomis, Rocklin and Sacramento. The Sacramento Creek Week has been an annual event for 17 years. We encourage Lincoln residents to become familiar with these other Creek Week activities and perhaps partake of their excitement as well. Please go to the following websites to learn more about how other nearby communities are also working to clean their respective waterways and thereby enhance their own riparian habitats.
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