This event has been cancelled due to weather
Join the Marin MPA Watch volunteer team at Drakes Beach and become one of our valuable VIPs!
This training will include:
An overview of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
California and Marin MPA Watch Network
The importance of MPAs
The roles, requirements and benefits of the Marin MPA Watch Volunteer Program
After orientation, we will walk the Drakes Beach survey route together, and practice how to collect and record data using the survey form.
Please wear layers, sunscreen and a hat, and bring:
Reusable water bottle, water and snacks
Your personal calendar to schedule your first two survey dates (volunteers required to conduct 1-2 surveys per month over the course of three months)
Additional items: camera, binoculars, and a trash bag if you want to help pick up beach debris
WHAT IS THE THE MPA WATCH PROGRAM?
The MPA Watch Program:
- is a citizen science program
- trains volunteers to collect scientific data on consumptive and non-consumptive coastal and marine resource use by ocean users using specific protocols and a survey in control areas and Marin Protected Areas (MPAs). Surveys are observational only, and collect human activities in and outside of MPAs, such as surfing, kayaking, fishing, boating, running, etc., with the intention of improving our understanding of how people are using our statewide MPAs.
- informs MPA management and supports the California Department of Fish and Wildlife
The California MPA Watch program is implemented by ten different organizations throughout the state. The Marin MPA Watch Volunteer Program is managed by the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin (EAC), and in collaboration with the California Academy of Sciences, and Point Reyes National Seashore. The Marin MPA Watch focuses their efforts at Corte Madera Marsh, Drakes Beach, Drakes Estero, Point Resistance, Point Reyes Headlands, and Agate County Beach.
Not only do local volunteers learn about their coastal environment and become citizen scientists and stewards of the area, but they generate quantities of monitoring data that would not be possible under the current state budget.
