The US Fish and Wildlife Service is excited to invite you all to an upcoming in-person BeachCOMBERS volunteer training! The training will be held on November 2nd from 10am-4pm in the William Penn Mott Jr. Training Center located at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, CA.
BeachCOMBERS is a long-term community science program that monitors the health of coastal ecosystems in Central and Southern California. Founded in 1997, BeachCOMBERS is a collaborative program powered by volunteers and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in partnership with California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Through BeachCOMBERS, trained volunteers survey selected sections of coastline monthly from Santa Cruz to San Diego with the specific goal of monitoring deposition of beach cast carcasses and oil presence to use as a metric of coastal ecosystem conditions. BeachCOMBERS has provided data for a number of scientific papers, contributed to the conservation of marine resources, quantified oiled wildlife, and has informed resource managers about wildlife entanglement from fishing gear and other anthropogenic debris.
During the training they will cover the fundamentals of the BeachCOMBERS program, survey protocols, and marine mammal and seabird species ID both in the classroom and on the beach. Please bring water, sun protection, something to write with, and a bagged lunch. Please wear comfortable layered clothing and shoes appropriate for walking on the beach in. They will be providing light snacks and we encourage you to bring a reusable mug/cup.
Please share this post with anyone who may be interested in joining the BeachCOMBERS program 😊 RSVPs to the training are appreciated!
Volunteer requirements:
Ability to walk on unstable ground (sand and cobble) for distances between 2 to 6 miles
Completion of volunteer trainings
One-year commitment to survey an assigned beach one day during a low tide within the first week of each month (2-6 hours)
Please reach out to Kirby Bartlett (BeachCOMBERS Program Coordinator, fws8venturaBeachCOMBERS@fws.gov) and Dr. Corinne Gibble (North Coast BeachCOMBERS Chapter Coordinator, beachcombersmb@gmail.com) with any questions!
We hope to meet you at the training!
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