Park Adventures

Item Description

Point Reyes National Seashore Association is happy to partner with the National Park Service at Point Reyes for "Living on an Increasingly Precarious Edge -- Restoring the Seashore's Coastal Dune Ecosystems in the Face of Climate Change," an outdoor educational adventure for up to seven people, with Lorraine Parsons of the National Park Service at Point Reyes.

Plus, you'll receive a signed copy of Paul Hawken's "Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming," and enjoy a weekend for up to 7 in a spacious 3-bedroom cedar Point Reyes Station home with a hot tub and in a gorgeous setting.

Coastal environments are considered among the most vulnerable to changes from climate change, including direct changes (e.g. changes of temperature and precipitation) and indirect changes (e.g. sea level rise, wind and water circulation, increasing storm events). 

With rising sea levels, there will be more frequent and more serious flooding of low-lying coastal areas by extreme tides, storm surges, and wave effects. Dunes are dynamic interfaces between the land and the sea. From afar, they appear somewhat barren landscapes of seemingly endless undulating mounds of sand, but, in reality, they teem with life. 

Point Reyes as a Climate Change Laboratory

Home to no less than 11 federally endangered plants and animals, the dunes at Point Reyes National Seashore are a unique and valuable resource threatened by many different factors, including sea level rise and encroachment by invasive species. Because of these threats and the value of dunes to many species, listed or not, the Seashore has embarked on an ambitious program of restoring its dune systems through removal of European beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria) and iceplant (Carpobrotus spp.), two species that retard natural dune movement and displace native dune plants.

By removing invasive plant species, natural dune migration processes are restored, enabling dune systems to move and change in response to changes in sediment supply and sea level. This restoration effort helps to preserve these fragile and valuable ecosystems in the face of climate change and ultimately benefits many rare animals and plants, as well as humans.

During this field trip, Seashore Vegetation Ecologist Lorraine Parsons will explore the natural history of the Seashore's coastal dunes and the impacts that climate change pose to this system and the myriad of flora and fauna that call these dunes home. The group will walk through both restored and unrestored dunes south of Abbotts Lagoon and get a rare "behind-the-scenes" look at some of these systems, which are some distance from most of the park's traditional hiking trails. 

Trip Details

This field trip can best be enjoyed with a group no larger than 7 people. Roundtrip time for this event is 3 hours from the park's Bear Valley administrative headquarters. It is recommended that guests be no younger than 8 to 10 years-old due to the fact that people will be walking through deep sand at points. 

This field trip is valid between October 2017 and June 2018, with springtime visits recommended due to the often beautiful wildflower displays. Remember to bring your binoculars as there are often great birding opportunities near Abbotts Lagoon!

Live Like a Local!

Your weekend in Point Reyes Station will be based in a solid cedar 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on the sunny Point Reyes mesa, the perfect getaway for a romantic weekend, a relaxing solo retreat, or an adventure-filled family vacation. Situated on one acre surrounded by cypress trees and beautiful flowering plants and shrubs, it's a meandering country mile walk into the town of Point Reyes Station.

Beautiful décor with original artwork on the walls, comfortable beds, down comforters, central heat & a wood burning stove. Relax in the hammock on the large deck, soak in the private hot tub under the stars, enjoy the privacy, quiet and secluded beauty of this special spot on the mesa.

Your Climate Change Resource Guide

"Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming", edited by Paul Hawken, maps, measures, models, and describes the 100 most substantive solutions to global warming. For each solution, the book describe its history, the carbon impact it provides, the relative cost and savings, the path to adoption, and how it works. The goal of the research that informs Drawdown is to determine if we can reverse the buildup of atmospheric carbon within thirty years. All solutions modeled are already in place, well understood, analyzed based on peer-reviewed science, and are expanding around the world.

Point Reyes National Seashore Association Bookstore will also provide the winning bidder a copy of "A Natural History of the Point Reyes Peninsula," by Jules Evens.

Lorraine Parsons is the Chief of the Vegetation Resources Branch of Point Reyes National Seashore where she manages, planning and implementation of invasive plant removal, rare plant monitoring, conservation, and management and restoration. She manages a number of ongoing coastal dune restoration project and was the lead project manager for the Giacomini Wetlands Restoration Project. 

Prior to joining the National Park Service, Lorraine was a Wetland and Riparian Ecologist for the Sonoma County Water Agency. She has also worked for Wetlands Research Associates in San Rafael and the Pacific Estuarine Research Laboratory of San Diego State University. 

Lorraine received undergraduate degrees in both Biology and Journalism from the University of Southern California and obtained her Master's degree in Biology from San Diego State University.

Educate yourself on the science of climate change, and luxuriate in West Marin splendor, bid today!

Item Special Note

This package includes: 

(1) Guided field trip of Point Reyes National Seashore dunes with NPS Staff Lorraine Parsons for up to 7 people. Dates and times must be mutually agreed upon. All ages encouraged, but participants must be able to walk 1-3 miles roundtrip.

(1) Copy of "Project Drawdown" by Paul Hawken.

(1) Weekend for up to 7 people in a private Point Reyes home.

(1) Copy of "A Natural History of the Point Reyes Peninsula," by Jules Evens.

Field trip and home stay expire June 30, 2018. Your books will be mailed to you following close of auction.