Bottom Line: The San Mateo County coastline is a world-class resource for recreation, tourism, and coastal ecology. It's easy to get involved with protecting this vital resource.

Countless San Mateo County residents (and many from outside the county) look to the Pacific coastline for recreation and relaxation, or for their jobs in agriculture, fisheries, and tourism. In all cases, the preservation of this critical resource is of paramount importance, and there are a number of organizations working towards that goal that you can get involved with.

Bottom Line: Local organizations like Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) are preserving some of the world’s most important areas of open space. What do they do and how can you support them?

Both Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and POST exist primarily to preserve areas of undeveloped land in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties for recreation use and habitat.

Bottom Line: Bay Area open space depends on volunteers to help maintain hundreds of miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails. Here is how you can become involved.

The San Francisco Bay Area contains many public open spaces managed by a number of organizations including State Parks, County parks, the Mid Peninsula Open Space District, Golden Gate National Recreation Area (National Park Service), and parks run by city governments. These parks cover over 50,000 acres of open space and also contain an additional 65,000 restricted or closed protected acres in San Mateo County [1].

Bottom Line: The San Francisco Bay Area has tens of thousands of acres of publicly-accessible open space, managed by many different organizations. Here is a guide to online information about them.

The San Francisco Bay area is one of the great natural areas of the world, with a huge range of ecosystems and micro climates. Spectacular coastline, redwood forests, rivers, grasslands, and of course the bay itself give residents and visitors ample opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. While the population of the Bay Area counties has continued to grow, the area has a strong tradition of preserving natural areas and making many of them available for recreational use as public open space.

Bottom Line: BAWSCA has the tools and know-how to help you save water by creating a beautiful backyard suitable to California’s climate.

Have you ever wondered how your garden might look if you switched to native species -- less care and water needed – or what it would take to compost your own mulch for soil amendment? How do you start thinking about these things? Who can help?

Bottom Line: Wastewater recycling plants can recycle water using ultraviolet disinfection and use the water to restore wetlands using the hydro geomorphic model (GHM).

The Calera Creek Waste Water Recycling Plant (WWRP) in Pacifica can treat 4 million gallons of sewage per day (up to 20 MGD during storm events) using its innovative treatment techniques. This plant helped pioneer the use of ultraviolet disinfection for wastewater effluent in California. UV treatment allows release of recycled water into wetlands because residual chlorine is not allowed in the permitting process. To minimize visual impact, the entire facility except for the filters and control building are buried in a hillside covered with native plants. Odor control scrubbers pull air from all process areas to neutralize odor-causing gases.

Bottom Line: The San Mateo County Cooperative Extension is a conduit for sharing university expertise on agriculture and forestry with the community.

Cooperative Extension is the county-based education and research branch of the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Extension programs exist in almost every county in the United States and are funded jointly by Federal, State and County Governments. Cooperative Extension has been serving San Mateo County since 1945, and San Francisco County since 1970.

Bottom Line: No need to go to Costa Rica, Eco-tourism opportunities abound right here in San Mateo County

Visit the Half Moon Bay Coastside, 80 miles of coastal splendor filled with abundant natural, historical and cultural wonders. From some of the richest marine reserves and wetlands on the California coast, to small working farms where you can explore a barnyard and dine on farm-fresh organic produce; from shopping on historic Main Street in Half Moon Bay, to fishing for wild salmon or albacore tuna - the Half Moon Bay Eco-Tourism campaign has it all.

Bottom Line: Hikers, photographers, birders, gardeners and others are making contributions to climate change research.

Many scientists are measuring and studying the reaction of plant and animal species to climate change. Unexpectedly, some researchers use data that backyard naturalists have gathered to study species' populations and migrations. For example,

Bottom Line: You can make a difference! Before buying seafood, consult the seafood watch guide to be certain your meal comes from a healthy marine population.

Seafood is the only food source that is still actively hunted by humans on a large scale. Once it seemed the ocean would supply an endless bounty of seafood, but today, we are discovering its limits. Off New England, cod were once so plentiful that boats had trouble pushing through them. Now the cod are nearly gone, and a centuries-old fishing tradition is ending. Other overfished species include sharks, bluefin tuna and many kinds of West Coast rockfish. When one kind of fish is no longer plentiful, fishermen must move on to new species.

Bottom Line: Pesticides are rarely, if ever, needed in home gardens. Most of the bugs in our garden help it grow! The pests we need to keep in check can be controlled using targeted and alternative methods.

Lawn Pesticides are rarely, if ever, needed for home lawns. Chemicals in them are linked to adverse long-term health effects. In particular weed and feed type products, which mix fertilizers with pesticides, result in unnecessary pesticide use.

Less than 2% of the insects you encounter in the garden will be pests. The vast majority of insects in your yard are not harmful - they're either beneficial or neutral. In the interest in keeping them alive, take a targeted, selective approach to dealing with the insects that are pests. Spiders, bees, ladybugs, and dragonflies are good examples of bugs that we want in our garden, along with many others, they help your garden grow!

Bottom Line: There are safe, low-toxin, alternative pest control methods and products available. Look for Our Water Our World retail partners throughout San Mateo County.

As part of a program called "Our Water Our World", the San Mateo County Wide Water Pollution Prevention Program has partnered with retail stores to make less toxic pest control and gardening products more available to consumers, with the goal of reducing the amount of pesticides entering creeks and the Bay through sewers and storm drain systems. Participating stores (listed below) provide fact sheets and "shelf talkers" to make it easy for you to choose a less or non-toxic product.

Bottom Line: You can help prevent local creek, Bay and ocean pollution by following simple guidelines when working in your garden.

Rainwater and water from our lawns and gardens scour pollutants off streets, sidewalks, parking lots, and other impervious surfaces, carrying them into the storm drain system. Because the storm drain system is separate from our household sewer system, this pollution flows directly into our creeks and ultimately to the San Francisco Bay or the Pacific Ocean - without treatment of any kind!

 

Bottom Line: Both indoor and outdoor pests can be controlled using Integrated Pest Management strategies, which emphasize less-toxic solutions that cause the least environmental damage.

Chemicals in pesticides designed for home use have been linked to adverse long-term health effects. Less than 2% of the insects you encounter in the garden will be pests! A great majority of insects in your yard are either beneficial or neutral. In the interest in keeping them alive, take a targeted, selective approach to dealing with the insects that are pests. When managing pests in your home, use as little pesticide as possible, buy less toxic products, and when possible manage them without chemicals.