Roving the Refuge

Created in 1972, the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge is comprised of many separate parcels of bay and marshlands on both sides of San Francisco Bay. The wildlife refuge provides critical habitat for many species of plants and birds.

We'll hike the LaRiviere, Newark Slough, and Tidelands trails to understand the critical importance of wetlands in providing climate change resilience.

Our route includes some fascinating flora, fauna, and geology, including a strange parasitic marsh plant called "devil's sewing thread," graceful shorebirds, and outcrops of California's official state rock, serpentinite. The park's hilltop overlook area will provide us with a panoramic view of San Francisco Bay and the Newark shoreline

Newark is also a Greenbelt Alliance Bay Area Hotspot. Newark’s unique shoreline is a vital natural resource to protect the region from climate risks of sea level rise and flooding, which pose serious threats to local residents and industries. Learn more at .

Leaders

Victorina Arvelo, Archana Paladugu, and Ken Lavin

Total Distance

This is an easy hike of 2-3 miles with less than100 feet in elevation change.

Weather Policy

Rain cancels

Cost

Free; Reservations required

Where to Meet

We will meet in front of the Refuge Visitor Center. There are restrooms nearby.

Notes

Bring water and snacks, dress in layers, and wear good walking shoes. Dogs are not allowed on one of the trails will will be hiking, so no dogs on this outing (Sorry). If you have questions, please email Ken Lavin at [email protected].

Photo: Allie Caulfield via Flickr

Victorina Arvelo serves as the South Bay Resilience Manager at Greenbelt Alliance. Growing up in Venezuela, she cultivated a deep appreciation for nature and an affinity for the life sciences, which led her to pursue higher education in the United States. She holds a BS in Marine Biology and an MS in Environmental Science from the University of West Florida in Pensacola. Victorina is dedicated to bridging the gap between conservation and human needs. Her interdisciplinary approach leverages nature-based solutions to address complex climate change challenges. When she’s not championing sustainability, you can find her hiking, camping, and ranting about proper recycling etiquette. She loves solo travel and devours an almost unreasonable number of books.

Archana Paladugu is on a quest to cure her plant blindness by learning about the native plants and animals who share their land with us. She is inspired by her great-grandmother, who raised her in a little village in India and lived indigenously alongside a forest in a farming community. "The trees are your cousins. Care for them," she often heard her great-gran say. "On the last day of the world, I would plant a tree," are the words from her favorite poem by the US Poet Laureate, M.S Merwin. Archana volunteers as a climate worker for CCL and SL2050. For a living, she is a computer scientist who works in Green Energy Tech.

Host or Publisher Greenbelt Alliance