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Meet Mary Grim! I grew up in West Virginia with a dad that took me fishing a lot. As a kid, I was fascinated with fish and loved playing in streams, looking under rocks and catching crayfish. I went to school at West Virginia University where I studied biology and […]
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AmeriCorps Week 2019 (March 10-16, 2019) is a celebration of all things AmeriCorps – from the programs and organizations that make this national service initiative possible in thousands of locations, to the members who have pledged to “Get Things Done” since the program’s inception in 1994. During this year’s AmeriCorps […]
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Each summer, Sierra Streams hosts about four interns for the summer field season. Interns can expect to monitor wildlife, monitor water quality, collect benthic macro invertebrates (BMI), collect algae samples, process samples and more! Days are spent crawling in the most beautiful streams in Nevada County collecting data that informs […]
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Our AmeriCorps River Scientist, Anna Shampain, is one of the luckiest staff members here at Sierra Streams because her work takes her out in the field quite often. Thankfully, she comes back to the office to share photos and tales so we can all […]
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A summer internship with Sierra Streams meant more to Jenny Hakala then just gaining experience in the field; it was an opportunity to explore the hidden corners of her home, Nevada County, and all of the beauty. After graduating from Nevada Union in 2013, Jenny started general education courses at […]
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After four months as a Field Technician with us, Becca has officially entered her new role as our Citizen Science and Outreach Coordinator! In her new role, she will be working hard to develop our Environmental Center, coordinate with volunteers and be the smiling face at outreach events. Becca spent […]
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In the spring, Lang and Indra Waters can be found crawling around creeks looking for Sierra Newts during their mating season. This father-son duo has made a family tradition of exploring their surroundings, learning about all of the woodland critters around them. On hiking and camping trips, Lang’s father infected […]
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The first annual Know Your Watershed Week, April 28 -May 6, 2018, will celebrate the Yuba, Bear and American River watersheds with many activities including school programs, hikes, restoration activities, bioblitzes, poetry, a run, and more throughout the three watersheds. April 28th Event Timeline 13075 Woolman Lane, Nevada City, CA 95959 8:00 am: Race Registration Opens […]
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Samantha Vigil is always on the go! She loves to try new things and is always looking for activities to try. This is certainly clear when you look at her accomplishments. As she pursues her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies at Sacramento State, she works as a scientific aid for the […]
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Bear Yuba Land Trust (BYLT) honored Joanne Hild, Sierra Streams Institute’s Executive Director, with the William “Bill” Nickerl Award for Conservation Leadership Award. The award presentation will take place Thursday, March 22nd at this year’s Oak Tree Ball, a fundraiser for the Bear Yuba Land Trust. We hope you can join […]
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Cathy Donnellan is always doing something and never stands still! ‘Sometimes on the crazy side’ is a phrase her family and friends use to describe her because she is constantly pursuing new paths. Her most recent pursuit brought her to volunteer in the Benthic Macroinvertebrate (BMI) Lab helping to count and identify […]
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A Community Update Submitted by Denise Della Santina Since 2010, Sierra Streams Institute (SSI) has monitored flora and fauna and completed stewardship work at Hirschman’s Pond. In 2015, SSI collected and compiled scientific data about the habitat and organisms living there to write the Hirschman’s Pond Land Management Plan as […]
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As we walked out into Ellis Meadow, the only thing we could hear was the hum of hundreds of buzzing bees. The bees, however, were not the reason we had bushwhacked up 1,700 feet of elevation and utilized our best orienteering skills to reach this meadow. Our real objective: assessing […]
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Jeff Jenkins, an all-star volunteer for SSI and a graduate of the 2016 Cal Naturalists class, has landed a new position as Fish & Wildlife Scientific Aid with the California Department of Water Resources. He will be working in the northern area of the Delta collecting field data for many […]
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Ms. Kara Hellige U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 1325 J Street, Room 1350 Sacramento, CA 95814-2922 Re: Comments on the Notice of Intent to Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Centennial Reservoir Project Dear Ms. Hellige: The following comments are submitted on behalf of Sierra Streams Institute regarding […]
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CALLING ALL CITIZEN SCIENTISTS: We have started a new project on iNaturalist.org that needs your help! If you find yourself within one mile of the Bear River, along the stretch between the Combie and Rollins Reservoirs, please submit photos of any organisms (plants, animals, fungi, etc.) you see in the […]
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Chorus frogs (Pseudacris sierra) Sometimes they’re called tree frogs, but even though they are capable climbers, due to having somewhat enlarged toe pads, they do not frequent trees. Identifying features: Black or dark brown horizontal stripes extend from snout, through eyes, to shoulders, toe pads, webbed hind feet, coloration varies: […]
Read More >On February 21, Kelly Santos, an Education Program Director at the Sierra Streams Institute, presented the first of this spring’s Sierra Science Speakers Series presentations. This is a free science seminar series put on by the Sierra Streams Institute and Sierra College Nevada County Campus that focuses on local and regional environmental […]
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Showing up at five or six o’clock in the morning, every single month for at least one week, sometimes two, for sixteen years. That’s commitment. This month, Harlow Rothert “retired” from his longtime role as volunteer coordinator for SSI’s water quality monitoring program. On February 2nd, more than 60 volunteer […]
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