What do all of these items have in common? They go straight to the trash after a single use in most laboratories. Because we work with chemicals and need things to be very clean, we can’t re-use most lab supplies. But it’s hard to generate so much waste when we […]
Read More >Uncategorized
Hello! My name is Katelyn Mae Nisbit. I am 20 years old and a senior at Sacramento State, aiming for a major in Environmental Science, and was a field crew member for SSI this summer. My favorite colors are green and pink. Growing up in a small kind-of-rural town, there […]
Read More >
Hedge Parsley (Torilis arvensis) Written by Alex Lerch Have you ever taken a walk off the beaten path in the Sierra Foothills and found your shoe laces, socks, and maybe even your pants with plant seeds that stick like Velcro? If you have, then Hedge Parsley (Torilis arvensis) needs no […]
Read More >
Written by Jessica Herrmann We’re well known for our river monitoring of Deer Creek and Bear River, but this year we’ve been busy. I am REAL busy expanding our monitoring sites all over Northern California through the Delta Project. During the summers of 2025 and 2026, SSI is collecting both […]
Read More >Sierra Streams Institute is happy to introduce Ryan DeMasters and Cassiopiea Pryor as our Summer Field Crew Leads! Ryan and Cassi have been busy leading teams all over the Northern Sierra to collect data on the health of our streams and rivers. Ryan grew up in Wilton, CA and is currently […]
Read More >Written by Quinn Tamo, SSI intern “I consider myself creative before anything else.” – Madeleine Kemp, volunteer with SSI Madeleine is a summer intern here at Sierra Streams Institute (SSI) and a valuable one at that. Her passion was mostly for art, agriculture, and science when entering community college. An […]
Read More >In the Spring it is hard not to be bombarded by the vast blooming yellow flowers of Scotch Broom. Whether you love or hate the sight, these species of invasive plants are problematic to wildfire prone areas like Nevada County. So let’s take a deep dive into the problem with […]
Read More >Sierra Streams Institute is expanding our office and taking over the entire second floor of our building. We are really excited to move into this space as it has gotten a little tight in our current office. We are looking for some furniture donations to help outfit our new space. […]
Read More >My name is Lucas. I am a sophomore in high school and an intern in the BMI lab at Sierra Streams Institute, and my goal in life is to try my best to be a good human who helps others. My favorite colors are green and yellow, because they remind […]
Read More >The Summer Solstice is an astronomical event during which the Sun reaches its maximum Northern exposure in the Northern hemisphere (i.e. this is the farthest North the sun gets all year!). The Solstice typically happens on June 20th or 21st every year, and has been celebrated for centuries by cultures […]
Read More >Credit for writing: Chris Cade Sierra Streams Institute welcomes people from all walks of life, and some return not only to the landscape, but to a deeper part of themselves. Missa is one of those volunteers, someone who brings not only scientific experience and skill, but also a burning passion […]
Read More >Sierra Streams Institute (SSI) opens the doors to anyone and everyone. We strive to create a space where anybody can participate in our community science programs, to allow locals to actively do science within their watershed, and exchange knowledge and ideas with staff and other volunteers. Volunteers are core to […]
Read More >Welcome back to Meet the SSI Monitoring Sites. In the third iteration of this series, we’ll look at a few sites in tandem. While each of these locations has its own unique characteristics, they share one thing in common – Meet the tributaries of Deer Creek! A tributary is a […]
Read More >In 2001, Julie Herrlinger moved into her 60-acre forest refuge along Deer Creek. Nearly as soon as she finished unpacking, the first call she made was to her local watershed organization, Friends of Deer Creek, looking for opportunities to volunteer. With easy access to the creek Julie wanted to know […]
Read More >Welcome back to Part Two of our “Meet the SSI Monitoring Sites” series! While Sierra Stream Institute’s historic roots are in the Deer Creek watershed, in 2016 we expanded to include monitoring, restoration, and research in the Bear River watershed. SSI volunteers monitor 10 sites in the watershed as part […]
Read More >Hello! My name is Alan. Ever since I was a very small boy I have always adored the way the wind rustled the grass, how the birds sang atop their conifers, the fresh fallen Sierra snows crunching beneath my feet, the fresh mountain air… nothing compares. When I dreamed as […]
Read More >Dry Creek Dam Removal Restoration Planting, November 2024 Just as the first major atmospheric river system of the new water year landed in northern California, SSI joined with intrepid volunteers to plant a diverse selection of 344 native plants and several dozen willow stakes along Dry Creek at the Beale […]
Read More >This summer SSI staff and volunteers took to the lower Deer Creek Watershed to investigate nutrients, namely nitrates and phosphates. Nutrients are essential for life in a creek, but in excess, they can lead to overgrowth of algae and low-oxygen conditions (read more about how that happens here; scroll down […]
Read More >If you’ve been out wandering under the oaks in the last few weeks and looked up, you may have noticed tree branches sagging with the weight of huge crops of acorns. Or perhaps now you’re cleaning them up in your yard! But what gives? Why and how do these “bumper […]
Read More >The Yuba Watershed Institute’s forest treatment project, the Little Deer Creek Landscape Resilience Project, plays a crucial role in safeguarding the local community from the growing threat of wildfires. By managing forest density and removing excess fuels, the project aims to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic fires in the densely […]
Read More >