All About Ojai: Dirt Time with the Channel Islands Tracking Team
ALL ABOUT OJAI: Environmental Learning Series
Dirt Time with the Channel Islands Tracking Team
followed by slide show
Saturday, May 9, 2015
9 AM to 12 AM
Old Baldwin Road Trailhead, Ventura River Preserve
Participants should wear sturdy shoes and bring water and sun protection.
Join us for a fun and informative morning out on the Ventura River Preserve. This is a hands-on, interactive program with the Channel Islands Tracking Team. Learn the basics of animal track and sign identification, such as distinguishing between cat and dog tracks, and identifying the common local animal tracks. We would likely encounter dog, coyote, ground squirrel, woodrat, toad, raccoon, striped skunk, opossum, mule deer, and bobcat tracks.
Tracking wildlife successfully requires more than just looking for trails and scat. It requires an awareness of how an animal behaves in its environment—how it finds food, travels, and rests. A tracker must know how to find and interpret behavioral clues animals leave behind.
The Channel Islands Tracking Team was started in 2011 by a dedicated group of people interested in wildlife tracking. Initially a grassroots effort aimed at training local enthusiasts in collecting wildlife track and sign data in the greater Channel Islands region, CITT has grown into a recognized citizen science club. With a mission to monitor biological diversity while promoting public appreciation for our region’s unique natural areas, CITT provides a variety of opportunities for people of all ages to engage with wildlife tracking. In addition to quarterly track and sign surveys assessing wildlife presence in local natural areas, the team provides monthly informal tracking gatherings, or “dirt times,” classes several times a year, and biennial Cybertracker Evaluations.
This All About Ojai event is free to members and students and $10 for non-members. Participants should wear sturdy shoes and bring water and sun protection. Become a member today! A family membership is just $35 per year. Reservations are required. For more information or to make a reservation go to www.ovlc.org or contact Marti Reid at 805 649-6852 ext 2 or marti@ovlc.org.
