Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability

Merritt College's Natural History & Sustainability program trains diverse stewards of our natural resources.

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

Our students making hypertufa containers. This week, we'll plant up an indoor garden, and see what grows in our sunny window!

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

There's nothing like a harvest day! Our students love picking produce from our own little farm to share with friends and family. #growyourown #farmtotable #sustainable

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

Today, my students (Micah pictured here) had their first in-class salad of the fall semester, made entirely with crops from the garden! Salad days are back, NHSers! @MerrittCollege #farmtotable #farmtofork #saladdays

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

At our NHS Open House last Friday, our wonderful students helped us get 50 native plants (donated by Friends of Sausal Creek!) in the ground at the Environmental Center at Merritt College. Looking forward to seeing our native garden grow!

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

The showy penstemon aka penstemon spectabilis, native to southern California, are fast and easy to grow. They attract several animals, perfect to use in a hummingbird, butterfly, and bee garden! They are drought tolerant and able to survive in dryer weather with little moisture.

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

Rode my bike down Leona Canyon yesterday and came across the AWESOME fence that students in our ENVMT 57 course helped deconstruct and install. Looks great! Shout out to Robbie Parry and a bunch of motivated students. @EBRPD #environmentalwork #workexperience

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

The California Effect https://t.co/cvL1n7S06D

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

Is California Jump-Starting the Electric Vehicle Revolution? https://t.co/98njY9dZtq

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

NHS students are tough; heatwaves can't stop 'em from planting seeds for a fall and winter food garden! #WorkingOutside #FoodJustice #UrbanAgroecology

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

The California Fuchsia aka epilobium canum is a species of willowherb native to California. Often found on dry slopes, they’re easy to spot with their bright red flowers! Sometimes also called the hummingbird flower because when in bloom, they’re very attractive to hummingbirds.

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

@wilderlabnz So cool!

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

@marshprincess So glad I finished my PhD before R :)

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

Just met with Ana Martinez of the City of Oakland's Environmental Services division, host to one of our PAID interns this Fall (proud to say all of our interns are paid!)

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

Nature is medicine.

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

So proud to be a community college program offering courses in such topics as bryophytes, lichens, tidepools, islands, and butterflies. Call us old-fashioned if you want, but this is what inspires most people who get into biology.

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

@ScrapNaturalist Oh, then hell no.

[Merritt College Natural History & Sustainability @NhsMerritt]

Lichens are amazing--we teach a course on them!

[Alena Ebeling-Schuld (Owl & Bear Studio) @AlenaESPhoto]

My partner is convinced that almost nobody likes lichens.

He simply won’t believe me when I tell him of the enormous lichen fan base in the world.

Can you LIKE THIS POST IF YOU LIKE LICHENS? I know I’m not alone!!!

(Bonus: see rest of this thread for lots of lichen pics)

[Darwin BondGraham @DarwinBondGraha]

The tidal gates connecting Lake Merrit to the Bay are open. Large fish carcasses are piling up at the bars while the tide ebbs.

[Damon Tighe @damontighe]

Mare Island, Vallejo is just covered in dead sturgeon. I’ve never seen anything like it 😭. All of the exact location data is in this project: https://t.co/bc4s5n5qmL

#algalbloom #algaebloom #sfbayHAB2022 #fish #dieoff #sturgeon