Summertime is Busy at IRWD San Joaquin Marsh

For the past 20 years, Irvine Ranch Water District and the Sea and Sage Audubon Society have enjoyed a unique partnership. In 1992, Sea and Sage was offered the use of an old bunkhouse at that would become the San Joaquin Marsh, in exchange for providing educational programs for the community.

“Twenty years of developing a wonderful nature experience for adults and children – I have loved every minute of it,” said Trude Hurd, Project Director of Marsh Education for Sea and Sage, who has been a part of the program since the beginning. “This has been the perfect place for Sea and Sage to engage more than 50,000 adults and children in personal experiences with nature.”

During the school year, Audubon and the Discovery Science Center conduct educational school field trips. But during the summer, things don’t slow down at the marsh – it becomes an exciting hub of activity for all ages.

The Marsh Learning Center is the center of much of this activity, with summer camp taking place in both rooms. Sea and Sage is hosting its array of Marsh and Bird camps, while the Discovery Science Center is hosting Summer Smiles and Project Discovery camps.

At night, discover a different environment at the Marsh, by participating in a bat walk. The evening begins with an indoor presentation by a local bat biologist. Then a walk is led to see the bats feed in the Marsh.

At the end of this month, July 28, Sea and Sage will hold its annual Summer Barbecue. This celebration features dining under the stars with a program, “Wild Flowers of Orange County and the Santa Ana Mountains” by local photographer and biologist Bob Allen. There will also be a book sale and after dinner, evening bird walks. At nightfall, enjoy stargazing in the meadow with telescopes, or a bat walk through the marsh.

On August 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., join IRWD and Sea and Sage, as we celebrate our 20-year partnership. A Marsh bird walk will be held at 8:30 a.m. and a special presentation at 10 a.m. Take a walk through the butterfly garden and enjoy the native plants that make the Marsh their home. Displays will be set up, including microscopes for viewing creatures that live in the Marsh ponds. Get an up-close look at live raptors and colorful taxidermy bird specimens. Play games and enjoy celebratory cake and ice cream.

More information about environmental programs and Marsh is available on our website.