I grew up in San Diego and recall seeing images of animals coated in oil after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Ever since that time, I have wanted to work on protecting animals and the environment. I looked for local opportunities to take action on issues that were important to me when I was in high school. One summer, my sister and I participated in a beach clean-up on Fiesta Island. I remember being alarmed by the animals I saw that were directly harmed by marine pollution.

Volunteers filling buckets and bins with invasive plants

Twenty years later, I returned to Fiesta Island to help with another wildlife project, this time with the San Diego Audubon Society. As the Coastal Chapter Network Manager for Audubon California, I visit our local Audubon chapters to learn about all the great work they are doing to conserve birds and habitat. I joined 21 San Diego Audubon Society volunteers last Saturday at Stony Point of Fiesta Island to help prepare a breeding site for California Least Terns. Volunteers removed 52 bags of invasive plants from this important nesting site!

The California Least Tern is an endangered migratory shorebird that nests along the coast from northern Baja California to San Francisco Bay. San Diego Audubon recruits volunteers to remove invasive plants from prime habitat areas as the Least Tern needs cleared, sandy areas for nesting. Tern-friendly habitat is critical in this part of California because San Diego County supports 60% of the breeding population of this bird. Terns nest at 12 sites including the Tijuana Estuary, the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Mission Bay, and coastal lagoons.

The volunteers I met during my trip were motivated by different desires. Conservation Team Leader, Sasha Vafaei, said she got involved because she wanted to learn about native species and is inspired by volunteering with other people who are passionate about conservation. Others in the group included an ecology class from Point Loma Navarene University, students from UC San Diego, two helicopter mechanics from the Marine Corps, and San Diego Audubon Society members.

One of the more successful nesting colonies in San Diego is at Mariner’s Point in Mission Bay. Volunteers from San Diego Audubon Society restored Least Tern habitat last spring by clearing non-native bushes. Almost 100 tern nests were counted during the nesting season and volunteers monitored the nests, chicks, and adults closely, recording behavior and watching out for predators.

I brought my six-month old son Dimitry to Fiesta Island and I am hoping that he will one day volunteer alongside me on cool conservation projects with our amazing coastal chapters. To learn how to get involved in habitat restoration and monitoring of the California Least Tern colonies in San Diego, check out the website of the San Diego Audubon Society: http://www.sandiegoaudubon.org/events