By Megan Roy
Our Educational programs at Los Cerritos Wetlands and Colorado Lagoon cover a range of topics from flora and fauna to site history and future plans. Check out some of the events we have had recently. 

By Jade Dean

Our first beach seine was held this past Saturday at the Colorado Lagoon and the Peninsula in Long Beach, CA. The purpose of the beach seine is to not only learn about the various organisms in Alamitos Bay, but to also better understand and gauge stress in fish along the California coastline. Our partner, Pacific Coast Environmental Conservancy, is measuring stress by analyzing its hormones and tissues. Read more about their research here.

Here are some of our results from Saturday:

• Over 800 Topsmelt (Atherinops affinis) caught at the Peninsula.
• Over 80 California Killifish (Fundulus parvipinnis) caught at the Colorado Lagoon.
• The largest fish of the day was a California Halibut (Paralichthys californicus) that measured 14.3cm or 5.6in.

By Jade Dean
This summer, Tidal Influence will partner with the Pacific Coast Environmental Conservancy (PCEC) to conduct beach seines in Alamitos Bay and Colorado Lagoon.
A beach seine is a surveying method that relies on a net to gather fish and other organisms in a body of water. Typically, beach seines are conducted at the Colorado Lagoon on a quarterly basis. During the summer, we hold a beach seine every month to further understand our local ecosystems and organisms that call these waters home.
Be sure to check back for more updates on our surveys! In the meantime, check out PCEC: http://pceconservancy.org/

By Jade Dean
We are officially out of planting season and have started to prepare a Phase III of the Western Arm Reserve for planting, which is located across the water from the lifeguard station. Ever wonder what it takes to make an area suitable for planting?

The answer is: a lot of hard work! To complete this task, We had over 40 volunteers assist us during our June 8th Habitat Restoration Event with Friends of Colorado Lagoon. Our group removed 200 lbs of non-native species in the area that included Lamb's Quarters (Chenopodium album) and Bermuda Grass (Cynodon dactylon). We remove non-native species from our sites because they out-compete the native plants we install and create a monotypic environment.

Check out our before and after pictures by clicking "Read More"!