Around here we like any excuse to get outside and see the amazing land we get to take care of, and a Birding Workshop is a great chance to do so. Alvaro Jaramillo, Half Moon Bay biologist, life-long birder, eco-tour guide to the Americas, and author of Field Guide to the Birds of Chile and New World Blackbirds will be leading the workshop. It will be an engaging lesson about the birds of prey who winter here on the coastside. Learn about field marks, behavior, ecology and migratory patterns. Alvaro's workshops are suitable for everyone from beginners to expert birders—and families.

Help Needed: for setup, check-in of attendees, and breakdown. If you can help set up and break down, please come at noon. Breakdown will happen after the workshop ends at 2:30, leaving us plenty of time to get to the walk! (Please let Lindsey know ASAP if you can help.)

Harrier photo: Richard Pavek

Another great opportunity to get outside. If this weather keeps on sun-shining, we may even have thistles to pull—oh, so exciting. We'll meet at Smith Field at the end of Wavecrest Road; try to be there about 9:45am so we can check you in and get started by 10:00. We'll start out with the general plan for the day and break into groups. Snacks will greet you as we wind down at noon. You can work as hard as you like; Wavecrest is pretty flat, so those who are less surefooted will still have opportunities for work.

Help Needed: pulling weeds, fishing out sinks from streams, and general trash removal. The more hands the merrier; bring your whole family and all your neighbors.

The best way to let landowners know we are here and would like to permanently protect these beautiful properties is to write them and tell them about what we do. Every time we do a mailing like this it results in more strategic properties being donated to us. We will need help the last week in February. If you can help with this very important project, please let us know. If we can coordinate enough people on the same day, we can even plan a mailing party.

Help Needed: 8 people for 2 hours each

The pretty little seed packets we hand out at events and parades really catch people's interest. Ever thought about where they come from? It's you! Volunteers hand-label, pour, and seal each and every one of those cute little packets. It's actually very entertaining and easy, and we always need help getting them ready. If you have 20 minutes or a few hours, come on over to the office and help us make Poppy Seed Packs.

Help Needed: Ongoing

This is our first ever volunteer adventure. We will meet at our office at 788 Main Street and carpool to a secret property not currently open to the public. A special champagne brunch will be served and an optional short hike will follow a workshop presented by POST and California Coastal Conservancy staff.

Help Needed: All Volunteers please mark your calendars now; you don't want to miss this event.

Many of you know about the intense process CLT has been going through to gain accreditation with the Land Trust Alliance. This has been a crucial step for us to ensure we will have lasting authority and cohesive management practices till the end of eternity. But did you know the LTA website is a hub for Land Trusts all across the country and for information about policy and conservation news on a national scale as well as locally? If you're traveling to another state and are interested in finding beautiful conserved land to tour, the LTA website has a database of all the Land Trusts in the United States. For travel ideas or a bit more depth of understanding about where we fit in on a national level, check out the website: http://www.landtrustalliance.org/