Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve (FFRP) is proud to offer free educational walks on the Ranch. Three upcoming walks focus on seasonal changes in the forest, especially mushrooms brought out by our recent rains.
FFRP docents and collaborating experts lead the two-to-three-hour walks that cover mostly level ground. To register, visit the website at: fiscaliniranchpreserve.org. Registrants for each walk will be informed where to meet. Families are welcome, but please leave your beloved pooch at home.
Christmas Berries and Seasonal Discoveries in the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve Forest – Saturday, December 17, from 10:00 a.m. until noon. Is that an Amanita muscaria showing its beautiful red, orange, and yellow colors–all with a crown of white decorations? Look for bright red Christmas berries adorning native toyon trees, a true sign of the season. Notice seasonal forest changes as you wander ranch trails.
A Forest Walk of Discovery on the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve – Saturday, January 7, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Enjoy a walk with Al Normandin, a certified California Naturalist, to spy emerging mushrooms, hiding salamanders, spore reproducing lichens and mosses, early wildflowers, and soaring red tail hawks. FFRP is fortunate to have Al as our special guest docent for this walk.
Marvelous Mushrooms! – Saturday, January 14, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Look for mushrooms growing in the Monterey pine forests of Cambria while enjoying the beauty of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve. Led by David Krause of the California Native Plant Society.
On December 15 you may see FFRP volunteers pitching in to clean up Main Street from Mechanics Bank all the way south to Highway 1. FFRP adopted this portion of Main Street in 2003: nearly 20 years of keeping Cambria beautiful. Volunteers are welcome; so please call FFRP (805-927-2856) to participate and receive instructions.
Thanks to all our friends who visited on Hospitality Night, and thanks to the Cambria Chamber of Commerce for organizing this wonderful community event. As always, the Ranch is free and open from dawn to dusk, and foraging is prohibited.