This Week on the Central Coast…
Kelp is making a comeback in Monterey, a wily otter is under watch, and cultural dance gets highlighted in Santa Cruz
*Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, this week’s newsletter will not feature pictures. Sorry!
Monterey
PG looks for public opinion on street improvements
On November 9 and 10, Pacific Grove will host workshops where it will ask the public for their opinions of how to improve the five-way intersection near PGHS and Forest Grove Elementary (Sunset Drive, Congress Avenue, and Cedar Street). The intersection frequently experiences high traffic from pedestrians, bikes, and cars, especially when school lets out for the day.
At an earlier City Council meeting, the city approved funds from Measure X for the project. “Next week’s public workshops on the street improvement project are scheduled to take place 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Grove Community Center, 515 Junipero Ave., on Nov. 9 and again on Nov. 10.”
Kelp restoration efforts show early success
Tanker Reef in Monterey has shown some early success in kelp restoration. Volunteer divers removed “over a half million sea urchins since the spring of 2021”. The kelp provides a habitat for smaller fish, crabs, and other creatures, which, in turn, provides food for bigger marine mammals and seabirds. However, the heat waves of 2014 through 2016 drastically reduced kelp growth while also increasing the severity of a disease that killed off the sunflower sea star. The sea star is one of the sea urchin’s main predators.
The nonprofit group Giant Giant Kelp Restoration got permission from the state’s Fish and Game Commission to use hand tools to “destroy the urchins at Tanker Reef during the project”. Keith Rootsaert, founder of the group, said it was too time consuming to find a use for the culled urchins, but pointed out that leaving the dead urchins behind provided food to other sea life.
Since the project began, the number of urchins per square meter has been reduced from eight to one. The hope is that once kelp starts growing, it will be able to support itself. If constant urchin-maintenance is needed, the effort is much less sustainable on a larger scale.
Santa Cruz
Surfboard-stealing otter is under official watch
In September, a surfer’s board was commandeered by a sea otter while he was out on the waves. The video shows the otter hopping aboard and standing its ground while the surfer attempts to splash water at her to scare her away.
The otter turned out to be a 4-year old that was born in captivity and released to the wild once she was old enough. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is keeping an eye on the friendly otter, warning that if she gets into any more trouble, she could end up back in captivity.
The department is critical of the situation because it could mean that the otter was given food by people at some point, which would lead to her trusting people more. Once otters become used to people, they are much more likely to take risks - a danger to both otters and people. “Sea otters have very strong jaws and very sharp teeth. A bite from a sea otter can do a lot of damage. Also, sea otters can carry diseases, some of which are transferable to people,” said Colleen Young, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Wildlife.
California’s sea otters are a federally endangered species. The state used to be home to hundreds of thousands of otters, but numbers have now been reduced to around 3,000 after they were hunted for their fur between the mid-1700s and early 1900s. Thanks to conservation efforts, those numbers are slowly improving.
It’s also worth noting that sea otters are a major predator of sea urchins, which, as emphasized in the previous article, are one of the reasons for the reduction in our kelp forests.
The Deep Roots Dance Fest: A Reimagining of Dance from the African Diaspora
The Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center (TWDCC) recently hosted the first segment of the 2022 World Dance Festival in Santa Cruz. The second segment will be held at Cabrillo College’s Crocker Theater on November 19. The Deep Roots Dance Fest will “feature dance and musical groups performing works from Brazil, the Congo, Cuba and Haiti”, but with a contemporary spin.
The executive and artistic director of the TWDCC, Micha Scott, explained that most of the artists in the community are seen as traditionalists, but many are “very modern, contemporary artists. I thought, this is the time to give them a platform for them to show their works.”
The aim for the festival is to create a more immersive experience for the attendees. Instead of simply walking in, finding your seat, and waiting for performances to happen, there will be musicians and artists in the lobby and an “Artists Talk” after the show, which will feature an audience Q&A.
Scott said that she hopes the performance will become an annual occurrence, emphasizing that it doesn’t have to specifically be the African diaspora, but can change to a different region each year.
Some upcoming events around Santa Cruz
November 7 at 7PM: Antonio Sanchez will perform at Kuumbwa Jazz.
November 8 at 7PM: Hive Live! Poetry Reading event with David Baker and Shelly Wong at the Museum of Art and History.
November 10 at 7PM: Local band String Keys Coincidence will also perform at Kuumbwa Jazz.