mkolster's blog

Applications are now being accepted for the Field Science Fellowship, a new undergraduate research program sponsored by the University of California Natural Reserve System (NRS).

Please join our 4rd Annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on the Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve on Thursday, January 2, 2020 (7am-3pm).  As part of the nation’s longest-running community science bird project (started in the year 1899!), the Audubon Society will be conducting bird counts between December 14, 2019 through January 5, 2020.  Thousands of volunteers across the U.S., Canada, and many other countries in the western Hemisphere will be heading outside and tallying every bird that they see or hear.  On the Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve, John Harris

By Blythe Nobleman, University Communications

UC Merced, University News

Reposted with permission

Reserve Director Monique "Mo" Kolster begins a tour of the UC Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve with high school students.

This last storm brought a wonderful amount of rain to the Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve (2.45 inches!), increasing our total rainfall this season to 3.66 inches.  It not only is exciting to see water falling from the sky, but it is also exciting that all users can now get up-to-date information on local campus weather through a new weblink.

By Lillie Pennington, PhD student, Environmental Systems Graduate Group, UC Merced                                                                                             

On December 21^st, 2017, a small group entered the Merced Vernal Pools and Grasslands Reserve (MVPGR), armed with cameras, identification guides, binoculars and spotterscopes. The group was part of a larger group of birdwatchers in eastern Merced County, scouring the land for birds in an area ranging from the UC campus to Lake McSwain in Mariposa County.

By Jack Cronin, Reserve Intern