Senior Sequence

Sage: Paul Dayton

Location: San Elijo Lagoon/SIO Lab/Scripps Knoll
Date: Thursday June 28th, 2007

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Paul Dayton takes us on a tour of the wetlands of the San Elijo Lagoon. He provides the history of the lagoon and shares stories of native plants and animals both past and present. Shortly after the tour of the San Elijo Lagoon, he gives us a brief presentation on some pressing ecological issues and cultural impediments to solutions. He also explains the importance of natural history and how to gain public support for recovering the respect the environment deserves. He goes through many examples of educating the public in order to save the environment. Paul Dayton also takes us to the Scripps Coastal Reserve, which is part of the Natural Reserve System at the University of California, San Diego. There, he describes the reserve (commonly referred to as the Knoll) and the plants and animals that live there. He also provides ideas for student research.

Interview Questions:

1) History of the San Elijo Lagoon

2) Can you speak about the importance of preserving the local canyons –especially the “urban canyons”

3) The change and evolution of the San Elijo Lagoon

4) Can you speak about the historical relationship between the inhabitants of this region and nature over time (including the relationships of indigenous peoples and their environment)?

5) How important are interspecies relationships for ecosystems?

6) What are your views on the Endangered Species Act?

7) Can you speak a little about indigenous agriculture?

8.) Why do people lose interest in nature? Is there any way we can get the public more interested and engaged with the environment?

9) Getting nature back though culture.

10) Paul gives a brief PowerPoint presentation about the effects of the loss of public interest in nature and possible solutions. He also stresses the need for public education and involvement in conserving the environment.

11) Can you speak about the growth in the canyon up here on the Knoll of the Scripps Coastal Reserve at UCSD?

12) Can you also speak about some of the plants and animals that can be found on Knoll?

13) When did the Scripps Coastal Reserve come to be? Who started it and why?

14) How bad is the erosion on the Knoll? Is there anyway this can be fixed? Can students use this as a research opportunity?

15) Why is there lichen on the Knoll? How does it grow and why does it grow only in certain spots?