Field trip with Liz Gaspar.

Sunday, March 20, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Participation is limited to 20.
Advance registration required at synature@west.net or 693-5683.
Members free/nonmembers $20.

As we go to press, the rains have just begun in earnest, and we can’t predict where the best wildflowers will be in late March. It may be along the Manzana Creek, where the canyon sides could be spangled with shooting stars (Primula clevelandii), woodland stars (Lithophragma affine), gilia, and larkspur (Gilia and  Delphinium species). Or we may find the richest trove on Figueroa Mountain or on the trail to Chert Butte. Liz Gaspar will lead us there and illuminate the always-surprising, amazingly diverse burst of spring bloom in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Bring a hat, sun protection, water, sack lunch, and good sturdy shoes, such as hiking boots. Trip hiking poles are recommended as some sections of the trail may be moderately steep.

Liz Gaspar was the park naturalist at Cachuma Lake for twenty years. She is co-author of Wildflowers and Other Plants of the Cachuma Lake Area, Santa Barbara County, published fall 2015. She earned her master’s degree in plant ecology from UCSB, where she studied native grasses.

Featured photo: Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum) by John Evarts