Nature Hike at Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve (All Grade levels) Teaching Point: As hikers we can appreciate and learn about nature by being observant and respectful of our surroundings. Docent guides ask students guiding questions and relay stories about the history, geography, geology, flora, and fauna so that students can learn more about what they are seeing. Depending on the season, different natural features and flora will be prominent. Format: The hike up to the amphitheater is ideally done in groups of 10-15 participants per route. Having two docent leaders allows class groups to be split into two groups. One group hikes up via the Desert Olive Trail and the other via the Galindo Creek and Chupcan Canyon Trail. (60 minutes) The return hike can be used as a formative assessment with marked stops for participants to test their knowledge about various concepts learned on the way up. (40-60 minutes) Materials: Plant ID cards Stopping Area Commemorative Stone
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Land Acknowledgment
208 acre preserve vital corridor between Mt Diablo and Shell Ridge purchased by SMD in 2006, opened as an educational preserve in spring 2022 In 1898 the land was purchased by Italian immigrant Giuseppe Mangini and was used to raise cattle and farm vines, later almonds and walnut trees. (See commemorative stone) Many habitats○ Galindo Creek riparian zone with Buckeyes, Bay Laurels, ferns, miner’s lettuce ○ Blue oak woodland and oak savannas ○ Chaparral with sages and chemise, coyote brush ○ Desert olive, Hospital Canyon Larkspur Point out the creek runs only every 7-10 years, and this year is the highest the land steward has seen it run since 2007 Geology of the nearby area- Cross Section of Jurassic and the quarry was/is used for diabase rock for drainage rock.
Land Acknowledgment: Save Mount Diablo recognizes that we are on the unceded ancestral lands of the Bay Miwok, Muwekma Ohlone, Northern Valley Yokuts, and other tribes and tribelets – peoples who have loved and cared for Mount Diablo as a sacred mountain since time immemorial. Many of these peoples continue today as thriving members of the diverse communities of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and the larger Diablo Range Region. We acknowledge and honor the Bay Miwok, Ohlone, and Northern Valley Yokut tribes, as well as all of the indigenous people of the lands which Save Mount Diablo serves.