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Blair Ranch Preserve Wildlife

Join us as we explore Blair Ranch Open Space Preserve, an 865-acre private property, normally closed to the public, located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Learn about the variety of wildlife that makes its home in this preserve from two naturalists and an entomologist who are accompanying us on the journey through meadows with wildflowers, to a hidden pond bustling with insect life (butterflies, dragonflies, damselflies and more!) and endangered Western Pond Turtles, and on the hills studded with blue and coast live oak trees that are harboring hidden insects. This program is hosted by Bay Area Older Adults in partnership with Open Space Authority and Knight Foundation. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Spring at Little Uvas Creek Preserve

Little Uvas Creek Preserve is bustling with life. Normally closed to the public, we take you on a journey through serpentine grassland, oak woodland and chaparral habitats, gray pines and toyon. We learn about serpentinite and chert and serpentine-adapted wildflowers. We explore five spring-fed ponds that support wildlife such as birds, damselflies, dragonflies, fish, frogs and the threatened western pond turtle. This program is hosted by Bay Area Older Adults in partnership with Open Space Authority and Knight Foundation. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Joseph D Grant Watershed Walk

On this virtual tour, we travel along trails past three lakes and see the wildlife in Joseph D. Grant County Park. Along the way, we learn about the San Felipe Restoration Project managed by Valley Water and its importance as a habitat for endangered and other wildlife. This program is in partnership with Valley Water. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Spring Wildflowers at Pulgas Ridge Preserve

Pulgas Ridge Preserve is known for its showy spring wildflowers such as warrior plume, hounds tongue, milkmaids, fetid adders tongue, giant trillium, checker lily and more. It is also is home to 90 native species of trees, shrubs, ferns, and flowers. On this tour, we will teach you how to identify California wildflowers and recommend the best wildflower resources. You will view a spectacular display of flowers and learn about insects that coexist with these plants. This special program is hosted in partnership with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. Image by Anne Ferguson. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Almaden Quicksilver History & Geology

Take a journey out on the trails of Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Along the way, we will learn about the history of the park from the mid-1800's onward and geology that led to its importance in history from our tour leader, Michael Cox. He explored the mines as a teenager and became a geologist who was part of the team who cleaned up the park so it could be safely opened to the public. This special program is hosted by Bay Area Older Adults in partnership with Valley Water. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Anderson Lake County Park Waterways

Join us for a leisurely walk along the longest creek Santa Clara County which runs though Anderson Lake County Park. Learn about the trees, aromatic plants, birds and mammals that depend on this water source. Along the way, we find historic structures still remaining on this property. This special program is hosted by Bay Area Older Adults with funding provided by Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, Knight Foundation and Valley Water. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Five Habitats of Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge

Discover the diversity of wildlife that makes its home at Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Our tour of five different habitats is led by Interpretive Specialist and Watershed Watchers Coordinator of the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society. This special program is hosted in partnership with Valley Water, San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society, Watershed Watchers and Santa Clara County. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Winter at Monte Bello Preserve

Join us for an interactive educational winter tour of Monte Bello Preserve. First, we learn about how to identify mushrooms that can be found at this preserve. Next, on our four mile walk, we travel up the steep, forest covered White Oak Trail in search of mushrooms, mammals, amphibians and birds to reach an open grassland for views of Black Mountain and the valley. We head back downhill along the Stevens Creek Nature trail following Stevens Creek to find amphibians, lizards, more mushrooms and insects that make their home by the creek. This special program is hosted by Bay Area Older Adults in partnership with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Skyline Ridge Preserve: Chestnuts, Christmas Trees & More!

Join us for an interactive educational exploration of Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve. This hike takes us on rolling hills from Long Ridge to Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve on partly shady trails with views of the eastern foothills, past a chestnut farm and Christmas tree farm, then around Horseshoe Lake. Along the way, we see wildlife, learn about the local chestnut farm whose chestnuts are ripe during our October visit, and the Skyline Ridge Christmas Tree Farm Restoration Project. This special program is hosted by Bay Area Older Adults in partnership with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve Redwood Resilience

Join us for an interactive educational exploration of El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve located in the upper headwaters of the San Gregorio Creek Watershed. During our autumn visit, we learn about the watershed protection program, and our expert from Save the Redwoods League will take us on a tour of the preserve and explain how our precious California redwoods persevere through the fires we have each year and other fascinating facts about these ancient trees. This special program is hosted by Bay Area Older Adults in partnership with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and Save the Redwoods League.

Wildlife Tour of Ravenswood Preserve

Join us for a summer outdoor exploration of Ravenswood Open Space Preserve! Perched on the western shores of the San Francisco Bay in East Palo Alto, this preserve features raised redwood boardwalks and observation decks for easy viewing of sensitive wetlands, bird watching or watching the tide roll away. We discuss the history of the restored salt marshes, varied flora this habitat supports, the resident and migratory shorebirds and waterfowl it attracts and how to easily identify the birds one might find here. Next, we journey out on the easy access levee trails for an up-close view of the native plants and birds found in the restored tidal marsh wetlands and shoreline. This program is hosted by Bay Area Older Adults in partnership with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Tule Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Tour

Tule Ranch is 48 acres of land that for decades was overgrazed and exposed to pesticides and herbicides. Join us for a virtual tour of a ranch that is now home to sustainable crops and livestock and learn how the owners developed their crops and livestock to not only be sustainable, but how they are helping to restore the environment. You will learn about their fruit orchard and olive grove and their pollinators as well as the role their horses, dogs, 25 different breeds of chickens, Babydoll sheep, goats, Highland cows and alpaca play in keeping the farm and its surrounding environment healthy. This program is hosted by Bay Area Older Adults in partnership with Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority and Knight Foundation. Thumbnail image by Anywn Hurxthal. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Birding & History at Shoreline Park

Join us for a summer walk at Shoreline Park in Mountain View which covers a little history of the historic Rengstorff House and tracking down birds that make their home along Shoreline Lake, Shoreline Slough and Charleston Slough. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Summer Uvas Canyon Wildlife Walking Tour

Join us for a walking tour of Uvas Canyon County Park and explore the natural beauty of the rugged Santa Cruz mountains. This park is known for its six waterfalls, some of which flow perennially and its sprawling, dense redwood forest. We begin with a live, interactive discussion of the wildlife that inhabits this remote park, living mostly undisturbed by human activity. Next, we follow Uvas Creek trail which meanders along Uvas Creek and by Lower Falls, exploring the most scenic areas of the park where we meet some unique birds and butterflies and a lizard with a bright blue tail that are native to this habitat. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Sanborn County Park Redwoods Walk

During a summer hike up the steep trails of Sanborn County Park's Coast Redwoods and Coast Live Oak forest, we see and hear birds, and learn about the redwoods, geology and plants. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

May Little Uvas Creek Open Space Preserve Naturalist Hike

Click on the image to watch a 14 minute video when we visited Little Uvas Creek in May. See the wildlife around the ponds of this private preserve including butterflies, dragonflies, birds, flowers and other native plants. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Santa Teresa County Park Stiles Ranch Trailhead Wildflower Hike

Click on the image to watch an 12 minute video of the wildlife and views from a hike on the Stiles Ranch, Mine and Fortini Trails during the month of May. We see lots of rare wildflowers, valley oaks, serpentine rocks, an army of ants, a butterfly, ground squirrel and tarantula caves along with views of Mt. Umunhum and the hills of Rancho San Vicente. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

April 2020 Stevens Creek County Park Wildflower Hike

Click on the image to watch an 8 minute video of the wildflowers from a hike on the Coyote Ridge Trail.

March 2020 Almaden Quicksilver Wildflower Hike

Spring is here and the wildflowers are starting to bloom! Click on the image to watch a 4.5 minute video of the wildflowers from a hike starting at the Mockingbird Hill entrance to Almaden Quicksilver County Park traveling on the New Almaden and Hacienda trails.

March 2020 Santa Teresa County Park Wildflower Hike

Click on the image to watch a 7 minute video of the wildflowers from a hike starting at the Pueblo entrance to Santa Teresa County Park traveling on the Ridge, Coyote Peak, Boundary Line and Hidden Springs trails.

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Our Global Water Crisis

Join us for an interactive and comprehensive seminar about the six major water issues in the context of our global, state and local communities which includes case studies and the latest practices and technologies used to address water stress. This special program is hosted by Bay Area Older Adults in partnership with Valley Water.

Conserving Water Inside Your Home

Participants will learn a holistic water conservation approach that focuses on reducing their overall water footprint. We will provide a water calculator to make participants more aware of the impact that their daily choices have on water conservation. We will also discuss water efficiency. This special program is hosted by Bay Area Older Adults in partnership with Valley Water.

Conserving Water Outside Your Home

More than half the water consumed by a Santa Clara County household is used in the yard. This workshop will cover many different ways to reduce water use in your yard, pool and garden. Also, we will provide details about how to apply for and successfully complete a Valley Water landscape conversion rebate project and share landscape design templates. This special program is hosted by Bay Area Older Adults in partnership with Valley Water.

How to Fund Your Water Conservation Project

This seminar provides step-by-step instructions to take advantage of the Santa Clara Valley Water District rebate programs. This includes landscape conversion rebate projects, retrofits and upgrades to the irrigation system and gray water rebates. Lastly, learn about low-cost and free resources that help Santa Clara County older adults undertake repairs and upgrades. This special program is hosted by Bay Area Older Adults in partnership with Valley Water.

Easy Balloon

Easy Daschund

Easy Hummingbird

Awesome Dog

Lily

Crane

Challenging Peacock

Upper Body Stretch & Strength Exercises

Dr. Anne Ferguson from Bay Area Older Adults shares her morning upper body stretching and strenthening routine to help those of you who are sitting at the computer working, reading the news or just have a tendency to hunch over. Make it part of your morning routine! DISCLAIMER: BAO strongly recommends that you consult with your physician before beginning any exercise program. You should be in good physical condition and be able to participate in the exercise. We are not licensed medical or health care providers and we represent that we have no expertise in stretching, exercise routines, diagnosing, examining, or treating medical conditions of any kind, or in determining the effect of any specific exercise on a medical condition. You should understand that when participating in any exercise or exercise program, there is the possibility of physical injury. If you engage in this stretching and strengthening exercise, you agree that you do so at your own discretion and risk, are voluntarily participating in these activities, assume all risk of injury to yourself, and agree to release and discharge BAO and Anne Ferguson from any and all claims or causes of action, known or unknown.

Learn How to Keep Our Waters Clean in 5 Minutes

Urban runoff pollution is a major source of pollution of our watershed. Water from rain and outdoor water use cannot soak into the ground in urban areas which are up to 90% hard surfaces. This water runs off rooftops, driveways, sidewalks, parking lots and roads, picking up pollution as it makes its way to the beautiful San Francisco Bay. Please take 5 minutes to learn how you are polluting the Bay and what changes you can make to your everyday activities to keep our watershed and community healthy. Thank you for helping out! To view the video in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Advance Care Planning Workshop

This comprehensive, interactive and hands–on workshop will give you all the tools, including handouts, you need to understand and complete an Advance Directive form. Anyone who does not have an advance directive or has an advance directive but has not updated it in years should watch the workshop. The workshop is presented by Karen Storey, a certified Respecting Choices instructor and facilitator. She has helped hundreds of people gain peace of mind by having conversations with their loved ones and completing advance directives. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Newt Patrol

Two species of newts live in the forested hills surrounding Lexington Reservoir, Los Gatos. Every winter, after the first substantial rain, they begin migrating into the creeks and the reservoir in order to reproduce. You may have seen them crossing park trails, roads and other paths. Incredibly, an average of 5,000 newts are killed per year by humans just at Lexington Reservoir! This is one of the highest amphibian mortality rates globally. Learn about Newt Patrol, a group of citizen scientists who have been surveying newt migration and roadkills near Lexington Reservoir since 2017 and advocating for their protection. Dr. Merav Vonshak teaches us about these fascinating amphibians and the important work Newt Patrol is doing to save them. Dr. Vonshak received her Ph.D. from Tel Aviv University and Postdoctoral Fellowship at Stanford University, is founder of the South Bay’s BioBlitz Club and is a faculty member at San Jose State University. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

All About Strokes

Stroke is the number one leading cause of long term disability in America. In this seminar, we will learn about signs & symptoms, modifiable risk factors, and the importance of acting fast from an MSN, RN and expert who is a Stroke Program Coordinator at Regional Medical Center.

All You Need to Know to Prepare for Emergencies

We all know we need to be prepared, but too often we put off planning for disasters until it is too late. In this video, you will learn about the most important steps that you can take to be more prepared for a disaster like the California wildfires or earthquakes. Our expert speaker, Doug Mosher, will focus on actions such as building your support network, receiving emergency notifications and creating an emergency plan.

Galapagos Wildlife Tour

Enjoy a nature-filled journey to four of the Galapagos islands to view the native and protected wildlife that inhabit this archipelago. To view the videos in High Definition, click on the arrow to play, click the gear icon (settings) to the right of CC and choose quality and 1080p HD.

Internet Security Tip #1

You use a browser almost every day to read and write emails, make purchases, perform financial transactions and more. Your browser caches or saves copies of all the web pages you visited. This can cause problems such as preventing you from seeing web pages that have been changed, and most importantly, it causes security issues. For this reason, it is a good habit to regularly clear your browser's cache. This short video explains how to clear your cache to protect your online security. Thumbnail image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

Internet Security Tips #2

You use a browser almost every day to read and write emails, make purchases, perform financial transactions and more. This short video gives you step-by-step instructions on how to set security settings in your browser to avoid malware and prevent hackers from accessing your private information.

How to Stay Safe and Secure Online

Are you concerned about identity theft, online banking, viruses, maleware, cookies, scams and other things that may harm you and your computer? This workshop will provide real examples to teach you how to keep safe and secure online and give you helpful resources.

Make the Most Out of Medicare

Are you new to Medicare or thinking about making changes to your plan? Join us to learn about Medicare plans, prescription drug coverage options and other important information. Review your options or your current plan to make informed decisions about your health care future. This seminar is offered by a representative from HICAP (Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program), a federally funded nonprofit program that provides free, unbiased Medicare counseling and resources on related health care issues. To contact the Santa Clara County HICAP office, please call 408) 350-3200, option 2

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