Day to be aware of the bay

Luis Pena

Everything old is new again this Saturday at the Upper Newport Bay

with the introduction of the inaugural Estuary Awareness Day.

The event is the combination of the annual Earth Day festival and

the Ocean Discovery Days. The new festival on Shellmaker Island will

educate the public about the Back Bay’s estuary, said Joanette

Willert, Orange County Harbors and Beaches and Parks senior park

ranger at the Upper Newport Bay.

The festival will feature environmental exhibits by several

groups, including the Orange County Birds of Prey. The group takes in

birds of prey that are injured, then rehabilitates and sets them free

or uses them to educate the public on how they fit into the

ecosystem, said Rita McCoy, volunteer coordinator for the Newport Bay

Naturalists and Friends.

Another organization will be the Environmental Nature Center in

Newport Beach. It will have various native plants, such as coastal

sage scrub and California sage, on display.

The Surfrider Foundation will speak about the importance of

keeping beaches clean.

The amphitheater programs will feature talks about sharks, bird

adaptations and Native American life during the area’s history.

There also will be boat tours of the Back Bay, which will

originate from Shellmaker island.

The boat ride will feature a naturalist doing commentary and

pointing things out such as cordgrass and pickleweed.

“The tidal action breaks down the cordgrass, which has a high

nutritional value, which in turn feeds all the organisms in the mud,

and then the birds feed on those organisms living in the mud,” McCoy

said.

Playing with mud would normally get the average child in trouble

with Mom and Dad, but not at the festival. There will be microscopes

that children can use to look at all of the organisms in the bay’s

mud.

A touch tank will be a highlight for children, and will feature

small sharks, rays and sea cucumbers, which are like “wrinkled”

cucumbers. These sea creatures are collected directly from the bay,

McCoy said.

Mayor Tod Ridgeway will serve as honorary chairman of the event.

Willert said another feature for children will be a special

“passport” at the event.

“Their little passport, they get it stamped as they complete each

booth and then at the end they get a prize,” Willert said.