Harvesting family fun - Winters Express

A-12 — Winters (CA) Express, Thursday, October 21, 2010Rotary Wine, Food Jubileegets spirited for HalloweenThe Winters RotaryClub invites everyoneover 21 to attend HalloweenSpirits — The2010 Winters RotaryWine and Food Jubileeon Friday, Oct. 29, at theCommunity Center. Theevent begins at 6 p.m.with tasting and samplingof fine wines andfood from wineries andeateries throughout theregion.Added fun this year isa costume contest withprizes. Following thewine and food tasting,there will be an afterhoursparty from 9-11p.m. with dancing, a nohost bar and costumejudging. Tickets are $25.“This is a great way tocelebrate Halloweenand support the WintersRotary Club,” saysevent chair Chris Jones.For more informationcall Jones, 795-3279.Courtesy photoVolunteers help clean up Lake Berryessa as part of the 26th Annual Coastal Cleanup Day onSept. 25. More volunteers are needed on Saturday to help remove arunda, an invasive reed,from the lake.Volunteers needed to helpremove arundo from lakeBy MARIANNE BUTLERSolano ResourceConservation DistrictOn Saturday, Sept. 25,dedicated Lake Berryessavolunteers spenttheir morning celebratingthe 26th AnnualCoastal Cleanup Day bycleaning up the lakethey love. Reclamationand its partners concentratedon two very popularuse sites; theMarkley Cove pulloutsat the south end of thelake near MonticelloDam and the PopeCanyon Bridge area inthe Northwest part ofBerryessa.At both sites energeticpeople came together towalk the shoreline, collectingrecyclables andremoving trash from areasheavily utilized duringthe summer recreationseason. At thePope Canyon site, theolks working the shoreere joined by SCUBAdivers, canoeists andkayakers, who helpedremove debris from thelake.Over 100 volunteersrom Napa, Solano andYolo Counties workedwith the Lake BerryessaRecreation ResourceBranch of the Bureau ofeclamation, Rogeraseltine of the formerapa Dive & Sport,Raptor Centeropen houses SaturdayThe public is welcomedto a free openhouse at the Californiaaptor Center (CRC) onSaturday, Oct. 23, 9 a.m.to 2 p.m. There will bespecial presentations at10 a.m. and noon. All areinvited to join the HawkWalk, which starts at theCRC gate at 8 a.m. andfinishes at 9 a.m. (bringbinoculars).The CRC cares for injuredraptors (eagles,hawks, vultures andowls), rehabilitatingand releasing themback to the wild wheneverpossible. Birds thatcannot be released aretrained to take part inhe center’s Educationrogram.The Open House is designedto show peoplewhat the center does.The special presentationswill demonstratefascinating features ofraptor biology and ecology,and visitors will beable to see many non-releasableraptors housedin display cages as wellas birds out on the glove(including a Red ShoulderedHawk featured onHuell Howser’s California’sGold televisionshow). The onsite museumwill also be open.For a map visitwww.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/calraptor.Berryessa Trails andConservation, NapaFlood Control and WaterConservation Districtand Solano andNapa County ResourceConservation Districtsto make the Cleanuphappen. By the end ofthe morning, 800 poundsof trash and 1,800pounds of recyclableswere removed from thelake and shoreline. Theevent concluded with abarbecue lunch, andraffle made possible bygenerous donationsfrom local businesses.Donations and raffleprizes for the clean-upevent came from manyarea businesses, includingTomat’s CaliforniaCuisine and TurkovichFamily Wines, both ofWinters.The next opportunityto volunteer at the lakeis on Saturday, Oct. 23.Solano Resource ConservationDistrict, Bureauof Reclamation,Berryessa Trails, Anheuser-Buschof Fairfield& the River Networkare planning awork day to help removearundo (giantreed), an invasive, nonnativeplant that threatenscreeks and wildlifehabitat around LakeBerryessa. Organizersaren’t looking for experts— anyone with aninterest in conservationor restoration is perfectfor the job.Solano RCD coordinatesthe LakeBerryessa WatershedPartnership, a voluntarygroup dedicated toprotecting water qualityat the lake.For more informationabout the events listedabove, or about otherpartnership activities,or to arrange for a caravanto the site, contactMarianne Butler, (707)301-5778.