In September of this year, Education Coordinator Sam Adelson will celebrate the start of his eighth year at the Coastal Watershed Council! Sam has been an incredible asset to the organization and especially CWC’s Watershed Rangers education program. As a watershed scientist and environmental educator, Sam’s passion for the outdoors and for serving the youth of our community has brought the Watershed Rangers program to new heights. Read on to learn more about “Sam, Sam, the Watershed Man,” as local students know him.
Sam helped create video resources for distance learning during Covid-19
“I grew up in Southern California’s Inland Empire, spending off-school hours with friends skateboarding, BMX bicycle riding, and playing the drums in a punk rock band, all while making it home on time for dinner with my parents and sister. The son of a preschool director and an environmental scientist, I hadn’t planned to combine the careers of my parents into one of my own, but I’m thrilled to be following in their footsteps! My comfort in the great outdoors started at an early age, and, after drawing inspiration from a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, my goal of becoming a shark scientist led me to attend college at California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB).
Sam pauses for a photo during a 2011 fish access survey
Once at CSUMB, I pivoted and selected Watershed Systems as my study area after learning about global freshwater insecurity and the impacts that impaired watersheds have on ocean health. I realized that if we respect the land and learn to manage our water resources, we’re protecting all global species – and that includes sharks.
During university, I balanced jobs at the YMCA and the campus water quality laboratory, with no idea that I’d be combining youth education and watershed science for the next fifteen plus years! After graduating from CSUMB, I continued this educator-scientist combo career through roles at the Lost Coast’s Mattole Salmon Group, through professional and volunteer opportunities in Minnesota, and at the Web of Life Field School (WOLF School) based in Aptos, CA, before finding my place at the Coastal Watershed Council in 2018.
Watershed Rangers and Sam Adelson making headlines in the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper
CWC’s Watershed Rangers program is really special and packed with amazing moments with our students. It’s not hard to pick a “favorite” part of the job, though – donning chest waders and exploring the river with excited kids in their own backyard is one of the best things ever!
Sam Adelson on an estuary adventure with three Watershed Rangers students
My passion for the San Lorenzo River extends beyond my various roles of curriculum development, grant management, coordination with teachers and schools, and implementing the boots-on-the-ground (or waders-in-the-water) Watershed Rangers program. On summer days, I’m often at the river with my mask, snorkel, and GoPro camera exploring the San Lorenzo and capturing underwater footage, like the video below, and during the stormy season, I’m on the riverbanks observing peak flows and keeping an eye out for migrating salmon and steelhead.
Away from the river, this summer I am celebrating a bountiful onion harvest in my garden and am excited to complete my Advanced Open Water SCUBA Certification! I feel lucky to experience the land-sea connection through our watershed every day.”
Sam’s “Mission: Impossible” pose on a dive in the Channel Islands