Lovely lupines

ONE OF THE FEW: The silver dune lupine is an important member of the dunes ecosystem. It’s a robust plant that helps protect others trying to get established in the dunes. Credit: PHOTO COURTESY GUADALUPE-NIPOMO DUNES CENTER

Sometimes volunteer work can be dirty. Then again, sometimes it’s a walk in the park, as in the case of the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes, where it’s actually a walk in a state park.

Home to an abundance of unique plants—many that grow only in the dunes—and unique vistas, the dunes host a fragile ecosystem. That’s where volunteers come in: to help that ecosystem thrive.

The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center is seeking volunteers to help collect silver lupine seeds to assist the state parks staff with its restoration efforts in the area. The seeds will be used to germinate new silver dune lupines to be used for restoration and other projects.

Dan McElhinney, operations manager at the Guadalupe Dunes Center, said the plant is helpful in protecting other dunes fauna.

LENDING A HAND: Interns plant lupine seeds into containers, readying them for restoration efforts in the dunes. Collecting lupine seeds is an easy task, but volunteers are needed to make the effort successful. Credit: PHOTO COURTESY GUADALUPE-NIPOMO DUNES CENTER

“It’s a big, robust plant that is native to the dunes, so it does well and it helps to get other plants established,” McElhinney said.

Having the lupine around is like having a bodyguard. The flower provides smaller plants shade from the sun and shelter from the wind and burying sand.

Seed collection isn’t difficult. In fact, the Dunes Center will also have a Boy Scout group helping out, so anyone can do it, McElhinney said. Lupines are related to peas, so their seeds are little pods. Volunteers armed with trimmers simply have to collect the pods and put them in a basket. McElhinney said the task is easy, but a big help to state park staffers and their attempts at restoring the dunes.

FLOWER POWER: Join the Dunes Center staff and volunteers for a day of service collecting silver dune lupine seeds at Oso Flaco Lake on July 31 from 10 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. For more information, call 343-2455 or visit dunescenter.org.

“It’s part of our effort to provide community service opportunities to the public,” McElhinney said. “This is something where they don’t have to volunteer every day—they can just come out this one day and help out, and it makes a big difference.”

McElhinney said anyone wanting to volunteer can just show up on seed collection day and get ready to harvest—and make a big difference in dunes management.

When Arts Editor Shelly Cone needs volunteers to help clean house, her kids scatter like seeds in the wind. Reach her at scone@santamaria sun.com.

This article appears in Jun 24 – Jul 1, 2010.