Crab Cove
Address: Crab Cove Visitor Center, 1252 McKay Ave., Alameda, CA 94501
Phone No.: (510) 521-6887
Email: ccove@ebparks.org
Gail Broesder, Naturalist
Naturalist Gail, who started working for the EBRPD in 1994, is an interpretive naturalist with years of experience helping youth and their families understand and appreciate our natural world. Specializing in marine and aquatic education with an AA from the College of Alameda, a BS in Biology from San Francisco State and a MS in Education from Cal State Hayward, she teaches in classrooms, on hikes, walks, beaches, mud flats, marshes, estuaries and boats. Gail has worked in just about all the wet areas around and continues to share her knowledge, working for other agencies as well as EBRPD, teaching about the environment.
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Michael Charnofsky, Naturalist
Michael joined EBRPD in June, 2006. He grew up in Los Angeles, earned a B.A. in Environmental Studies from U.C. Santa Cruz, and he moved back to the bay area for this wonderful job. Michael worked as a naturalist for twelve years at the Los Angeles County Outdoor Science School and as the Nature Director for a camp for children with diabetes for ten years. For the past thirteen years Michael has also served as a board member of the Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (AEOE). His many interests include organic/native plant gardening, photography, drumming, sustainable living, birdwatching, visiting the desert in spring, attending music festivals, and taking care of the worms in his vermicomposting system. Back to top
Nancy, Naturalist/Docent Coordinator
Connecting people with nature has been a passion that has spanned Naturalist Nancy's years in the field of natural resource education and interpretation, which began in 1981. A degree in recreation and natural resource management from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo was a springboard for work with the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and currently EBRPD. She got her feet wet camping at the age of six months, and now loves camping, canoeing, backpacking, biking, hiking, alpine and Nordic skiing. A weekend is great when in addition to spending time outside with her dog, she can find "radio-time" to enjoy "Car Talk," "This American Life," and "A Prairie Home Companion." Back to top
Sharol Nelson-Embry, Supervising Naturalist
Sharol is the "Head Crab" at Crab Cove. With a degree in Natural Resources Management from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, she's worked in many avenues of environmental interpretation since 1982 including sixth grade science camps, summer camps, and regional nature centers in both northern and southern California. She has worked to connect more people to nature through writing outdoor columns that have appeared in the Ojai Valley News, Alameda Times Star, and more recently, the Contra Costa Times Newspaper groups. She also wrote or contributed to curriculum for chaparral, redwood, and estuarine habitats. Investigating how to make better use of technology to hook today’s generation into getting outdoors is her new passion. Sharol enjoys writing, playing guitar, and hiking and camping with her husband and two children. Back to top
Tara Reinertson, Naturalist
Tara earned her Bachelor's degree in Biology and Environmental Studies from U.C. Santa Cruz in 1991 and since then has been enjoying working as a naturalist and sharing her passion for the outdoors with children and adults. Before joining EBRPD in 2000, Tara worked for various non-profit environmental education organizations in the Bay Area, including the Marine Science Institute in Redwood City, Yosemite National Institute in the Marin Headlands, and Canoes In Sloughs of Save the Bay. At Ardenwood she delights in teaching people about where their food comes from and the importance of California agriculture. When not working, she enjoys gourd crafting, painting, hiking and playing guitar (not necessarily all at the same time!) Back to top