Kelsey & Miriam’s Two Year PRNSA Anniversary!
March 5, 2026__|__Point Reyes National Seashore Association
Two of our plant-focused staff members, Kelsey Songer (botanist) and Miriam Golding (biological science technician) are celebrating their two-year PRNSA anniversaries! Although both Kelsey and Miriam’s work is centered around plants, their jobs look VERY different:
Kelsey’s work largely focuses on the up-close and tiny—you’ll often see her in the field observing seeds or flowers with a hand lens. She leads the collection of a long-term dataset on plant communities in different ecosystems at Point Reyes (and at other parks throughout the Bay Area), including coastal grasslands, Douglas fir forest, coastal scrub, freshwater wetlands, marshes, and redwood forest. She spends much of her time close to the ground, identifying plant species within one-meter square quadrats and along transects to gather data on plant community composition. This long-term dataset helps biologists answer important questions, such as how specific plant communities are responding to climate change.
Photos by PRNSA Staff
Miriam’s work is more focused on the larger scale—landscape-wide invasive species monitoring & removal. Miriam is often out in the field removing massive, 13-foot tall jubata grasses in the Woodward Fire burn area, mapping invasive pepperweed in the Giacomini Wetlands, or conducting surveys of the Seashore’s trails to ensure new invasives aren’t moving in. She’s currently developing an invasive plant identification guide for park volunteers and staff. The guide will give these Seashore stewards the tools to identify and report early detections of new species in the park. She loves working with the Morgan Horse Ranch’s pack team to support the park’s work in Wilderness areas. Miriam’s work to manage invasive species populations throughout the Seashore ensures that native plants and wildlife can continue to thrive.
Photos by PRNSA Staff
