Mary Maret is retired from the Sacramento County Department of Regional Parks. She served for most of her career as the Regional Park’s natural resource specialist, helping to steward and protect local treasures including the American River Parkway, the Dry Creek Parkway, and the vernal pool grasslands of the Illa M. Collin Conservation Preserve.
Mary earned her Master’s degree in botany from Oregon State University. Her master’s thesis involved using prescribed burns to understand fire as a restoration tool in grasslands. OSU was also where she learned about the existence of California’s fascinating vernal pools. When Mary relocated to Sacramento in 1999, she remembered the vernal pools, and enthusiastically signed up to be a volunteer docent to lead weekend public tours. She has been sharing her appreciation for vernal pools protection, education, and management (including using prescribed burns) ever since.
“I love that Splash connects kids up close with nature,” says Mary. “Splash introduces them to a fascinating and resilient ecosystem – all in Sacramento County, where they live. I am so glad that I can continue to support vernal pool education and advocacy, as well as promote the other worthy programs that Splash offers to the students in our region.”