Okay class, now do a pike dive! Splash! That’s the sound inside the KRA Pool on a typical Rescue Diving class. Between forward rolls, freediving, gearing up, and learning rescue skills, this HSU course has its hands full. Of water that is.

Jamie Clough, a transfer marine biology major and scientific diving minor is taking the course this spring semester.

“All the skills you need in the class are going to be taught, so don’t be scared. It’s great, it’s fun, they take amazing care of you,” Clough said.

Clough wants to work in aquariums and believes the program is helping prepare her to do so.

“Going through the program here and getting that minor is gonna be helpful for me to get a job at aquariums so i can do anything from aquarium maintenance, cleaning the sand, checking on animals, anything,” Clough said.

The class teaches a range of skills including swimming, freediving, scuba, how to deal with panic, CPR, first aid, dealing with stress and more.

Class instructor Hanna Johnston loves teaching and working with the students.

“My favorite part is watching students go from really uncomfortable to looking like dive professionals,” Johnston said.

Johnston believes a big part of learning how to dive is confidence.

“If a diver feels confident in their skill level they’re going to be much stronger in the water,” Johnston said.

Junior recreation administration major Gracie Oliva is taking the class a second time to receive her advanced rescue diver certification.

“It makes you a really seasoned professional because not only are we exposed to emergencies that frequent the dive industry but it helps me with my emergency preparedness if I choose to go in the outdoor recreation area as a whole so the skills and experiences that I gain in this class won’t just help me further myself in the dive industry but also will have tremendous benefits for me just in the outdoor recreation field itself,” Oliva said.

Especially during the pandemic, it has been a challenge for classes to meet in person.

“During this pandemic era, my favorite part of this class has to be interacting with all these amazing people that you see right here,” Oliva said. “I am so fortunate that I am able to take face to face classes when I know that there’s a very limited number of them.”

Junior environmental studies major and scientific diving minor Roxanna “Roxy” Reynolds wanted to join the program after inspiration came from her dad telling diving stories.

“I actually came to Humboldt for the diving program, that was the selling point for me,” Reynolds said.

While most students may not come originally for the program, Johnston stressed that it is available for everyone, even those who can’t swim quite yet.

“You just have to show up, be on time, be prepared and have a good attitude and we’ll help you from there,” Johnston said.

Sluggy the banana slug had a desire for adventure like no other. They wanted to see the world from above, rather than below like they always had. The idea: climb to the top of a redwood tree. What Sluggy didn’t know were the friends they’d make along the way.

At the bottom of the tree sat a fox, a sweet orange and white bellied creature with a sly smile.

“Hello Fox, I’m going up this tree. Any advice?” Sluggy asked.

“Well Sluggy, I’d say be as clever as you can to make many friends in the trees so you always have food,” Fox said.

So with that, Sluggy continued up the tree. After a day, Sluggy reached the next friend.

It was a mother raccoon teaching its young to climb.

“Hello Raccoon, I’m going up this tree. Any advice?” Sluggy asked.

“Dear, please be careful! Travel with your family instead of alone sweet Sluggy!” said Raccoon.

Sluggy suddenly felt lonely, so they decided to ask a fellow slug on the tree to join. They agreed. Another day later, Sluggy and their new tree climbing partner Slugeth reached their next friend. An owl, sitting peacefully with both eyes shut and wings on its sides.

“Hello Owl, we are going up this tree. Any advice?” Sluggy and Slugeth asked.

“Woo are you? Banana slugs in the tree? Quite high, don’t you think? Beware the dangers of climbing, be wise when you are traveling to new places. Don’t talk to strangers. Woo!” Owl said.

Sluggy and Slugeth felt much more prepared after talking to Owl. They knew now that this adventure wouldn’t be as easy as they may have thought.

Two days of traveling later and after some very windy weather, Sluggy and Slugeth came across their next friend. A bouncy little tail followed a kind and goofy squirrel.

“Hello Squirrel, we are going up this tree. Any advice?” Sluggy and Slugeth asked.

“Sluggy and Slugeth, just remember to have fun! This tree is full of surprises and fun branches to climb on! Eat acorns and collect the tops as little hats!” Squirrel said.

Squirrel then made the two slugs acorn hats and fed them acorn soup. Such a goofy yet generous fellow.

The climb up the tree continued to get harder and Sluggy became very thankful for the advice from raccoon. Slugeth was a great adventure partner.

Suddenly they heard a very loud pecking sound and knew they were upon their next friend. It was woodpecker, the sharp beaked fluff ball!

“Hello Woodpecker, we are going up this tree. Any advice?” Sluggy and Slugeth asked.

“Don’t forget to make holes in the tree to mark your territory. You need to remember how to get down the tree,” Woodpecker said.

They continued up the tree, biting tiny pieces of bark to mark where they had been so they remembered the way back down. They were very close to the top.

Just then, a crow flew overhead and landed on the highest point of the tree.

“Hello Sluggy and Slugeth. You climbed to the top of the tree! Do you have any advice for going down?” asked crow.

Sluggy and Slugeth thought very long. How could they sum up everything they had learned on their adventure?

“Oh, the adventure we’ve been on! I would advise making friends so you always have dinner with someone, going with another friend, being very careful, having fun, marking your path… and well, enjoying the journey because you may never get to do it again,” said Sluggy.

I woke up this morning and decided I was tired of being a banana slug with my only purpose being to eat, decompose matter, and occasionally fighting off a snake or raccoon.

I want to be a cranberry farmer.

Now I know you’re asking how this would even be possible as I am so small, so slimy, so squishable. But nothing is impossible, especially for a banana slug.

I could be the taste tester. Tasting cranberries to see if they are sweet and delicious enough for juice and cranberry sauce. I can be your favorite slug that helps you prep for Thanksgiving.

Another option is the cranberry smusher. I mean I’m practically one big foot. I can use my body to jump up and down or squeeze the cranberries.

Or I could be the farmer that goes through the water and collects the cranberries. I’ll put on my scuba suit and swim through, finding the perfect cranberries and help the humans pick those ones.

My slug friends believe I’m insane. They don’t understand why I would abandon the home I have to go do a task no banana slug has done before.

But there’s one thing that drives me to do this, even if I have to sacrifice everything. It’s because I’m a dreamer. I have a burning passion in my slime. I feel as if my life revolves around one thing, and if I cannot be a cranberry farmer, then what is my purpose?

I have dreams at night of making human friends, surrounded by cranberries and munching the berries all day long.

My parent slugs each did typical slug jobs. Parent 1 was a blackberry bush finder, and always led slugs to the best places to eat blackberries for meals. Parent 2 was an explorer, leaving the other slugs behind to explore new areas and then make maps for the others to follow.

My parents met when they were each exploring and searching for blackberries, and they fell in love. Soon they each laid 20 eggs and my siblings and I were born.

Of all 40 of us, I’m the only one to have such a large passion. My siblings don’t understand, and have abandoned me.

I know my family will be proud of me when they see me living my dream but until then, I will be alone in my journey.

Even still, I won’t stop fighting for my dream. I never will.

– Slugberry

The recent trend of purchasing organic products has led to a massive increase in companies labelling their products to fit this demand. It’s not just Whole Foods anymore. Most stores carry products labelled as “organic,” “eco-conscious,” or “green,” making it seem as though it is an easy task to be a responsible consumer. However, these labels are often deceitful.

Greenwashing is a marketing tool used by companies to inaccurately portray their products as environmentally friendly, resulting in consumers feeling as though they are making the greener choice by purchasing from them. There are six “sins” of greenwashing – a phrase coined by TerraChoice Environmental Marketing after the company conducted research on green marketing. Ignoring these forms of greenwashing is detrimental for the planet.

These six types of greenwashing do a great job of making consumers feel a false sense of security. Environmental politics professor Nicola Walters believes that greenwashing creates a mask that makes it difficult for consumers to know what is safe and what is okay to purchase.

“Think about how many products these days are with green ‘down home’ packaging,” Walters said. “The local focus recently has been huge! People want to know where their purchases are coming from and companies know this. They are trying to appeal to this customer interest and there’s big money in it. Being educated about what is good for our bodies and the Earth shouldn’t be akin to a complex calculus question and an elongated research project.”

The most common greenwashing techniques that consumers should be aware of are hidden trade-off greenwashing and no proof greenwashing. Hidden trade-offs suggests that an entire product is “green” when it’s misleading about what percentage of the product is sustainably made. For example, it could contain only one percent recycled material and still be labeled as “green.” No proof greenwashing is just what it sounds like and occurs all the time. With this, there will be claims with no real certification or evidence.

Environmental studies senior Cassidy Mullennix admits that she has fallen victim to the hidden trade-off form of greenwashing. She questions whether or not the world can go green while living within a throwaway culture.

“At Plant Power in San Diego, I used to celebrate with a milkshake because it was packaged in ‘compostable plastic’ and that meant that I didn’t have to avoid it, right?” Mullenix said. “Wrong! I took some time to research how compostable plastic worked and it turns out that the material I was using would break down the same exact way plastic does if placed in the landfill and not sent to a high-temperature compost facility.”

Vagueness greenwashing is another common marketing tactic. Labels like “green” or “sustainable” that companies slap onto their products with a plastic sticker do not mean that they lived up to a strict standard. These labels are vague and do not clarify what standard of sustainable that they are following.

Similar to these misleading standards, the irrelevance greenwashing occurs when a company advertises that their product is free of something that is environmentally irrelevant. A common example of this are products that say “CFC free,” even though CFCs have been banned globally by law for over a decade.

The fibbing tactic is self-explanatory. Companies will simply outright lie about the environmental impact of their products. An example of this is Dieselgate, which is when Volkswagen lied about their automobiles’ emissions.

Lesser of two evils greenwashing misleads consumers by stating oxymorons. Examples of this are organic cigarettes and “green” pesticides. Although it may feel better to pick these options, they are overall still a bad choice.

Green marketing is a sinister and highly effective tactic that tells people what they want to hear. It is easy to fall victim to the greenwashing of products.

HSU alumnus Michael Powell believes that the only solution to this is to do the inconvenient research before purchasing a product.

“I think greenwashing lulls people into a false sense of security,” Powell said. “It makes us feel good because we want to help the environment and we think we are doing just that. We stop asking questions. The sad reality is that, oftentimes, we’re hurting the environment just the same.”

Editor’s Note: A version of this story was originally published in the March 24 issue of the Lumberjack. Due to inaccurate reporting, we are issuing a rewrite of the article that more accurately represents the situation as told to us by our original sources.

Like all academic programs at Humboldt State, the wildlife department has had to operate this semester based on plans that were made during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that the number of cases has declined for the time being, some students feel ready for more face-to-face instruction.

Daniel Barton, chair of the HSU wildlife department, said that because the decision had to start so far in advance, it meant the department had to be cautious in how it planned for the spring semester.

“Obviously when we were making this decision in the fall, we were asked by the university to provide a schedule and our preferred and planned mode of instruction when the public health situation was looking really bad,” Barton said. “Over the holidays we’re talking 2,000 to 3,000 people a day were dying in the US. So we were conservative and that was our mindset at the time and I think a lot of other people felt the same way.”

Another factor in the decision making process was considerations for faculty. Dale Oliver, dean of the college of natural resources and sciences, said they didn’t want to overload faculty. If a class is both in-person and online, that’s double the work for the instructor with the same pay.

“We were trying to avoid telling a faculty member ‘oh, you have to do two courses,’” Oliver said.

In addition to that concern, the planners making the schedule did not want to make students feel like they had to move to Arcata in the middle of a pandemic.

“I think the main motivation for faculty not having too much face to face is they didn’t want to compel folks to move up here for a limited face, you know, very limited opportunities in the classroom,” Oliver said.

Kylie Berger, a wildlife management and conservation major, is worried about how this might impact her career.

“I feel like with us not being in person, we are lacking a bunch of in-field skills that we should, you know, be able to have before actually being out in the field,” Berger said.

One of Berger’s fall semester classes would have been mostly field work, but the hands-on parts were replaced with videos.

“I feel somewhat unprepared, you know, for what lies ahead for my future career and I don’t think I’m the only one that feels that way,” Berger said.

Although Berger feels there could have been attempts made at outside activities because other departments have in-person activities, she said her professors have been supportive.

“[My professors] have been super super helpful and understanding and really willing to work with all of us during this hard time,” Berger said.

Despite limitations that had to be built into the schedule, there are some aspects of the wildlife program that are able to be held in person this spring.

“There are three courses in wildlife that have field trips,” Oliver said. “They’re just not holding lectures or labs face to face.”

As HSU heads into another semester, Oliver believes more in-person classes will be beneficial to students.

“I want to be a good and faithful follower of the recommendations of the state of California,” Oliver said. “But, ideally, I do believe that students will benefit from more face-to-face.”

Oliver thinks there’s more than just hands on instruction lost when classes go virtual and in-person instruction needs to be kept.

“Bottom line, I think face-to-face education is powerful and I would hate to lose it,” Oliver said.

Barton feels in-person activities are important for faculty and students alike.

“I love teaching hands on face-to-face stuff outside,” Barton said. “That’s why I’m here. This hurts, this whole thing. It hurts the students. It hurts us and the reason I do it is not just because, I love seeing students get the opportunity to do those things that then they’re going to go on and try to do in careers. So I miss it, and we do not take lightly that we radically reduced the number of those types of face-to-face opportunities in response to the pandemic.”

Yellow. Long. Squishy. Banana… Slug? If you aren’t in an area that these creatures are home to, you probably think this is a made-up creature from the movie “Coraline.” Luckily enough, we live in our own magical world and these creatures are real.

Let’s cover the basics. Can you eat a banana? Yes! Delicious! Can you eat a banana slug? I wouldn’t advise it due to their slime and mucus as well as possibly carrying a parasite that could kill you. Who knew these creatures were so hardcore? But some people deep fry them and claim them to be delicious. That brings a new vibe to carnival food.

“If I had a slimy banana I’d be very concerned,” said Thomas Lal, editor-in-chief of the Lumberjack.

One is going to fight more when you pick it up. That’s right, a banana who has a skin peel to protect it from being eaten, although like a slug, it’s not the greatest protection. A banana slug only has a layer to it’s head, but if stepped on will in fact smush it. At least they have that in common.

Bananas grow on trees, whereas banana slugs come from a different place. When two slugs love each other… Fun fact, banana slugs both carry the eggs and the sperm, so they each produce about 20 eggs after mating.

Banana slugs can live up to seven years! Bananas grow in four to six months and when ripe, go bad within nine days. There is definitely a difference in lifespan. So if you want a long living friend, a banana slug is a good choice. If your child needs a first pet, choose a banana.

Bananas do not lay eggs. In fact, if your bananas are laying eggs please go to the doctor. What does a banana egg even look like? Banana slugs do in fact lay eggs, but I wouldn’t advise eating them for breakfast.

As a young and seemingly invincible college student, one presumably does not put much thought into their inevitable death. However, if you are eco-conscious, perhaps it is time to start planning ahead.

The need to preserve one’s lifeless beauty for just a little bit longer has grave consequences for the earth. When a person dies, it is common for their body to be pumped with an embalming fluid that contains a mixture of toxic chemicals in order to postpone their inevitable decomposition. They are then placed in a casket that is likely made up of inorganic hardwood, copper, bronze, and steel. Their toxic body encased in a casket of unsustainable materials will eventually be lowered into the ground in a concrete crypt.

Green burials are a sustainable alternative to this contemporary western burial method. They may also be called “natural burials,” and the process does not involve any inhibition of decomposition. Instead, the body in its natural state is placed into the soil so that it can be recycled into the earth and help to nourish the land, as most decomposing life does. The body is wrapped in a biodegradable shroud or casket and then buried shallow enough to decay in a way that is similar to composting.

Craig Benson, an environmental science and management lecturer, said that the funeral and cemetery industry already appears to be responding to increasing requests for green burials.

“I would like to see more conservation burial options like the Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery near Gainesville, Florida,” Benson said. “This is where old restoration ecologists, like me, could make a last ditch effort– pun intended– at creating a contiguous savanna habitat and providing lots of underground munchies for the microfauna and microflora. Why have a feast at your funeral when you can be one!”

In the United States, cremation has recently become the most popular choice for those who pass away. While the ashes of our loved ones harbor sentimental value, this way of honoring the dead is unfortunately still harmful to the environment. Cremation leads to release of harmful toxins into the atmosphere, including carbon monoxide, fine soot, sulfur dioxide, heavy metals, and mercury emissions.

When asked about the environmental impact of cremation, Jennifer Kalt, the director of Humboldt Baykeeper, gave insight on the atmospheric consequences of the practice.

“I noticed that the Los Angeles Air Quality Board recently lifted the limits on cremations temporarily due to the number of COVID-19 deaths,” Kalt said. “I’ve read that cremation is a significant source of mercury pollution. Once it’s released into the atmosphere, it gets re-deposited by rain and fog. All that does make me wonder why people think cremation is a better option. My understanding of the green burial concept is that it prohibits embalming, but human bodies still have contaminants that we store up over lifetimes.”

There are a few local options for those who choose to give their body back to the earth. Cemeteries in Loleta, Fortuna, and Blue Lake all offer natural burial options. However, Blue Lake Cemetery is the only place that does not require the body to be contained in a concrete crypt.

Environmental conflict resolution lecturer Natalie Arroyo said that, in her personal opinion, green burials seem like a great end-of-life option for those who would like to practice sustainability even after they die. However, it is important to note that how humans deal with death is wholly intertwined with their cultural, religious, and personal values.

“I would say as a community member and lecturer who has read and heard a little bit about this, that green burials seem like an excellent alternative with environmental benefits,” Arroyo said. “But they may not fit with people’s religious and cultural values, and they may not suit every circumstance. For example, my own father died far away from home, and his body was cremated due to the low cost and need to transport the remains easily over a long distance.”

Before you ask, yes this is true. Let’s start at the beginning.

I went out looking for flowers and other things to forage and while I was unpacking them in my room later, I found that a baby slug had slimed its way into my basket. I moved the sweet fella to my windowsill, with intentions to move it outside in a few minutes. One accidental nap later, the slug was gone.

I searched my room in hopes that it was in one of my plants, or somewhere close to the window.

No luck.

You may be asking, Slug Girl why is this a big deal? You love slugs?

True, but I have an emotional support animal and a slugs slime is poisonous. I needed to find it before she did.

After literal hours of looking for a slug the size of my pinky finger nail, I had lost hope.

I even named the slug Paul in case I had a new roommate.

I set out some fruit, including blackberries, before bed in hopes it would lure Paul in. I even dreamed about it working. I woke up multiple times in the night, looked over at the fruit and saw nothing had changed.

I began to worry I’d go weeks without seeing Paul, living in constant anxiety that my ESA would find him and eat him.

My worry came true. It’s been nearly two weeks now and Paul has made no sign of being found. No nibbles in fruit or plants, and he definitely hasn’t been eaten by my ESA.

So where is Paul?

The world may never know.

We are watching as the northern spotted owl rapidly declines in population. With fires, barred owl invasions, climate change, and habitat loss, this local species, protected under the Endangered Species Act, needs help.

Spatial Ecology Professor Ho Yi Wan, who has studied the northern spotted owl for many years, explained the importance of the owl in ecosystems.

“When you’re protecting the habitat of a spotted owl, you’re protecting a lot of the forested habitat which a lot of other species use,” Wan said. “It’s like an umbrella approach, when you protect one species you are also in a way conserving a lot of other species.”

HSU faculty member Jeff Dunk, a member of the environmental science and management department, explained why the owl originally joined the Endangered Species Act.

“It was habitat loss,” Dunk said. “There were huge rates of timber harvesting that happened from post-World War II through the 1980s. And with automation of timber mills and stuff, we just got more and more effective at harvesting trees and then we started to see a response by the owls, that is they weren’t doing as well after a while.”

But regrowing a forest takes time.

“See you can get rid of it really rapidly but it takes a long time to grow back,” Dunk said.

Now, the owl suffers from climate change, fires, and an invasion of the barred owl, as well as continued habitat loss.

“It’s not like they are affecting the spotted owl by itself, no, those things interact and potentially exacerbate whatever negative influence that each impact might have,” Wan said.

Each of those challenges are hard to battle, especially that of climate change.

“Battling climate change requires international collaboration and all countries need to be on board to battle climate change,” Wan said.

The invasive barred owl also provides many problems for the smaller spotted owl. According to the National Park Service, barred owls are taking over nests and food because they are the larger and more aggressive owl. They also invaded the space of the northern spotted owl when they were already suffering from habitat loss.

The National Park Service wrote on their website that they have documented many cases of barred owls moving in to spotted owl territories. Because the species are similar, they can’t always occupy the same territory. Unfortunately, the barred owl issue is quite controversial.

“There’s been some experiments of killing barred owls in some areas and not others and seeing what happens and we do see a response by the spotted owls,” Dunk said. “They survive better when the barred owls are removed and they do a little bit better.”

Dunk understands why it is a difficult topic. Some disagree with this method because it means killing one owl to save another. Either way, something has to be done.

“If we don’t do anything about barred owls the vast majority of spotted owls we have now won’t exist,” Dunk said. “And I don’t mean those individuals, I mean within their geographic range spotted owls will be functionally extinct from much of it.”

The northern spotted owl has a recovery plan. According to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, this plan includes limiting the area where people can cut trees and take away its habitat, forest restoration, managing the barred owl, and monitoring the northern spotted owl while continuing research of it.

“One way to be a good start is to look at biodiversity and to try to help conserve the biodiversity that we have,” Wan said. “We don’t want to lose any species.”

As individuals, we share information on the species, use public outreach and social media, be careful about starting fires, and learn about the owl and other endangered and threatened species.

“We are all a part of nature, like humans are citizens of the whole ecosystem,” Wan said. “So we should be good citizens within it and as we are taking advantage and taking other resources from nature, we also have the responsibility to be a good start.”