Tidepools Under Pressure: How TPERP Volunteers Protect, Educate, and Restore Cabrillo National Monument’s Intertidal Zone
Written by Adriana Wolf, CNMF Outreach Coordinator
When visitors descend to the tidepools at Cabrillo National Monument, they step into one of the park’s most extraordinary and fragile ecosystems. Knobby sea stars cling to submerged rocks, rock shore crabs dart between crevices, and nudibranchs—those slow-moving, rainbow-hued sea slugs—glide through pockets of water. It’s a living world shaped by tides, full of beauty and biodiversity. But it’s also under constant pressure.
With every step, every touch, and every tide, this fragile system faces growing challenges. But for nearly 30 years, a team of dedicated volunteers has been on the front lines of protection and education. That team is the Tidepool Protection, Education, and Restoration Program, also known as TPERP.
The Tidepools: Up Close and Under Pressure
Cabrillo’s intertidal zone draws upward of 350,000 visitors every year, but with popularity comes real impact. A single shell pocketed as a souvenir can interrupt a creature’s life cycle; a piece of trash left behind can collapse a microhabitat.
Pauline Geisler, TPERP Coordinator, holding CNMF funded supplies
By the late 1980s, park researchers saw a clear pattern: increased visitation was putting the tidepools at risk. The solution wasn’t just more signage—it was people. In 1996, Cabrillo launched the Tidepool Protection, Education, and Restoration Program (TPERP) to provide a consistent, informed, and visible presence to protect the tidepools.
Today, the program is run by Pauline Geisler, a longtime TPERP volunteer who became staff after years of service at Cabrillo. She started volunteering at Cabrillo in 2013, receiving a CNMF-funded stipend before joining the official park team as TPERP Coordinator in 2020. Geisler now manages a group of 80 TPERP volunteers—ensuring they have the necessary training, tools, and support to confidently educate visitors, protect the tidepool ecosystem, and represent the park with knowledge and care.
Tidepool Education: How TPERP Turns Curiosity into Conservation
Before visitors even reach the water, many are welcomed at the Tidepool Education Table—a key feature of the tidepool experience and a cornerstone of the park’s conservation efforts. Located near the tidepool entrance walkway, the table serves as an introduction to the intertidal zone and a powerful moment of interpretive connection.
Tidepool Education Table
Outfitted with laminated field guides, interpretive materials, and real examples of tidepool life, the table gives volunteers a place to start conversations, answer questions, and explain why small choices—like where you step or what you touch—can make a big difference.
“It gives us the chance to show people what’s down there and to share our expectations for how to explore it respectfully. It’s also fun to see kids get excited and start asking questions.” – TPERP Volunteer
The table transforms curiosity into conservation—shaping visitor behavior before they ever set foot on the rocks.
Preservation in Motion: Monitoring and Roving in the Intertidal Zone
In addition to running the education table, TPERP volunteers roam the tidepools, engaging with visitors and offering in-the-moment guidance to prevent damage and increase safety.
Volunteers carry backpacks filled with 8–10 field guides, many of which were created by park staff and volunteers and printed with support from CNMF. These guides help volunteers interpret what they see and answer questions in real time.
TPERP volunteers in the field. Photo Credit: NPS
Volunteers also use clickers to count interpretive interactions, providing the park with essential data on how the tidepools are used. This monitoring helps staff identify visitor patterns, adapt management strategies, and track how well the ecosystem is being protected over time.
“Every hour we spend down here makes the tidepools safer—for the marine life and the people visiting,” said Geisler.
Infrastructure That Makes It Possible: The TPERP Shed
For years, TPERP volunteers operated out of an aging trailer, originally brought in around 2013. It was small and never meant to support a program of this scale. It was clear that a new base of operations was urgently needed.
Inside the TPERP shed
In 2022, that need was met when Cabrillo National Monument purchased a new prefabricated shed structure. With the support of CNMF, the shed was installed on park grounds and filled with necessary tools and supplies. The impact has been transformational.
“The new shed gives us a place to store all the gear, eat lunch, wait out the rain. If there’s an emergency, it’s where we can take someone to get them out of the sun and away from crowds until help arrives. Having a structure like that makes all the difference in the world.” – Pauline Geisler
The shed now serves as a base of operations for volunteers—some of whom spend full days at the site, moving in and out with the tides. Inside, you’ll find backpacks, binoculars, cleaning supplies, walking poles, field books and more—all purchased with CNMF donor support
Your Impact: How Donors Keep TPERP Equipped
CNMF funded TPERP backpacks
Cabrillo National Monument Foundation provides the majority of funding for TPERP—from core infrastructure like outfitting the shed, to daily-use items like backpacks, clickers, guidebooks, and educational materials.
“Emily has yet to say no,” Geisler added, referring to the foundation’s executive director. “Everything we’ve asked for—from gear to guides—has been supported.”
TPERP is the essence of Cabrillo’s mission—to preserve and protect for future generations, and to share and educate the current one. Your donations don’t just provide supplies. They create capacity. They give volunteers the tools and structure to educate more visitors, prevent more damage, and protect more of what makes the tidepools so special.
Cabrillo National Monument Foundation (CNMF) is the official philanthropic partner to Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego’s only National Park. With your help, we support programs and initiatives that preserve the rich cultural and natural treasures and enhance the visitor experience at Cabrillo National Monument. Join our work by becoming a monthly member to give-back all year, or make a one-time donation to support one of our ongoing projects that inspires you.