, Stewardship Technician'&p[url]=https://www.sonomaopenspace.org/news-and-features/2024/11/victor-schwalm/&p[images][0]=https://www.sonomaopenspace.org/wp-content/uploads/me-600x450.jpg "Staff spotlight: Victor Schwalm(he/him), Stewardship Technician")
November 19, 2024
Posted in: People & Places
Victor most recently worked at Marin Water in partnership with Grizzlycorps, a UC Berkeley Americorps program. While there, he worked with the watershed department to coordinate volunteer programs including rare species monitoring, habitat restoration days and trail crew events. Before that, Victor served a previous Grizzlycorps term with Shasta Land Trust, where he helped prepare baseline documents, monitor conservation easements, and maintain GIS data. Victor was born and raised in Maryland, where he recieved a degree in Geography & Environmental Planning with a Minor in GIS from Towson University. He worked in natural resources management and agriculture after graduating before migrating west to California in 2022.
What’s your favorite Sonoma County place to get outside and why?
Anywhere along the Russian River redwoods, especially during the spring and summer months! I love all of the crazy fungi and aquatic life in the area, and my favorite summer days are spent lounging on a beach or floating down the river. Mom’s Beach was one of the first places I visited in Sonoma county and it made me feel truly at home in California.
What’s one fact, statistic, or interesting tidbit about land conservation that you enjoy sharing with others?
Ecosystem services, or natural processes present in the environment to regulate and maintain the health of our planet, are incredibly valuable. Think carbon capture, erosion control, healthy soils for agriculture, etc. In 2018 the WWF estimated the value of these services at $125 trillion. For reference, worldwide GDP in 2018 was just under $87 trillion.
What’s your proudest moment working in land conservation and why?
While working at Shasta Land Trust I had the privilege of working on multiple projects involving the Pit River Tribe of Shasta county. Some of these projects involved placing conservation easements on land already owned by the tribe, but a couple involved actually returning land back to the tribe as part of PG&E’s Land Conservation Commitment. Thousands of acres in eastern Shasta county along culturally and environmentally significant waterways will now be forever protected and stewarded by the native people who have done so for thousands of years. I believe Land Back efforts are incredibly important to maintaining tribal connections to the land and I hope to see similar projects succeed across California in the coming years.
What compelled you to pick a career in land conservation?
Back in Maryland I was fortunate to grow up with a large regional park directly behind my house. This fostered a strong connection to nature from an early age, and as I got older I wished that more people had the opportunity to create those same connections I had to the natural world around them. I saw land rapidly being developed all around me for decades, and it wasn’t until I came to California I even learned what a conservation easement was. I saw firsthand the power of these agreements to permanently protect and conserve land and ever since then I’ve been motivated to involve myself in this work. It’s incredibly impactful for me to think about how the work I do here now will keep Sonoma County wild for generations in the future to create those same bonds I did as a child in the woods back home.
What’s your favorite ice cream flavor and why?
Really anything from The Scoop in Fairfax! Personally I will always go for salted caramel if it’s on the menu.