In this month’s Staff Spotlight we welcome Raquel Guevara-Bolanos, who recently joined our team as a Stewardship Technician. Raquel most recently worked at Sonoma Water, where she led workshops on riparian habitat, salmon, and the role of land management. She has also worked for Circuit Rider doing fire management, stream …
This month we’re hearing from Lauren Alpert, our Community Relations Specialist. Recently promoted from Community Relations Assistant, Lauren’s focus is on engaging Sonoma County community members in the work of Ag + Open Space and our land conservation community at-large. Lauren attended Chico State, in her much loved hometown, and …
Over the last 30+ years, Ag + Open Space has conserved over 12% of our county’s natural and working lands. As we look back on 2022, we’re proud of the work we’ve done to increase the scale, pace, and equity of land conservation by putting our Vital Lands Initiative into …
In this month’s Staff Spotlight, we’re excited to welcome Pamela Swan as our Grants Coordinator – a new role that oversees our Matching Grant Program and coordinates our grant-seeking efforts. Pamela holds a Bachelor’s in Conservation and Resource Studies from UC Berkeley, as well as a Master’s in Community Development …
Petaluma Bounty, a community farm and program of Petaluma People Services Center, works to create a thriving local food system with healthy food for everyone through collaboration, education, and promoting self-reliance. As the COVID-19 pandemic began, we recognized there was immediate need within our agricultural community to alleviate some of …
In our November Staff Spotlight, we get to hear from Julie Mefferd, our Administrative and Fiscal Services Manager. Julie has worked in public service for more than 20 years, and prior to joining Ag + Open Space in 2019 she worked for a California Central Valley school district as the …
Southeast of Santa Rosa, the upcoming Calabazas Creek Regional Park and Open Space Preserve is 1,290 acres of forests, grasslands, and creeks nestled in the Mayacamas Mountains. Although we transferred this property to Regional Parks in 2021, we’re in a transition phase where we’re supporting vegetation management projects to enhance …
In this month’s Staff Spotlight, we caught up with Marina Montes, who was recently promoted from Stewardship Technician to Stewardship Specialist! Marina grew up in the East Bay and spent many weekends and holidays exploring the natural world through camping, hiking, and traveling. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology …
Conservation easements run with the land forever. As the easement holder, Ag + Open Space works with landowners to ensure the conservation values defined by the easement – agriculture, habitats, watersheds, and more – remain healthy and thriving. To support landowners and the natural and agricultural resources of these lands, …
In our latest Staff Spotlight, we chatted with Mary Chambers, our Agricultural Specialist. Mary grew up in the East Bay, hiking, camping, and eating as many fruits as possible at her hometown farmers market. She studied agriculture at Stanford University and sustainable international development at Brandeis University, and then headed abroad …