Protected Lands

Archives for “News Articles”

Our Impact

  • Staff Spotlight: Mary Chambers, Agricultural Specialist

    September 28, 2022

    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 …

  • Restoration and growth at Oken

    August 23, 2022

    We have inspiring news from Oken, one of the greenbelt properties we own and manage in southeast Santa Rosa! Greenbelts are open space lands that act as community separators to limit urban sprawl, to retain the rural and open character …

  • Strengthening our local ag community 

    July 28, 2022

    We’re back with more ASAP Emergency Matching Grant program updates! Read on to hear about how we supported the development of CAFF’s Small Farm Tech Hub, which offered technical support to local ag producers, and how our funds helped Lennie …

  • Staff Spotlight: Fraser Ross, Stewardship Specialist

    July 28, 2022

    This month we’re catching up with Fraser Ross, one of our Stewardship Specialists, to hear more about his work at Ag + Open Space. Fraser moved to Sonoma County from Scotland in 2014 and has been working with Ag + …

  • Staff Spotlight: Cieara McKetchnie-Stanley, Administrative Assistant

    June 23, 2022

    For this month’s Staff Spotlight, we’re checking in with Cieara McKetchnie-Stanley, one of our Administrative Aides. Cieara joined Ag + Open Space in 2019, and has a degree in technical theater and design. She also loves painting in her free …

  • Staff Spotlight: Allison Schichtel, Senior Conservation Planner

    April 28, 2022

    We’re back with another Staff Spotlight! This month we get to hear from Allison Schichtel, Senior Conservation Planner, who has a BS in Botany and Environmental Biology from Humboldt State University and a Master’s of Science degree in Geographic Information …

  • Local agroecology and a winter CSA

    April 28, 2022

    Through our Agricultural Support and Protection (ASAP) Emergency Matching Grant program, we’ve been supporting Red H Farm over the last year and a half as they adapted to the pandemic. Red H Farm, which was founded by Caiti Hachmyer in …

  • Staff Spotlight: Sheri Emerson, Stewardship Manager

    March 29, 2022

    This month, we’re checking in with Sheri Emerson, our Stewardship Manager, who oversees the stewardship of over 122,000 acres of land protected by Ag + Open Space. Sheri earned her undergraduate degree in Biology from Sonoma State University, and her …

  • A radical farm and the power of local agriculture

    March 29, 2022

    Radical Family Farms centers LGBTQIA+ mixed-Asian American heritage and culinary culture through the vegetables, herbs, meals and events produced on their farm. This 3-acre farm was founded in 2018 by Leslie Wiser and Sarah Deragon.It’s located in Sebastopol and, as …

  • Staff Spotlight: Kim Batchelder, Vegetation Management Coordinator

    February 24, 2022

    This month, we’re checking in with Kim Batchelder, the County’s Vegetation Management Coordinator. Kim has been with Ag + Open Space for over a decade, and recently moved into this role focused on the planning, development and implementation of funding …