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 …
In October of 2019, the Kincade Fire swept through large swaths of Sonoma County, impacting several Ag + Open Space-conserved properties. In the northeast part of the county, the 3,125-acre Modini Preserve burned in almost its entirety (the only spots that didn’t burn were where fire retardant was dropped!). We …
In this month’s Staff Spotlight, we’re tuning in with Pierre Ratte – one of our Acquisition Specialists, and the newest member of the Ag + Open Space team. Before joining us, Pierre earned a Masters in Regional and Environmental Planning from University of Pennsylvania, and a Masters of Business Administration …
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 of the county, and to preserve natural resources and agriculture …
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 Larkin’s B Side Farm weather the twists and turns of …