In this month's edition:
- Staff Highlight: Welcome Isis and Ryan!
- FREE Prescribed Fire on Private Lands Workshop
- Low-Cost Fire Fuel Workshop
- County's FREE Curbside Chipper Program
- Research-based Information on COVID-19
- Feeling Altruistic? Consider donating to Sonoma Family Meal and other local emergency food response organizations
- Soundscapes to Landscapes Program
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Staff Highlight: Welcome Isis and Ryan!
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We are very excited to announce that we've added not one but TWO new staff to our team at Gold Ridge RCD! Please join us in welcoming them!
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Isis Howard
(
Project Coordinator
)
joined our team in March of this year,
just
prior to the stay-at-home orders. Some of you may have already wo
rked with Isis, as she is currently involved in various RCD field projects
and remote tasks
!
Named after the Egyptian goddess of wisdom and magic, Isis has always had a deep appreciation for the natural world. She was born and raised on her family's small organic farm in Sebastopol, CA, and grew up with close ties to the local Sonoma County community. After receiving her degree in Environmental Management and Protection from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Isis worked for several farms along the West Coast and trained as an outdoor educator. Ultimately, Isis' passion for the environment, wildlife, and human-nature connectedness inspired her to return to her hometown commun
ity and give back to the land that raised her. Aside from her work at Gold Ridge, Isis spends much of her time hiking wilderness trails, tending to her garden, identifying local wildlife, and creating art. She is thrill
ed to be working with Gold Ridge RCD and can't wait to meet you all!
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Ryan Johnston
(Conservation Planner)
is honored to join the Gold Ridge team to help landowners design carbon farm plans and access funding to implement climate-beneficial land management practices. Growing up in Occidental, CA with a big garden and a lot of time immersed in the wildlands, Ryan’s love of living systems has deep roots. He’s worked as an educator, advocate, farmer, project manager, entrepreneur and designer. As Orchard Manager and Cidermaker at Ethic Ciders, Ryan worked with the Gold Ridge team to develop and implementation of one of the first Orchard Carbon Farm Plans in CA. In addition to his work at Gold Ridge, Ryan is Head of Marketing + Impact for Biotic Brands Kvass where he leads their sustainability and regenerative farm sourcing program, and he is a strategic advisor to Landscape Analytic Solutions on the creation of a high-resolution carbon calculator for the landscape design industry. Ryan is also the Board Chair of the Daily Acts Organization and on the advisory council for School Garden Network of Sonoma County. Along with supporting better stewardship of our landscapes, Ryan is fascinated with the psychological dimensions of resilience and regeneration as they relate to our cultural capacity to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world. Ryan is an avid fly fisherman, backpacker, gardener, forager, fermenter and chef. He and his wife Kellen live in Sebastopol.
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Upcoming Partner Workshops
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Prescribed Fire on Private Lands Workshop
FREE 5-part online workshop taking place May through June!
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UCANR
is hosting a free in-depth, five-part webinar series on prescribed fire. Every Wednesday through the first week of June, you can participate in 90-minute sessions featuring various speakers and unique topics related to prescribed fire on private lands.
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Join in on any of the following webinar sessions to learn more! You'll gain practical knowledge, useful tips, and awesome resources to help you use this tool wisely.
Session 1: Fire Ecology
(May 6th, 10:00-11:30am)
- Basics on fire ecology and benefits of prescribed fire on the landscape
- Using prescribed fire to control invasive plants and weeds
Session 2: Permitting
(May 13th, 10:00-11:30am)
- Permitting Issues, debris burning, and health impacts of prescribed fire
Session 3: Prescribed Fire Planning
(May 20th, 10:00-11:30am)
- Community planning and considerations for prescribed fire
- How to develop a burn plan
Session 4: Resources for Burning
(May 27th, 10:00-11:30am)
- How to develop a Prescribed Burn Association (PBA)
- Available cost share programs
Session 5: Benefits of Cultural Burn & PBA Discussion
(June 3rd, 10:00-11:30am)
- Processes and benefits of conducting cultural burns
- Round table discussion about the development of a PBA in the southern Sierra
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The cost is FREE, but registration is required!
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Fire Fuel Workshop
Virtual workshop on May 21 from 8:00-10:30am
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The
Sonoma County Farm Bureau
is presenting a low-cost online workshop focused on fire fuel and vegetation management. Learn from six experts in the field as they discuss prudent strategies for property management and minimizing risks and impacts associated with California wildfires. A moderated Q&A will take place at the conclusion of speaker presentations, so take note of any questions you have!
Workshop Speakers:
- Cyndi Foreman- Sonoma County Fire. Cyndi will discuss the history of wildfires in Sonoma County including historic fire paths and vegetation management strategies shown to be effective.
- Fred Frey- Vintage Tree Care. Fred will discuss the importance of proactive tree care plans for property safety and fuel reduction while maintaining the health and well being of your trees.
- Rachel Adams and Jared Goble- George Petersen Insurance Agency. They will cover how to evaluate insurance coverage for your property or business to be best prepared in the event of a wildfire. Rachel will discuss lessons learned from the recent wildfires, and strategies to navigate through a risk-averse insurance marketplace. Jared will provide information about the importance of an Emergency Action Plan for Agricultural Operations and about how to develop and implement one.
- Gordon Mann and Denice Britton- Registered Consulting Arborists California Tree and Landscape Consulting, Inc. (CalTLC). These experts will discuss tree management tips for pre and post fire safety and viability. They will also cover how to determine which trees to retain or remove in a post fire scenario.
The cost is $25 to register!
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County's FREE Curbside Chipper Program
Get 2 hours of chipping at no charge
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Now is a great time to get your home ready for fire season!
Utilize the County's free
Chipper Program
to chip up vegetative debris you remove from the yard to create defensible space around your home and main access routes. Be sure to follow the
detailed instructions
on how to build and where to place your debris pile so that the County crew can quickly and efficiently process your debris. The chips are yours to use around your garden and on pathways - just be careful not to place them within 5' of the home where they could pose a fire risk.
New this year - You can submit your application
online
in the easy-to-use SoCo Report It system. Click the link, and select "Residential Curbside Chipping" in the scroll-down list. No paper applications are allowed at this time.
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We are a big fan of this FREE program
- It gives landowners a real leg up in making in their homes more fire resistant. We encourage your participation.
Need a reminder of what defensible space looks like? See the link below from readyforwildfire.org. You can also reach out to
Fire Safe Sonoma with specific questions
about creating defensible space around your home.
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Research-based Information on COVID-19
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University of California specialists are working on many areas of the COVID pandemic to answer questions and provide specific information, including related changes in the food system and how consumers can adapt to those changes:
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Feeling Altruistic?
Consider donating to Sonoma Family Meal and other local emergency food response organizations
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Sonoma Family Meal
is fighting food insecurity in response to COVID-19. They pay a network of local restaurants to cook meals for residents in need. As stated on their website, "It's a win-win for local businesses and food insecure seniors, immigrants, farmworkers and families". Currently, they have raised over
$30K
of their
$50,000
goal. Please consider helping them reach their goal by donating today!
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Seeking other organizations to support?
Here is a list of additional emergency food response organizations serving the Sonoma County community:
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Wildlife + Citizen Science Opportunity
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Soundscapes to Landscapes Program
Become a citizen scientist, contribute to local bird biodiversity monitoring!
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Have you ever considered becoming a
citizen scientist
? Now is the perfect opportunity to do so! From your own home, you can contribute to the
Soundscapes to Landscapes (S2L) program
, a science-based project currently focused on mapping local Sonoma County bird biodiversity. The objective of the S2L program is to advancing biodiversity monitoring over large areas using data from new Earth-observing sensors and advanced modeling. To achieve this, they depend on the help of local volunteers like YOU! And the best part?
No prior birding experience is required
, S2L has several unique volunteer opportunities to suit your needs and interests. Learn more about Soundscapes to Landscapes by clicking below to visit their website.
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