In this month's edition:
- RCD Scholarship Open to Applicants
- December Rainfall Summary
- NOAA Grant Funds Youth Salmon Education
- CanDo Give!Guide: Many Thanks!
- Nature to Look for Every Month of the Year - from Bay Nature Magazine
- December Conservation Champion: Janelle Sellick
RCD Events:
- LandSmart Vineyard Plan Work Session - Jan 8
- WILD Napa Trivia Night - Jan 8
- Volunteer - MLK Day of Service - Jan 20
- WILD American Canyon - TBD - Jan 22
- LandSmart Vineyard Plan Work Session - Feb 5
- Conservation Burning Workshop - Feb 7
Partner Events:
- There are a lot of January events; see below for some great offerings from local organizations!
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Did you know that we have a separate email list for volunteers?
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Napa RCD Scholarship for Emerging Environmental Leaders Open to Applicants
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Each year Napa RCD awards a scholarship to a graduating high school student in Napa County- the Napa RCD Scholarship for Emerging Environmental Leaders. The purpose of this Scholarship is to celebrate the contributions of young leaders who have partnered with Napa RCD to care for Napa County’s land, water, soil, wildlife, and people. As the go-to hub for conservation in our community, Napa RCD is honored to recognize, activate, and empower the next generation of environmental stewards.
The recipient must meet a list of criteria set by Napa RCD, apply for the award with an online application (
found here
), and write a 1-2 page essay.
Please spread the news far and wide to all those graduating from a high school here in Napa County. We look forward to granting this scholarship to a local emerging environmental leader!
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December Rainfall Summary
Paul Blank, Napa RCD Senior Hydrologist
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Water Year 2019-20 (beginning October 1, 2019) was off to a slow start with no measurable rainfall in October and only 4% of mean annual rainfall recorded in November. On average, we receive 5% and 11% of our annual rain during October and November, respectively.
Fortunately, December brought 7 small storms and approximately 14 days of measurable rainfall. The Napa County ALERT monitoring stations (
Napa.OneRain.com
) recorded between 5.7 and 13.8 inches during the month, approximately 24% of mean annual rainfall (long-term December average is 19%). The above-average month helped catch us up, but we remain below the long-term average of 35% for this time of year. Seasonal rainfall totals at the rain gauges range between 6.6 inches (City of Napa) and 15.8 inches (Mt. St. Helena).
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NOAA Grant Funds Student
Salmon Recovery Projects
Eric McKee, Napa RCD Education Coordinator
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In 2019, Napa RCD earned a competitively sought grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to engage high school students in a year-long exploration: “How can we restore native salmon and trout populations in the Napa River?"
Dubbed “Salmon To Sanctuary”, our fish-centered program has enrolled classes from Calistoga, St. Helena, Valley Oak, and American Canyon high schools to explore salmonid recovery through taking part in riparian enhancement projects, careers exploration, and visits to the Silverado Fish Hatchery and
Napa RCD's Rotary Screw Trap
. Students use fish as a platform for understanding global climate change, consumer decisions, and grass-roots stewardship.
So far 121 students have installed 163 native plants at
Joseph Phelps Vineyards
and the
City of Napa's Oxbow Preserve
in order to protect waterways and enhance ecosystem resilience. Students have enjoyed meaningful environmental projects, meeting with conservation professionals and spending time outside. “I hope that someday I can have a career where I can help and feel as proud like I did that day!” -St. Helena HS Salmon to Sanctuary Student
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We are SO THANKFUL for your support during the 2019 CanDo
Give!Guide!
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We cannot say enough thank-yous to our community of supporters. It was a record-setting year all around! Not only did the Napa Valley CanDo
Give!Guide
set records, but so did we. Check it out:
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Give!Guide
Overall
Donations
- 2019 new record year: $486,430.90
- 2017 previous record: $475,817
# of Donors
- 2019 new record year: 1,330
- 2017 previous record: 1,167
Napa RCD
This year, we surpassed our 2018 donations for a grand total of
$4,353!
We also had the highest number of individual donors in our organization's
Give!Guide
history- in 2017 we had 67 donors and this year, we topped out at
69
!
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The support of our community during the
Give!Guide
season helps reinforce to us that we're doing meaningful work. Thank you for your donations of time and money during 2019, and we look forward to continuing our work in 2020!
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Psst:
If you missed the chance to donate to Napa RCD during the
Give!Guide
campaign, never fear! All donations, any time of year, are appreciated and tax-deductible. Just visit
NapaRCD.org/Donate
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Nature to Look for Every Month in 2020
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Pay more attention to the natural world with help from
Bay Nature Magazine
! Their most recent edition includes a scavenger hunt of sorts: a guide on different pieces of nature to focus on each month of the new year.
If you're looking for more green time in 2020, this guide is for you!
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January's Conservation Champion:
Janelle Sellick
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To start out the new year, we would like to give a big round of thanks to Janelle Sellick, January's Conservation Champion!
Originally from Southern California, Janelle and her husband spent some time in Seattle before striking a happy medium between the two- the Bay Area! When a job opportunity came up in Napa, she jumped on it and the family has no regrets.
When her daughter's class did a creek cleanup, Janelle met Napa RCD. She was so impressed with the work Eric and other staff at the RCD were doing. Tromping in the creek to remove trash and planting in the garden is fun and inspiring for students. Janelle says she feels very thankful to the Donaldson Way Elementary teachers and Napa RCD for working together to provide the opportunity for students to be involved in hands-on outdoor science.
Of course, Janelle didn't stop there! With help from Janelle and ACCPF, Napa RCD has been able to continue the American Canyon extension of the WILD lecture series, and a new 4th/5th grade environmental education program is in the works for American Canyon. Janelle says that she loves working with Napa RCD and ACCPF because these groups share her passion for the outdoors.
We asked Janelle what inspired her to be so passionate about advocating for program and parks access for the families of American Canyon. We think her response shows why she and the organization are so successful at what they do:
"Camping, hiking, and outdoor activity were a big part of my youth; however today's generation is increasingly disconnected from the natural world. I see it with my own daughters and feel the challenge of balancing online time with outdoor time every day. I believe in the power of nature to improve physical and emotional health, education, and social connection, yet it is easy to overlook when faced with a busy family schedule. ACCPF has become a vehicle for sharing the 'screen time to green time' message and it is rewarding when parents share the positive effect that time outdoors has on their family."
To date, ACCPF has helped the community collectively spend 10,000 hours outside. Quite an accomplishment to be proud of! The nature of her work with ACCPF offers much to get excited about, but Janelle says the main highlights are the people she gets to work with every day. People from the community, government agencies, schools, nonprofits, and so many other walks of life, coming together to support parks, programs, and play in American Canyon.
Janelle's connection to the community, and her willingness to think outside the box for the children and families of her city, is inspiring. We here at Napa RCD are thrilled to be partnering with Janelle and ACCPF. Here's to another great year of parks, programs, and play!
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Jan 20 - MLK Day of Service Milkweed Planting -
RSVP Reqd
Feb 7 - Conservation Burning Workshop - Info coming soon!
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Help support RCD Programs -
Donate
Today!
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Napa County Resource Conservation District | 707-252-4189 |
NapaRCD.org
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