Program Spotlight
- Save the Monarchs: Napa RCD's Pollinator Conservation Work
News & Announcements
- Introducing our GrizzlyCorps Fellow: Gabe Seidman
- Scavenger Hunt: We Need Acorns!
- Green Friday: Save the Date for the 2022 Community Oak Planting Day
- Win a Pet Portrait!
- RCDs & You- 8 Ways RCDs Benefit the Public
In Case You Missed It
- Coastal Cleanup Day Final Results
- Our Website Update is Live!
- CNPS Fall Sale is October 8 & 9
Upcoming Programs
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Save the Monarchs:
Napa RCD's Pollinator Conservation Work
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Migratory monarchs were recently added to the threatened species list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Napa RCD Conservation Project Manager, Ruby Stahel, has worked to protect this species and has collaborated on a new conservation program for local pollinators, including monarchs, that involves installing habitats for local and improving ecological resilience for pollinators.
To learn about how we are making a difference for pollinators in Napa County, check out this article on our new Medium page, which features a Q&A with Ruby AND some great photos! |
As with all of our projects, we worked closely with many partners to increase our impact! So we also want to quickly acknowledge our major partners in this work, whether their partnership is through funding, expertise, or on-the-ground assistance:
Napa County Monarch Working Group
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Introducing Gabe Seidman, Napa RCD's GrizzlyCorps Fellow! |
GrizzlyCorps is an AmeriCorps program that was developed at UC Berkeley. It’s an eleven month-long program that sends a group of young people (mostly relatively recent college graduates) to various organizations throughout California with the goal of expanding capacity for communities to address climate change. Fellows typically work in one of two fields - sustainable agriculture or forest health and fire resiliency. Fellows are partnered with lots of different kinds of organizations – RCDs, land trusts, municipal utilities, etc.
Napa RCD put in an application to host a GrizzlyCorps Fellow in the forest health and fire resiliency area, and we were matched up with Gabe Seidman. We're excited to host Gabe here at Napa RCD, and excited to share more about our new team member.
Originally from the Chicago suburbs, Gabe has a geology degree from Oberlin College. Why geology? Gabe says he "fell into it" because he enjoyed the professors and fellow students, every class had a field trip, and near the end of his time in college he was really enjoying working in GIS. Right out of college, Gabe took an internship with the US Forest Service in Alabama, and after that worked as a geospatial analyst from 2019-2022. Wishing to be a little more connected to hands-on conservation work, he applied for the GrizzlyCorps Fellowship.
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As with many who find themselves in the field of natural resource conservation, Gabe can't necessarily pin down a single moment in time that drew him to this work, but he does remember a particular plane ride:
"I have a memory of looking out an airplane window, thinking about the landscape below me, and thinking about how interconnected all the processes happening across my view were. I was never very outdoorsy as a kid, but throughout college I developed a love of nature, mostly through hiking and trips with friends. I realized how valuable natural resources and our natural environment are (for so many reasons, which most people reading this are probably already familiar with) and decided it would be neat to work in a related field."
As a GrizzlyCorps Fellow, Gabe's main job is to help expand capacity for Napa RCD to do its work, especially in addressing climate change. That's a pretty vague role, but basically means he will be filling in gaps where possible and working on projects that will increase the impact of Napa RCD's work here in Napa County and region wide. Gabe will be helping to create a forest health workshop series and an accompanying guidebook, and will be working on a climate-informed reforestation plan/tool that has the goal of helping community members who are interested in reforestation decide which trees to plant where. Y'all will also see Gabe out and about as he will be involved with our community outreach and education programs throughout the year.
Gabe says he's excited to get to know Napa and the surrounding areas. He spent a month living in Oakland for a college internship but other than that has never lived on the west coast- he's excited to explore on the weekends and holidays! He's also excited to get more involved in education and outreach and get out in the community. Mostly, he's excited to learn about and get to know the resource conservation field a little bit better.
In his free time, Gabe likes making time to practice piano and guitar. He was in a cover band in Alabama and likes to play music with others. Gabe is also hoping to get re-acquainted with his COVID hobbies of drawing and painting. He likes hiking on the weekends and is sure to find some great spots around here.
Gabe also likes working with animals, and is excited to find local animal welfare groups to work with while he's here.
We always like to share one fun fact about our staff members, and here is Gabe's:
"I worked as a veterinary assistant in the emergency department of an animal hospital throughout college. It was a high stress job but I got some really good (and gross) stories out of it!"
Welcome to the team, Gabe!
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Scavenger Hunt: We Need Acorns! |
Fall is here, but we haven't seen many acorns coming into the office! This year we hope to collect acorns from all areas of Napa County, from Berryessa to the Bay.
We haven't seen a ton of acorns on oak trees in our field excursions this year, so we are asking all of you to be extra diligent in finding and collecting acorns for our projects. Mostly, we need acorns from valley oaks and coast live oaks, but we also need some blue and black oak acorns for planting projects in areas hit by recent high intensity fires.
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Save the Date:
Green Friday Community Oak Planting Day
November 25 • 9-11:30am
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We will again be hosting our Community Oak Planting Day on Green Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) from 9-11:30am at Alston Park.
More info to come, so stay tuned!
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Want to WIN a pet portrait? Fill our our survey about pet waste in Napa County! |
If you complete the survey here or at the link below, you will automatically be entered to win a hand-drawn portrait of your pet from @PortraitsbyJas
The winner will be drawn in
June of 2023!
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RCDs & You:
8 Ways RCDs Benefit the Public
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As technical assistance providers, RCDs play a supportive role in building the network necessary to improve our use and stewardship of natural resources while also supporting the farmers that produce our food and fiber. In a new article from the Resource Conservation Network, we let RCDs play a rare starring role by highlighting some of the critical work we do to benefit our communities — and the people, animals, and plants that live there.
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Final Results are In for CCD 2022! |
Thank you so much to our volunteers, site captains, and partners that participated in Coastal Cleanup Day 2022 throughout all of Napa County! 349 volunteers picked up over 4,000 pounds of waste! Y'all did an amazing job removing a LOT of waste from the waterways of Napa County! |
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Our Website Update is Live! |
Have you noticed that NapaRCD.org has a new look? We've updated the site to match our new logo and colors, made the menu easier to navigate for all of YOU, and added some accessibility features, like Spanish translation! And as an added bonus, it is now easier for Napa RCD staff to make changes and updates in response to fire recovery, funding opportunities, and more!
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Don't Miss the CNPS Fall Sale!
October 8-9 • Skyline Park
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Looking for some native plants to make your garden or balcony sparkle?
Check out the Napa Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society's Fall Sale!
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Did you know that we have a separate email list for volunteers? |
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Help support Napa RCD - Donate Today!
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Napa County Resource Conservation District | 707-252-4189 | NapaRCD.org
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