Hello conservation community,

As the days get a little longer we are delighting in the joy of watching the plants in our open spaces and gardens wake up. We are seeing manzanitas and milk maids in bloom, bursting forth in white and pink to announce that Spring is coming. We are also noticing our neighbors emerging from those rainy weeks to soak up the sun and start tending the land. We are grateful to those of you who showed up to tend the land at Westwood Hills last Saturday - where tending the land meant pulling out invasive French broom! We hope you all get a few days of tending the land in your own special way this February.

Until next time,

Napa RCD

This Month's News

Program Spotlight

Teen Takeover- Intern Spotlight and Scholarship

News & Announcements

January Rainfall Summary
A Call for Climate-Smart Gardens
Farmworker Foundation and Napa RCD Team up for a Train the Trainer Course

Teen Takeover! Intern Spotlight and Emerging Environmental Leaders Scholarship

Intern Spotlight: Liliana Karesh

From October through January, our Napa RCD interns worked hard to help us plan, advertise, and carry out 3 community events, all focused on planting acorns as part of our efforts to re-oak Napa County.

Last month, we heard about the internship experience from Isabella Molina-Lopez. This month, we're excited to share some hot takes from Liliana Karesh as well as an extended summary of accomplishments!

Check out the our blog post for the full story.

"Throughout the internship, I saw myself becoming more confident when approaching volunteers...I began to feel less anxiety when having to make small talk and learned how to make the conversation flow better. I felt more confident with myself being in the leadership position." -Liliana Karesh, Napa High

It's Time to Apply for Our Scholarship!

We are now accepting applications from Napa County students for the Emerging Environmental Leaders Scholarship. This opportunity is open to students graduating from any high school, high school equivalent, or GED program in Napa County. Our goal is to celebrate, recognize, and empower young leaders who have demonstrated exceptional interest and participation in environmental, conservation, and stewardship activities. Two awards of $1,000 are available.

To learn about the requirements, and for a list of other Napa County conservation scholarships, please visit our website.

News & Announcements

January Rainfall Summary

Paul Blank, Napa RCD Environmental Scientist

Heavy December rainfall continued into January in the Napa Valley with nine storms and 14 days of rainfall observed at the County ALERT monitoring stations (napa.onerain.com). Rain totals were above average for the month, ranging between 9.8 inches in the City of Napa and 17.0 inches at Mt. Veeder. These totals represent approximately 39% of mean annual precipitation. On average, we get 19% during the month of January. On the season, we have now received 76% of our annual rainfall, putting us well above average for this time in the water year. Seasonal totals range between 19.9 and 34.5 inches.

Local municipal reservoirs are full including Lake Hennessey, which spilled on January 9. Lake Berryessa storage increased from 51% to 66% of capacity during the month.

Seeking Climate Smart Gardens in Napa, Yountville, and American Canyon!

That's right, we are hosting a Garden Tour this May! The Climate-Smart Garden Tour will take place over two Saturdays: May 13 and 20.

We are now looking for gardens that showcase beautiful, climate-smart, and water-wise features. This could mean a lot of things such as drought-tolerant and native plants, compost and soil health practices, rain gardens, rain barrels, recycled material use, a smart irrigation system, organic vegetable garden, greywater use, and so much more.

We are looking for variety! We love showcase gardens ready for a photo shoot, and we also like to show the joy of gardens in transition, or under construction.

Interested in sharing your garden to help insprie and educate your neighbors? Fill out the survey below and we'll schedule a site visit!

Submit Your Garden!

Farmworker Foundation and Napa RCD Team Up for a Train the Trainer Course

Our friends at the Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation have invited Miguel, our Sustainable Ag Program Manger, to team up in offering a Spanish-Language Train the Trainer Course. This 2-day course is all about maintaining proper soil health in vineyards and will include training on assessing soil health in the field, collecting samples for analysis, and interpreting lab results. The training will also cover carbon sequestration, the importance of organic matter for soil health, how to implement sustainable farming practices to adapt to the impacts of climate change, and much more.

Visit the Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation website for registration and more. This course is offered twice.

More Info- March 2-3

More Info- March 16-17

In Case You Missed It

Napa RCD Interns Lead A Successful MLK Day of Service

Many thanks to those of you that joined us for our MLK Day of Service at Skyline Park in January! We had a great turnout of 76 volunteers, and put a total of 116 plantings in the ground. Such a huge accomplishment, and we can't wait to see those acorns grow!

Stay tuned in Spring, as we will be having a series of workdays to help care for some of the oaks planted at our Community Oak Days this winter.

And in case you missed it, the St Helena Community Oak Planting Day has been rescheduled for Saturday, February 11, from 10am-12:30pm. You can get more information and register at NapaRCD.org/events

Learn More

Scoop the Poop! Join Our Pet Waste Survey & Giveaway!

We are currently surveying people across Napa County about their understanding and awareness of pet waste, pollution, and disposal. Completing our survey enters you to win a hand-drawn pet portrait by @PortraitsbyJAS !

Please only one entry per person, surveys must be submitted by June 30th. This program is a partnership of the Napa Countywide Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program.

Visit the Napa County Pet Waste Guide for more resources, videos, and tips on preventing pet waste pollution.