Napa RCD Monthly Newsletter

Helping you care for our land, water, soil, and wildlife

This Month's News

Program Spotlight

Emerging Environmental Leaders Recognized in Napa County

News & Announcements

Napa THRIVES Conference
Wild Farm Alliance Workshops
June brings opportunities to give back to the environment!
Napa and Sonoma Fire Safe Councils Come Together at Pepperwood
April Showers bring May Flowers; May Showers bring... hail?

In Case You Missed It

Soil Hub Spring Newsletter
UC Master Gardener June Events
Beavers Beyond Napa: Martinez Beaver Festival is June 25
Friends of the Napa Library Book Sale Coming Up

Upcoming Programs

See below for details

Program Spotlight

Emerging Environmental Leaders

Recognized in Napa County

Napa RCD is honored to award five scholarships to aspiring local students who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment towards environmental stewardship during their high school tenure.

The Napa RCD Emerging Environmental Leaders scholarship is awarded to students for their involvement in outdoor volunteerism, challenges they overcame, and their aspirations to lead the next generation for positive environmental solutions.

Each student will receive a $1,000 award generously provided by the Napa RCD Board of Directors and the Freed Family Fund of Napa Valley Community Foundation.

We are honored to award these students for their outstanding contributions to healthier forests, cleaner waterways, and the ecosystem services which support the well-being of Napa County communities.

Without further ado, meet the awardees!

Giulia Guerrera (Napa High School)

I’m pursuing an Environmental Science degree at the University of Oregon because I want to gain the kind of knowledge and skills to be able to protect ecosystems and wildlife and make a difference by ensuring the health of future generations. At this point I think I would like to earn a master’s degree in Forestry or Botany because I’m excited by the thought of working as a conservationist, park ranger, research scientist or outdoor educator, but am heading to college with an open mind about my ultimate career. Once I earn my degree, I plan to use my creative skills to be a more effective educator, communicator and leader -- regardless of the environmental issue I decide to focus on.

Ethan Castelazo (Vintage High School)

I’m passionate about local environmental issues because they’re tangible problems for me to observe firsthand and have a direct impact on. I can get rid of my grass lawn, I can remove invasive species from Westwood, and I can clean up trash on my school campus on Earth Day. I enjoy knowing that I can personally effect change in this Napa community to improve the land of the town we all love.

Kira Burgess (St. Helena High)

I have always felt a deep connection to nature and that made me feel very strongly about the overdevelopment of Napa County. I will use my degree to make impactful films that educate audiences on the threats facing our Earth and also propose realistic solutions to slow climate change.

William Slaybaugh Dappen (St. Helena High School)

As a Glass Fire survivor, I have experienced first-hand the effects of climate change on Napa County and the challenges these changes are bringing to rural communities everywhere. My environmental stewardship experiences with Napa RCD Youth Stewardship Council and Scouting showed me that both action and advocacy are important parts of environmental stewardship. It has been exciting to see the important role that youth volunteerism can have in supporting the greater community to address our environmental issues. With the support of the Napa Resource Conservation District Emerging Environmental Leaders Scholarship, I hope to forge a professional path in management of climate-driven security challenges through innovative technology.

Bryce Luhn (St. Helena High School)

In college I would like to get a law degree with which I could help write legislation that would limit climate change. I would like to encourage our local, state and national leaders to address the issue of climate change to protect our environment and its resources against it. Our local environment is delicate and precious and we must do everything we can to protect it and help repair it from the damage that was already done. Addressing climate change at the legislative level would be a huge step in the right direction for protecting Napa Valley’s unique and valuable environment, and I hope to be a part of that someday.

News & Announcements

Napa THRIVES Conference Kicks Off

June 7-23

Napa THRIVES is a conference presented by our friends at Napa Green and Napa Valley Vintners, as well as industry partners. This is a changemaking convening to enable the Napa County wine industry to leverage its powerful leadership platform and set a standard for sustainability and climate action that galvanizes the global wine industry.

The 6 days of climate action events focus on:

Saving Water & Water Efficiency
Saving Energy & Energy Efficiency
Preventing Waste & Green Purchasing
Integrated Pest Management & Prevention
Social Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion
Climate Action & Regenerative Farming

You can register for each day separately, or all together.

Wild Farm Alliance Workshops

June 2 & 7

Wild Farm Alliance invites you to their Farmland Flyways, Wildways and Waterways Field Day events in June! Both events will feature several speakers including avian ecologists, conservationists, farmers, agricultural professionals and more! Come to one or both:

Live Earth Farm Flyways, Wildways and Waterways

June 2, 2022, Watsonville, CA

EcoFarm and Tom Broz of Live Earth Farm co-host this exciting field day that will walk participants through several areas of the farm. You’ll see innovative practices that support biodiversity, provide pest control and protect water resources. Read the agenda and register here.

Grgich Hills Estate Flyways, Wildways and Waterways

**see Napa RCD's Lucas Patzek at this Field Day!**

June 7, 2022, American Canyon, CA

Grgich Hills Estate Winery celebrates the role biodiversity plays in growing wine grapes. Rather than eradicate all pests, they seek to keep them in check with the use of Barn Owl and songbird boxes. They also keep the ground covered in between vine rows, mowing cover crops rather than tilling, leaving roots other than vines for pest voles to eat. Read the agenda and register here.

June Brings Volunteer Opportunities to

Give Back to the Environment

June is jam-packed with opportunities to give back with Napa RCD!

June 4: Community Oak Days Kickoff!

Join us at Alston Park for the kickoff of our Summer Oak Days Series! From 9-11am, we will be at Alston Park with volunteers to help weed, mulch, and repair cages in an effort to keep our young oaks healthy through the heat of summer. Register Here for one or all days!

June 4: Redwood & Oak Community Day in St Helena

Join us from 9 am to Noon at the St Helena Redwood Community Forest and plant some redwoods and help put some more mature oaks into the ground. Register Here.

June 4: Invasive Plant Removal Day at Wildlake

As part of the Napa County Weed Management Area, we would like you to join our friends at Napa Land Trust to learn to identify yellow star thistle at their breathtaking Wildlake Preserve. Registration is Required Here.

June 22: Community Oak Day at Alston Park

This is our second Community Oak Day of Summer 2022! From 9-11:30am, we will be at Alston Park with volunteers to help weed, mulch, and repair cages in an effort to keep our young oaks healthy through the heat of summer. Register Here for one or all days!

With questions, contact Ashley@NapaRCD.org or 707-690-3117

Napa and Sonoma Fire Safe Councils

Come Together at Pepperwood

June 9, 5:30-7:30pm

The Upper Mark West Fire Safe Council (Sonoma County), in partnership with the Diamond Mountain Fire Safe Council (Napa County) and TALS (Taking Action for Living Systems), and Sonoma and Napa Resource Conservation Districts, is pleased to announce a join town hall meeting.

The Town Hall Meeting will be held on

June 9th from 5:30-7:30 at Pepperwood Preserve.

Please join us in person at Pepperwood, or virtually on line, for these presentations.

This is also a forum to ask questions and an opportunity to meet other involved community members.

Sonoma and Napa County Supervisors Susan Gorin and Diane Dillon will share a cross-county vision;
Upper Mark West and Diamond Mountain Fire Safe Councils will welcome you to our community efforts;
Vibrant Planet will show how their data driven science and cloud-based technology can help us make our individual parcels, our communities and ecosystems more resilient in the face of climate change.

Wildfire and ecosystems are not bound by roads, districts or county lines. Please join us as we collaborate to create a wholistic view of the challenges and opportunities to reduce wildfire and improve forest health in our area.

Registration is required.

April and May Rainfall Update

by Paul Blank, Napa RCD Environmental Scientist

April and May brought seven small storms and eight days of measurable rainfall to the Napa Valley. Rainfall totals at the County ALERT monitoring stations (napa.onerain.com) were above average for April, ranging between 1.75 and 4.30 inches, and below average for May, with 0.00 to 0.52 inches. We received approximately 7.3% of mean annual precipitation in April and 0.5% in May. On average, we get 6.6% and 4% of our annual rainfall during the months of April and May, respectively.

So far in Water Year 2021-22 (beginning October 1), we’ve received approximately 82% of our annual rainfall, below the long-term average of 98% for this time of year. Seasonal rainfall totals at the rain gauges range between 21.9 inches (Mt. George) and 41.7 inches (Mt. Veeder).

April rainfall was enough to lift us out of “dry” and into the “average” classification for the water year. Unfortunately, an average year was not enough to make up for the two previous “very dry” years, and severe drought continues.