Program Spotlights
- Monarch Habitat Enhancement in Napa County
News & Announcements
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We're in the 2021 CanDo Give!Guide
- Community Oak Planting Day Wrap Up
- 3rd Saturday Hike with Napa Open Space
In Case You Missed It
- HSP/SWEEP One-on-One Assistance
Upcoming Programs
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Monarch Habitat Enhancement
in Napa County
by Ruby Stahel, Conservation Project Manager
& Lucas Patzek, Executive Director
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Monarch butterflies captivate us with their large size and vibrant colors, epic migration, and by the way they cluster together on trees to stay warm over the winter. Beyond their striking appearance, monarchs play an important role in our local ecosystems as pollinators and food for birds. In California, coastal forests, like those in Santa Cruz and Pacific Grove, are known to provide key habitat. However, you might be surprised to hear that Napa County also provides important habitat - it's part of their early breeding zone. After overwintering, our vineyards, parks, and backyards are their first stopover in their long, multi-generational migration.
In the Western U.S., monarch butterfly populations have all but collapsed. In the 1980s, it was estimated that 4.5 million monarchs overwintered on the California coast. In 2020 the population plummeted to just 1,914 butterflies. The extreme population decline is due to multiple stressors across its home range, such as loss of habitat, increased pesticide use, and climate change. We all want to see these beautiful butterflies flourish again, and we can all have a role in making it happen.
Napa RCD reached out to expert organizations such as Xerces Society and US Fish and Wildlife Service for guidance on how to help. Since they need more safe habitat, we need to add more of the right plants to feed them at the right times. And, as it turns out, the same actions that help monarchs, help other types of insects and wildlife as well, so the whole ecosystem wins when we work to preserve monarchs.
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We sought funding from the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts, US Forest Service, and Napa County Wildlife Conservation Commission to work with local growers to add pollinator habitat to farms. Over the past year we’ve helped 17 growers design, install, and care for new plantings, creating over 2.5 acres worth of habitat.
We’ve seen a tremendous amount of interest from the vineyard industry as well as home gardeners, and we intend to expand the program to serve many more people and properties in the coming year.
Want to help? You can play a role in helping monarchs by restoring and creating appropriate habitat on your property, no matter the size. Plant native milkweed such as Asclepias cordifolia, A. fascicularis, A. eriocarpa, A. speciosa, and avoid non-native tropical milkweed A. curassavica. Plant native nectar plants that bloom in the early spring and fall when monarchs are migrating through Napa County. Provide water and shelter such as shrubs. Finally, it is essential to protect monarchs from pesticides, especially systemic insecticides.
Contact Ruby Stahel at Napa RCD for more information or guidance on your planting project: Ruby@NapaRCD.org, (530) 304-9254
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Napa RCD is in the 2021 CanDo Give!Guide
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We are thrilled to once again be part of this community campaign! This is our 8th year in the CanDo Give!Guide, and your ongoing support of our programs has helped us impact our community in so many ways.
Napa RCD helps our community care for the land, water, soil, and wildlife that make our county so special. During this year's Give!Guide season (the month of December) we are going to be sharing with you the impacts of our youth education programs, post-fire assistance, community volunteer events, and natural resources monitoring. This year, our work has connected more than a thousand people in Napa County with nature and guidance for being good stewards.
During this season of giving, the Give!Guide makes supporting your local community easy. Your donation, big or small, matters!
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And the cherries on top...
-- Flowers for all! --
Our fantastic partners at The Monkey Flower Group are once again generously sharing their floral cultivation and arrangement talents to help thank our donors! They will be giving one locally grown floral arrangement to EVERYONE who donates to Napa RCD, and five of these arrangements to those who give $50 or more! Thank you, Monkey Flower Group!
-- Special incentives, offered weekly --
Napa RCD's Board of Directors has curated a suite of incentives, week by week!
Week 1: Plant Giveaway! Board President Jon Kanagy has offered up 2 native plant starts to each of the first 25 donors to Napa RCD. Pickup will be at the Napa RCD office in early January.
Week 2: Board Match! Our board members and associate board members have come together to create a match opportunity up to $1675! Donate during Week 2, and you could double your donation!
Week 3: Garden Party! Board President Jon Kanagy will offer a private tour of his waterwise and Bay-Friendly Garden! Jon went from a water-guzzling, high-maintenance front lawn to a drought-tolerant, colorful, and pollinator-friendly landscape. We'll also be pairing this garden tour with a backyard wine tasting. The recipient will be randomly selected from all donors contributing $100+ from Dec 12-18.
Week 4: Wine Tasting! Join Associate Board Member and Winemaker Matt Reid for a tasting at Benessere Vineyards in St Helena! Matt is the Winemaker for Benessere and he will be leading a wine tasting for two at a time convenient for both parties in 2022. The recipient will be randomly selected from all donors contributing $100+ from Dec 19-25.
Week 5: Wine & Soil Tasting! Join Napa RCD Board Member Bruce Barge and Napa RCD Sustainable Ag Program Manager Miguel Garcia for a wine and soil tasting! Learn about how soil health impacts grape growing, and taste the difference! The recipient will be randomly selected from all donors contributing $150+ from Dec 26-31.
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Green Friday Community Oak Planting Day Thank you, volunteers!
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For those that joined us for our Community Oak Planting Day on November 26, we want to send out a great big thank you!
35 volunteers worked hard to clear weeds, dig holes, build protective cages, create weed barriers, and haul a LOT of mulch before finally, at the very end of the day, they got to plant acorns in the ground.
All in all, it was a great success and we ended up with a whopping 71 valley oak plantings! Well done, y'all!
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3rd Saturday Hike: December 18
With Napa Open Space District
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Whatever your goals or motivations, Napa Open Space welcomes you to start with the micro-decision to join them on one of their “endurance” hikes this December. They'll be hiking to the top of Mt. Saint Helena. Yep. 10 miles total. But we’ll also have a guided option of a route half-way to the top. 5 miles. Not bad. Good, in fact.
This will also be a good primer for our endurance hikes in 2022. On these hikes our naturalists will be sucking air like everyone else so there will be less explanation and more of a focus on, well, getting through it together.
We plan to start early (8:30am) since parking is limited at the Robert Louis Stevenson SP lot, and because the hike will be longer. Note that there are no restrooms at the trailhead. Plan to bring a lunch, and/or plenty of snacks, and water. Your charging station will be whatever you bring along in your backpack.
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Still Planning to Apply for
HSP or SWEEP Funding?
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SWEEP Assistance:
HSP Assistance:
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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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