A huge thank you to everyone who chose to invest in the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation with a donation this spring! Your gift makes you a member of the only non-profit organization singularly dedicated to the restoration, conservation, and stewardship of the Laguna de Santa Rosa and the only nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching children about its tremendous value to our quality of life in Sonoma County.

We truly appreciate your involvement and support!

If you’ve yet to make a gift and would like to do so, please don’t waste another moment before donating.

Your investment will be used to care for and enhance the natural lands of Sonoma County that we all cherish.

A special note of thanks to Anderson Zeigler Law Firm who underwrote the cost of this year’s spring appeal letter. (To read the full spring appeal letter, click here.)

It’s been a little more than a year since we began a conscious, thoughtful journey towards transforming into a more equitable and inclusive organization that fully represents, includes, and is led by the diverse communities, perspectives, and experiences of all people living within the Laguna de Santa Rosa watershed. We have been progressing intentionally and deliberately as we explore the deep and complex history of systemic racism and inequality in our country and in the environmental field. Our staff and board have engaged in learning and conversation by reading together Isabel Wilkerson’s scholarly book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent. We have now implemented small but important changes in our practices and programs, and we have more work in front of us.

Today we are thrilled to announce one very deliberate step forward! The Laguna Foundation has been selected to participate in Working Toward Racial Equity, a new workshop series starting this fall co-hosted by UC Berkeley Lawrence Hall of Science and Justice Outside (formerly Youth Outside) to support environmental and outdoor science organizations in building capacity to foster equitable, inclusive, and culturally relevant work environments and organizations. We are extremely honored to be one of 10 organizations selected from 40 applications received from across the country. We will be joining nine other organizations (including our partners at Audubon Canyon Ranch!) that range in location, size, and programming including outdoor learning, environmental justice, environmental science, environmental literacy, youth development, and community development. Participating organizations will engage in a five-month series of intensive workshops, and then receive ongoing assistance and support from the co-hosts for another 19 months, for a total of two years of support. The workshop series is organized into two strands: one focused on organizational systems change and one focused on supporting professionals of color at participating organizations. Our own team will include both staff and board members.

With the expert guidance and momentum from participating in the Working Toward Racial Equity workshop series, we are excited to further advance our efforts to make a positive, long-lasting impact on the communities throughout the Laguna de Santa Rosa watershed.

The sheep are back along the Laguna de Santa Rosa Trail doing the hard work of protecting vernal pool plants from grass thatch. To say that the dry weather this winter was hard on the Sebastopol meadowfoam throughout the Santa Rosa Plain would be an understatement, but thanks to the sheep and the continued efforts of Laguna staff members and volunteers, the population along the trail managed to hang on! The plants were smaller and much less visible but they were there, flowering and making seed for next year.