Using Biochar to Improve Water Quality in the Bay Area
In partnership with Earth Foundries, we recently consulted on a project to sequester carbon, reduce flooding, and improve water quality in East San Jose.
Sonoma Ecology Center Begins Creek Restoration at Morton’s Warm Springs
A new partnership will improve creek health and foster wellness through connecting with nature. The first major project advancing Sonoma Ecology Center’s long-term plan to improve the health of Upper Sonoma Creek has broken ground at Morton’s Warm Springs in Kenwood.
Adobe Canyon: Gateway to Sugarloaf Ridge State Park | Adobe Canyon: Puerta de Entrada al Parque Estatal Sugarloaf Ridge
Visitors to Sugarloaf Ridge State Park enter via Adobe Canyon Road off Highway 12 in Kenwood. As they drive up the canyon to enjoy the numerous outdoor activities at the park, they pass through an area that has drawn outdoor enthusiasts and casual visitors for well over 100 years. Read more on the Ecology Blog.
A New Way to Support Sonoma Ecology Center: 10% of your Sports Basement Purchases Supports Our Work, Plus Get 10% Off
We are excited to announce that Sonoma Ecology Center is now a beneficiary of Sports Basement, with store locations in Sonoma County, the Bay Area, and Southern California. When you shop at Sports Basement and select Sonoma Ecology Center as the beneficiary, you will receive 10% off your purchase and Sonoma Ecology Center will receive 10% of the profits to fund our work.
Team Sugarloaf Celebrates 12-Year Anniversary | El Equipo de Sugarloaf Celebra el 12º Aniversario
Since taking over operations of Sugarloaf Park in June 2012, Sonoma Ecology Center has developed and demonstrated a model for building a community-centered state park that welcomes all community members maintains a well-maintained and clean park, protects the environment, and builds additional knowledge of the park, all without any direct state funding. As California moves into another era of budget shortfalls, the state needs examples of how to keep its parks operating, welcoming, and maintained despite budget reductions. [Traducido al Español]
Sonoma Ecology Center se une a organizaciones locales para ofrecer transportación gratuita a Sugarloaf Ridge State Park a través de la beca “Route to Parks” | SEC Partners with Local Organizations to Offer Free Transportation to Sugarloaf Ridge State Park through Routes to Parks Grant
Este año, estamos emocionados de anunciar que Sonoma Ecology Center es uno de los beneficiarios de la beca “Routes to Parks” de Parks California para el ciclo del 2024. Estamos usando esta beca para nuevamente unirnos con bibliotecas locales para ofrecer transportación gratuita a Sugarloaf Ridge State Park como parte de nuestro programa Senderos Naturales.
SEC Launches New Capstone Overnight Camping Trips for 5th & 6th Graders
This Spring, Sonoma Ecology Center is thrilled to have launched our new overnight camping opportunity for our 5th grade and 6th grade students at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. Our pilot overnight campout series this year reached over 350 students, with over 50 students per grade level participating.
New Accessible Ramp Installed at Sugarloaf’s Community Science Office
This Spring, we finished the installation of a new accessible ramp at the Community Science office at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, which our Senderos Naturales staff and volunteers use for their work. We were able to complete this ramp installation using a grant from the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF).
Advancing Environmental Education with Free UC CalNat Course for Local Teachers
In our mission to bring high quality environmental education to all students in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma Ecology Center hosted a UC California Naturalist for Teachers (CalNat) course last Fall to support our Valley’s educators in their environmental education programs. Teachers are now sharing ways that they have been able to use the learnings from the course to improve their environmental instruction.
Propelling the biochar movement forward: A Conversation with SEC’s Biochar Program Manager, Raymond Baltar
Today, we sat down with Raymond Baltar, SEC’s Biochar Program Manager, to better understand how biochar is produced and used in our region and beyond, and what the potential is for more widespread biochar usage.
Hannah’s Garden Picks from the Spring Native Plant Sale
Hannah Aclufi, our Native Plant Nursery manager, is excited to share with you her top native plant picks for your garden this Spring. All of these species will be sold at our Spring Native Plant Sale.
Sugarloaf Volunteer’s iNaturalist Observation Featured in Academic Journal
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park has long been more than just a park. Managed by Sonoma Ecology Center, Sugarloaf is a community gathering space where nature enthusiasts, researchers, and citizen scientists can come together and learn about and contribute to our understanding of the natural world. Galen Freed-Wilhelm, a Sugarloaf volunteer and an avid participant of citizen science, made an observation of a new scorpion species on iNaturalist that was featured in a peer-reviewed, scientific journal called ZooKeys.
Partnership with Sonoma Botanical Garden for California Native Plant Demonstration Garden
Sonoma Botanical Garden (SBG), in partnership with Sonoma Ecology Center and Habitat Corridor Project, has proudly announced our dynamic, new collaboration to design and establish a leading-edge California native plant demonstration garden at SBG. The project aims to...
What Does the Land Transfer at Sonoma Developmental Center Mean? A Conversation with Caitlin Cornwall
Caitlin is a Senior Project Manager at Sonoma Ecology Center.This January, it became official that 650 acres of the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) has been transferred to California State Parks. For decades, Sonoma Ecology Center has advocated for a vision for the...
SEC Spearheads Seed Collection of the Kenwood Marsh Checkerbloom
As part of our mission to steward the biodiversity of Sonoma Valley, Sonoma Ecology Center, along with partners from California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and UC Berkeley Botanical Garden conducted a site visit...
Introducing Maria Mauricio: Our New Sugarloaf Volunteer Coordinator | Presentando a Maria Mauricio: Nuestra Nueva Coordinadora de Voluntarios en Sugarloaf
Maria with an invasive Red-eared Slider Pond Turtle, captured in a Turtle Trapping-Live Capture and Release Survey for Western Pond Turtle Conservation in Sacramento.Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is home to a network of more than 215 volunteers. These volunteers make...
SEC Conducts Tests to Evaluate the Emissions From Biochar Production in the Field
To further evaluate the environmental impact of creating biochar, Sonoma Ecology Center recently took part in a team that conducted emissions tests on three different methods of burning surplus forestry (waste) material: the conservation burn technique, a flame-cap...
Former Enviroleader Joins SEC’s Board of Directors
A three-time Enviroleader alumna of Sonoma Ecology Center, Ava Castro recently joined Sonoma Ecology Center’s Board of Directors. We sat down with Ava to hear her perspective on the role of regenerative thinking in environmental work, and what she hopes to bring to SEC as a new member of our Board of Directors.
SEC’s Education Program Manager to be Incoming Chair of Sonoma Environmental Education Collaborative (SEEC)
Tony Passantino, SEC’s Education Program Manager will be the Chair of Sonoma Environmental Education Collaborative’s (SEEC) steering committee starting in January 2024.
Understanding the Connection Between Surface Water, Groundwater, and the Environment with Caitlin Cornwall
Caitlin Cornwall is a Senior Project Manager at Sonoma Ecology Center. She also serves on the Sonoma Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency Advisory Committee. She is a proponent of managing a sustainable water supply by creating or recreating low flat places that slow the flow of surface water, so it can sink or seep into the ground and naturally recharge aquifers.