Opening a Can of Worms on Compost at Sonoma Garden Park
Jonny Ehlers knows when you talk about composting you're opening a whole can of worms - both figuratively and literally. “Once we start unraveling the benefits of creating our own soil, it connects to everything, truly everything,” says Ehlers, laughing, “compost and...
Earth Day 2022 | Día de la tierra, 2022
Earth Day 2022 | Día de la tierra, 2022There’s a soft greenness over our corner of the world this time of year, a flush of life in the grasses now in seed and the late wildflowers, a ripeness that heralds a turn of seasons from spring to summer. If I could make a wish...
Sonoma Ecology Center Earthlings Call for New Members!
The Sonoma Ecology Center Earthlings Club is open for new members for Spring! The SEC Earthlings club was begun by a group of teens with a goal to fuel positive climate action from the youth of Sonoma Valley. The club has since evolved to welcome members of all ages...
Staff Highlight: Ross Adams, Restoration Project Manager
Meet Ross Adams: Restoration Project ManagerRoss Adams has helped support and lead our restoration crew through a wide variety of projects over the past year with Sonoma Ecology Center. Whether it's pulling broom or wielding a chain saw we're grateful to have such...
Sonoma’s Drought Questions Answered
We’ve heard from many community members wanting to know about current water supply levels, what to expect in the months to come, and what implications drought years might have on the environment and our daily lives. With all this in mind, we turned to our Senior...
Kenwood Marsh Checkerbloom Stewardship Day
On a cool February morning, a joint team of eight from Sonoma Ecology Center (SEC) Restoration, SEC Research, and biologists from CDFW Native Plant Program came together in the Kenwood Marsh to help save a very special plant, the Kenwood Marsh Checkerbloom (commonly...
Wildflower Hikes in Sonoma County
One of our favorite ways to enjoy spring is to watch as nature puts on its show of breathtaking wildflowers. One after another, species burst into bloom with sprays of yellow, orange, purple and white, all across green fields and woodlands. This year the bloom arrived...
Lions and Badgers and Bears: The Team behind Sugarloaf’s Amazing Wildlife Footage
On a foggy January morning, three Sugarloaf Ridge State Park volunteers gather at the Pony Gate trailhead with backpacks and hiking poles to complete what is for them, a typical volunteer shift– checking wildlife cameras placed around the park. Shuffling at first to...
Staff Highlight: Alma Shaw, Senderos Naturales Project Coordinator
Alma Shaw is Sugarloaf Ridge State Park’s Bilingual Events Coordinator and the Program Lead for the Spanish-speaking hiking and workshop program Senderos Naturales. In her tenure here with us Alma has significantly grown our program to reach widely throughout Sonoma,...
The Project to Uncover SDC’s Biodiversity
When taking a walk through the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) campus, one is struck immediately with its striking buildings and the plane trees that arch over this charismatic and much-discussed property. However, there’s much more than first meets the eye in this...
Harnessing the Bounty of the Wet Season
How can we harness the bounty of the wet season all year long? In the middle of California’s rainy season, it’s easy to think that water is abundant. Just a month ago, storms were passing through regularly, creeks were rushing, grassy hills were vibrant green, and...
Staff Highlight: Cali Pearce
Introducing Cali Pearce: AmeriCorps Member for Volunteer Infrastructure ServicesCali Pearce joined our team as our first ever Americorp volunteer to help Sonoma Ecology Center bring it’s volunteer management system into the digital age and shape our volunteer culture....
The Life Cycle of Chinook in Sonoma Creek
The Chinook salmon that have been making their run up the Sonoma Creek watershed are reaching the end of their life cycle. In the video below you can catch a glimpse of changes their bodies undergo as they enter a rapid senescence - a process observed in salmon in...
Department of De-Fence
The Sonoma Ecology Center (SEC) has worked to preserve, protect and improve the Sonoma Valley Wildlife Corridor since we originally identified and championed this critical natural resource component of the Sonoma Valley landscape back in the 1990’s. The initial idea,...
Sonoma Creek Has Salmon Again
We all feel like celebrating over this news: Sonoma Creek has salmon again! Research Program Manager and aquatic scientist Steven Lee assembled this inspiring video of the Chinook (King salmon) as they made their journey upstream and began settling into their spawning...
Something to Celebrate: Beavers Are In Sonoma Creek
It’s been a long summer of extreme drought conditions in Sonoma Valley. In what seems like a steady stream of dire news for our watershed one glimmer of good news stands out: beavers are moving back into Sonoma Creek.The return of these charming dam builders isn’t...
From August to September: An Update on our Watershed
Over the course of just one month we're observing intensifying conditions in our creeks. As we enter the month of September we’re feeling that familiar warm weather typical of late summer in the San Francisco Bay Area. These hot end of season days are making their...
Update on the Endangered Kenwood Marsh Checkerbloom
We are excited to share an update on the endangered Kenwood Marsh Checkerbloom from Ayla Mills, Nursery Propagation Manager of our Native Plant Nursery at Sonoma Garden Park. Ayla graduated from Chico State University with a M.S. in biology with a focus in botany. She...
Fire-wise and Resilient Landscape Resources For a Safer Fire Season
An example of a local home following fire smart, water wise and wildlife friendly principles. It is hard to believe that we’re only part way through the 2021 fire season. In years past we’ve seen smoky skies come our way as late as October or November (or not at all)...
Another successful prescribed burn in the books!
Mother Nature’s gift of a cool morning, relative humidity, low wind plus our technically capable team and preparedness allowed Sonoma Ecology Center and our partners the right weather conditions to conduct another successful prescribed burn at Van Hoosear Wildflower...
