Sonoma Ecology Center celebrates 25 years of environmental advocacy
Another great story acknowledging our 25th anniversary and covering the panel discussion we held at Ramekins. Many thanks to Tish Levee and the Sonoma County Gazette.
At SEC, every day is Earth Day
Wonderful article in the Sonoma Index-Tribune on our 25th Anniversary. Thanks I-T!
50 Fund Playmaker: Susan Angell
The Superbowl 50 Host Committee has awarded us a wonderful grant to serve our educational programs in Sonoma Garden Park. This grant honors 50 "playmakers" in the bay area. Our playmaker is Master Gardener Susan Angell, a tireless contributor to Sonoma Garden Park....
Arundo donax: a thirsty weed
By Alex Young, GIS Manager For the past several months Sonoma Ecology Center has been mapping invasive weed Arundo donax throughout the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta. The first phase of mapping was to identify large stands of the water-loving weed from aerial photos...
Grand opening: ecology exhibit at Depot Museum
In honor of our 25th Anniversary, the Sonoma Valley Historical Society is presenting "Environmental Awakening: Preserving Sonoma Valley and Its Marshes," an exhibit looking at 25 years of progress along with the work yet to be done in our Valley. Come to the Grand...
Conservation burn demo and biochar workshop
Learn a new simple method to manage burn piles and make biochar, a useful soil amendment. By replacing conventional open burn methods with the top-down conservation burn you can significantly reduce emissions (visible smoke and invisible chemicals and particles)...
Biochar demonstration
A new biochar production unit – known as an Adam Retort – will be demonstrated at Swallow Valley Farm in Valley Ford on November 6th, to educate the agricultural community about this technology, which can increase soil fertility and crop yields while conserving water....
Public meeting on water
A Sonoma Valley Water Workshop is headed our way... As we know, California is in a drought cycle. The pressures on the community and ecology increase as things stay dry. Even if we get a "wet" winter, our water woes are not behind us. The drought has taken its toll on...
Why did the creeks start flowing again?
After the August 24 earthquake, centered in Napa, people all over the Valley began to report a strange phenomenon: Creeks that had been dry suddenly filled with water and flowed robustly, in the middle of dry season. Reports of this kind came in for Carriger Creek,...
Bee Garden Workshop
Our newest workshop at Sonoma Garden Park, exploring the garden world of bees, offers a blend of science, horticulture and conservation. Bee expert Jaime Pawelek of the Urban Bee Lab (UC Berkeley), will instruct on the benefits of attracting native bees and the...
Labor Day ‘Quest’ at Sugarloaf
By Jim Golway (Story reprinted from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, September 2014) Our quest has begun on Lower Mountain Trail. With curiosity and your senses, you’re sure to not fail. By searching for clues both high and low Your knowledge of Sugarloaf is bound to...
Master Gardeners at Harvest Market Saturdays
Our community is fortunate to have Sonoma County Master Gardeners at Sonoma Garden Park every Saturday from 9am-12pm, during the Harvest Market, to answer your questions and dish the dirt on gardening. Come to the Harvest Market for fresh, sustainably grown produce,...
SEC Wildflower Walks Featured in the PD
Sonoma Ecology Center's Wildflower Walk series at Van Hoosear Wildflower Preserve and Sugarloaf Ridge State Park received great enthusiasm from the Press Democrat! Click here for the March 30th article.
Water shortage of 2014 requires us to conserve
The Water Year 2014 is to date the driest on record in California and Sonoma, and communities around the state are facing this reality as they scramble to hold onto the water they have, or don't. Our Sonoma Valley community relies on imported water through an aqueduct...
SEC awarded biochar project grant
By Kendall Fields/Sonoma Index-Tribune Staff Writer Earlier this month, the Sonoma Ecology Center and its partners received a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and additional funds from the Sonoma County Water Agency to launch a biochar...
Pioneering technology in our own backyard
The Sonoma Ecology Center began work in November on a project that uses an innovative agricultural technology to reforest the hillside along the Sonoma Overlook Trail. The Groasis Waterboxx, an award-winning device that its inventor claims will “green the world,” was named Popular Science’s 2010 Invention of the Year. Waterboxxes have been installed over the course of several workdays at the Overlook Trail this month.
